Thetownend.com

Tonight start for it is anyone can still be arsed,cause lets face it the players aren't so why the hell should we be ?  :(

Can't believe Hoggy has been dropped,utter maddness  :x  The bloke has one poor game for the first time in years and gets the boot ffs,but none of the batsmen who should have been able to have held out for the draw do!!!Harmy isn't in the side,so its one good thing,but wasn't as if that could have been a hard decision to come to  :roll:

Anyway,i'm off to italy for a week so... :beers:

i agree awful decision .. and it looks like Strauss is still going to be ahead of Shah!!

Moores Out!

YAWN! change the tune Bart, sorry i mean Fatters. Strauss will come good again where as Shah is not a test match batsman. As for "Moores out" who do you suggest as a replacement?

I can see where you are coming from Larwood but Hoggy looked like he was just going through the motions in the first test so maybe Broad and Anderson deserve a chance. Lets be honest, none of them have covered themselves in glory have they?

I find it kind of ironic that Harmison was bowling like a complete demon in the nets yesterday but cannot transfer it onto the pitch, what is wrong with the guy? on his day he can be the most dangerous fast bowler in the world but when he is off his game you would be better of without him.

Owais Shah deserves his chance, but that really should have come in Sri Lanka as he played so well in India under similar conditions.

Fog - I think it's almost routine to say someone looks good in the nets these days? It's true though isn't it, there's no pressure in the nets. I can play shots when I'm netting I couldn't even dream of playing in league cricket on a Saturday when we're 30-3.

Dropping Hoggy is harsh but he bowled even worse than Harmy imo, conditions were better for Hoggard.... but this is Moore's style - changes the side regularly and thus far it hasn't worked for him, it's bound to look bad because our success came from picking the same team time after time.

Have to agree with the doubts over Strauss. I just can't figure out how you can score 0 first-class dropped between being dropped and recalled. It just makes no sense.

If Ramprakash is the best number 3 in England (and I understand why he isn't being selected) then Shah is definitely the second best number 3.

He went from being back up to Bopara in SL, to backup from Strauss in NZ. Whatever happened to a pecking order?

Pleased that Broad is in for Harmison, much less convinced about Anderson in for Hoggard. Anderson's capable of some occasional top spells, but he still bowls far too many four balls which hasn't changed despite breaking onto the scene five years ago.

I'll be watching tonight but I doubt it'll be enjoyable. They real lack someone who is going to take the initative and set a positive tone like Trescothick did when England were going into a 2nd Test up against like vs Australia in 2005.

Im at work as per usual tonight so it'll have to be the aceness of 'TMS' for me.

This is the second test? I must have missed the first. Oh well.

why do you keep trying to make such a big deal out of the fact you are not interested? that in itself is of course not a problem to anyone, but your self-indulgence on the fact is a bit bemusing to be honest.

Are you going off on one?  :soapy tit wank:  The reason i'm not interested is because (sadly) English cricket has gone back to the dark days of the mid 90s under Atherton. We are poor. Still i guess the season starts soon. Summer round the corner whoooohoo  8)

id have liked to have seen Shane Warne as England coach ..

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, fucking do one Fatters.

the same shane warne who will only play about 2 months with hampshire this season, because of other commitments? Just what we need

yeah but im sure if he had been given a highly paid coaching job at England we might have seen a bit more commitment .. sadly the time has passed

come again? Is he retiring from cricket forever at the end of this season now, in every capacity? Im sure there'll be a chance to have him as head coach, if it were deemed suitable.

yet you still feel compelled to respond to every thread in this forum with "oh, we lost again?"/"oh, we somehow conspired to win!"

good start 78-0

don't worry, that really wasn't going off on one, just that self-indulgent glory supporters grate me, as they probably do most other people

There has certainly been plenty of movement and I feel Vettori's decision to bowl is justified, but the Kiwis simply haven't bowled well enough. King Kyle in particular completely squandered the new ball.

When Oram and Vettori put the squeeze on will be interesting, if a little dull.

fuck me that was a good delivery, vaughn had no chance.

oh dear. oram is officially a cunt :(

156-5 at tea.

Is it a confidence issue with the top order, or is it a mental thing? No question, we have some very talented batsmen in this side, but none of them can convert having got themselves in, at the moment. The NZ attack isn't exactly ferocious, although Oram's bowled very well today, but nothing that should put the fear of god into the top 6. I'm baffled

At least Ambo delivered, within about an hour of me posting the above. Coincidence? I think not 8)

Vettori is out. Just 3 more wickets to get to level the series.

I can't watch it, as the bloody missis is watching that lost tripe.

I can't watch it, as it's not on tv. i miss cricket being on channel 4.

say to her, 'i cant believe michael was on the boat'

mills gone  :D

woohoo, 2 more.

one more....

england win  :beers:

got jamie in the end.

:beers: We won.