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 […]
Ricky
December 31, 2010 by 9 Comments
He would skip across the rope would Ricky, a spritely, cocky and confident skip, a skip that took him from Ricky the man to Ricky the captain, Ricky the cricketer, and often Ricky the saviour. It’s only a small piece of rope that separates the two Rickys but it must be that Ricky wishes it […]
Out of the Ashes…
December 30, 2010 by 15 Comments
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 […]
Rebuilding the Australian team
December 29, 2010 by 5 Comments
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 […]
Australia flogged
December 29, 2010 by 14 Comments
I spent the last few overs of the Australian debacle that was the third day of the Melbourne Test Match standing at the southern end behind the rampant Barmy Army. They were loving it. Next to me was a solemn man in a heavy metal T-shirt. I didn’t recognize the name of the band but […]
Andrew Starkie’s Ashes Diary (10)
December 28, 2010 by 1 Comment
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 […]
Boxing Day and the Damage Done
December 28, 2010 by 6 Comments
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, […]
Bullet dodged, England dominate
December 27, 2010 by 3 Comments
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 […]
Boxing Day Blog
December 26, 2010 by 52 Comments
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 […]
ASHES DIARY- Entry 9
December 24, 2010 by 4 Comments
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, […]
The Resurrection of Mitch and Mike
December 21, 2010 by 3 Comments
In the three days and fifty minutes of play that encapsulated the Perth test, we received startling affirmation of two of the hoariest cricketing truths of all; firstly, that it is a team game heavily reliant on individual performance; and that so much of the game is played in the mind. Though they played unevenly […]
Throwing away the script
December 20, 2010 by 5 Comments
by Dave Bruce The story of what passed for Day 4 of the 3rd test in Perth was that Australia polished off the last five demoralised and unmotivated English batsmen in 10 quick overs to close out a win that was all but assured at the start of the day. However, I reckon there was […]
Andrew Starkie’s Ashes Diary (8)
December 19, 2010 by 1 Comment
ASHES DIARY Entry 8 Saturday December 18, 2010 Human nature is a funny thing; and we are equally funny creatures. Confidence is that elusive, yet essential ingredient for success in life and sport. We can spend our lives coveting, chasing, gaining, and losing it again. Confidence can turn Alastair Cook, averaging 30 for the year […]
Back from the dead
December 18, 2010 by 1 Comment
3rd Ashes Test WACA Ground by Steve Ingham Day 2 Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated. Written by Mark Twain more than a century ago, but he could very well have been peering into the future and writing a press release for Mitchell Johnson. 10 days ago when left out of the Adelaide Test, […]
The Mitch is back (and he’s remembered to pitch up…)
December 18, 2010 by 4 Comments
by Andrew Gigacz It was interesting to hear Mitch Johnson, in an interview after his great performance at the WACA yesterday, say that the biggest difference between his bowling at the Gabba and at Perth was his follow-through. He said he’d been falling away too early but was now going right through after his delivery. […]
Andrew Starkie’s Ashes Diary (7)
December 17, 2010 by 2 Comments
ASHES DIARY Entry 7 Friday December 17, 2010 In a reflection of how confidently England are travelling, Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bowl on a green, yet firm Perth pitch expected to reward batsmen prepared to dig in and weather an early barrage. Nassar Hussain was heard yelling from the commentary box: […]
Third Test, Day 1: Australia Plays WACA Test Cricket
December 17, 2010 by 5 Comments
Australia Plays WACA Test Cricket by Peter Flynn On a much-welcomed sporting first day pitch that contained a greenish tinge and provided appreciable (but not quite back to the halcyon days) WACA bounce, Australia were invited by England captain Strauss to collapse first with the bat. They promptly and predictably did so. Just after lunch, […]
Third Test – Day 1: Shocking, Australia
December 17, 2010 by 6 Comments
Sadly, we have all played in sports team like the current Australian Test cricket side: really, really bad ones. I remember the summer of 1979-80, my first in men’s cricket. Big cricket, where the ball whistled, and slips catches knocked you over, and blokes (like Metropolitans skipper Alan Ward, a former English Test quick) sledged […]
Why I love the Perth Test
December 16, 2010 by 15 Comments
by Steve Fahey As a young boy in Melbourne in the early 1970s, Perth seemed a world away and too distant to even be in the same country. But I was glad it was, because it meant that DK Lillee, Rod Marsh and their facial hair were on OUR team. My first memory of cricket […]
Ashes Blog – Third Test, Perth
December 16, 2010 by 102 Comments
Is there any way back for Australia in this series? Or should they be resigned to the possibility of several years in the cricketing wilderness? Is there any hope at all of Australia winning in Perth? And just how many more “Beer” puns can we come up with? Your thoughts, please…
Recent Comments