Thursday December 30, 2010 Such was England’s dominance, this Test felt old by the end of the second day.  Its course was obvious and result assured. The dark skies that glared menacingly down on Australia’s batsmen on Boxing Day provided an appropriate opening scene.  English conditions suited the visiting bowlers who moved and slid the […]

by Darren Dawson Is there anything more depressing than an eagerly awaited sporting contest which is decided far too early? Three hours into Day 1, this Boxing Day Test Match was over. There would be no coming back from 98 all-out. I was despondent. And as Strauss and Cook plundered 157 by stumps, it was […]

by Ben Dunn (in response to Dave Goodwin’s Punter’s Goose is Cooked) Hey Dave, We miss your not so hittable leg spinners and lusty hitting up here in Singapore! Consider the current Australian side: Watson Hughes Ponting Clarke Hussey Smith Haddin Johnson Siddle Harris Hilfenhaus Now of that side how many will play in the […]

ASHES DIARY Entry 10 Monday December 27, 2010 Alighting at Jolimont, I inserted my Christmas present digital Walkman to discover Strauss had won the toss and elected to bowl.  Again.  Nassar shook his head and walked away. ‘Strauss has put the Aussies in.  I can’t believe it,’ I said to the nearest person who happened […]

MCG, Day 2: Australia 98, England 5/444 You suspect Ricky Ponting slept uneasily in the wake of his team’s Boxing Day disaster. Perhaps fevered imaginings came to him, where he was Captain Willard, staring at the ceiling fan, The End playing in the background, Colonel Kurtz’s words echoing. The Horror! The Horror! In cricketing terms, […]

by Dave Bruce I got up this morning to the rather surprising news that England had won the toss and were bowling.  Even more surprisingly, Ponting said that Australia were going to bowl if they’d won the toss.  It sounded like two guys who were concerned that their batting line-ups couldn’t be trusted in less […]

A world record crowd beckons. The sides are locked at 1-1. The ham sandwiches, the cordial and the Lions Christmas cake are packed. Bring on the Boxing Day Test! And bring on the banter, too. Give us your thoughts on how you think the next chapter of the intriguing tale of Ashes 2010-11 will pan […]

Friday December 24, 2010 It’s mid-afternoon and I’m lying under the tree in the backyard.  It’s sunny, peaceful and quiet and the pre-Christmas madness has begun to dissipate.  Early evening, I’ll meet family – parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephew – at St. Anthony’s, Fairfield.  Afterwards, we’ll head back to Anne’s house, my elder sister, […]