Dave Warner - too big for his boots and I, for one, wouldn't be sad if I never saw him in the baggy green ever again.

Great captaincy from Clarke to put Watson on. Ball coming on well and the shorter man gets the LB.

Root tough to see if it's pad first or bat or both at the same time. No way it's conclusive evidence - should be out. Is out.

Little Joe gone! Harris bowling well which is good to see, I was worried he'd be well underdone.

Rhino again, this is a great start.

Lunch Day 1

England 3/80

J. Trott 34*

I. Bell 23*

A. Cook 12

R. Harris 2/21 (9)

S. Watson 1/12 (4)

A. Agar 0/5 (1)

Great first session, especially first hour by the Aussies, with a great bowling change made by Clarke bringing Watson on early. Fingers crossed for another 2 or 3 wickets in the next session at least.

Oh and in other news, Australia A 7/205 against Zimbabwe with Warner out for 6! Henriques and Maxwell have saved the 2nd Australian XI from a complete embarasment over there in Africa. Hope for Warner's sake he makes some runs in the 2nd innings or in the next match if he wants his spot back for the 3rd test.

Edit: from, not for.

Edited July 18, 201311 yr by Tall Defence

Australia A bowled out by Zimbabwe for 226!

M. Henriques 71

G. Maxwell 61

A. Doolan 35

And as I mentioned above, for those of you interested Dave Warner made 6. Australia A have about 25 overs to bowl at Zimbabwe tonight, so hopefully the likes of Pat Cummins and Fawad Ahmed can take a few wickets to keep some pressure on the lot over in England.

Pat Cummins takes possibly the first step in his long comeback from injury dismissing Sibanda from Zimbabwe with his 10th ball back!

Siddle bowling Bairstow just before tea off a no ball makes me want to tear my hair out!

On somewhat better news, Cummins has picked up his 2nd wicket to go with Josh Hazlewood, another up and coming pace bowler who's had his injury issues to have Zimbabwe at 4/49.

Tea on Day 1

England 4/183

I. Bell 62*

J. Trott 58

J. Bairstow 28*

R. Harris 3/28 (13)

S. Watson 1/22 (7)

A. Agar 0/22 (8)

Well that no ball by Siddle hurts, if he had of taken that you'd say it's break even, maybe even us slightly ahead, now it's possibly break even with them inching ahead. We need minimum two but hopefully closer to 4 wickets in this final session to finish the day off strong and put us in a good psoition heading into Day 2. England 8/270 sounds ok to me.

Meanwhile 6 overs out from stumps Australia A have Zimbabwe at 4/53

Pat Cummins 2/6 (6)

Josh Hazlewood 2/20 (9)

Fawad Ahmed 0/5 (2)

Good to see Cummins take a few wickets and seeing as Zimbabwe are also struggling maybe it's a difficult wicket over there?

Anyway I'm turning in with dreams of a big finish in the final session to the Aussies!

Stumps Day 1 in both matches

England 7/289

I. Bell 109

J. Bairstow 67

J. Trott 58

S. Smith 3/18 (6)

R. Harris 3/43 (20)

S. Watson 1/41 (12)

& in the other match

Australia A 226

M. Henriques 71

G. Maxwell 61

A. Doolan 35

K. Jarvis 4/54 (16)

E. Chigumbura 3/42 (11)

T. Chatara 2/49 (13.5)

Zimbabwe 5/82

M. Waller 19*

T. Maruma 16

V. Sibanda 15

P. Cummins 2/6 (6)

J. Hazlewood 2/20 (9)

F. Ahmed 1/17 (3.3)

As I mentioned earleir, it turns out that Siddle no ball when he bowled Bairtow has hurt a bit as he ended up making about another 40 odd runs, however on this wicket if you had of offered us 7/289 at stumps I reckon we'd of taken that as it looks a great batting wicket. Hopefully we can knock them over in the first hour for about 320, bat out the day and most of Day 3, make about 450 with a lead of 130odd and then really put the heat on England late Day 3 and heading into Day 4 as the pitch starts to become more difficult.

And good to see the Aussie A team in a reasonable position despite their soso batting performance. Very good to see both Cummins and Fawad Ahmed amongst the wickets especially!

pattinson looks a much better bowler when he is let loose

it seems the problem is hes trying to bowl to much line and length that's interfering with his natural ability to bowl wicket balls

Stumps Day 1 in both matches

England 7/289

I. Bell 109

J. Bairstow 67

J. Trott 58

S. Smith 3/18 (6)

R. Harris 3/43 (20)

S. Watson 1/41 (12)

& in the other match

Australia A 226

M. Henriques 71

G. Maxwell 61

A. Doolan 35

K. Jarvis 4/54 (16)

E. Chigumbura 3/42 (11)

T. Chatara 2/49 (13.5)

Zimbabwe 5/82

M. Waller 19*

T. Maruma 16

V. Sibanda 15

P. Cummins 2/6 (6)

J. Hazlewood 2/20 (9)

F. Ahmed 1/17 (3.3)

As I mentioned earleir, it turns out that Siddle no ball when he bowled Bairtow has hurt a bit as he ended up making about another 40 odd runs, however on this wicket if you had of offered us 7/289 at stumps I reckon we'd of taken that as it looks a great batting wicket. Hopefully we can knock them over in the first hour for about 320, bat out the day and most of Day 3, make about 450 with a lead of 130odd and then really put the heat on England late Day 3 and heading into Day 4 as the pitch starts to become more difficult.

And good to see the Aussie A team in a reasonable position despite their soso batting performance. Very good to see both Cummins and Fawad Ahmed amongst the wickets especially!

lets hope the wicket plays its best on day 2 & 3... & late on day 3, we get some of them out with the new ball... Pattinson is due.

pattinson looks a much better bowler when he is let loose

it seems the problem is hes trying to bowl to much line and length that's interfering with his natural ability to bowl wicket balls

I remember Lillee saying years ago to young bowlers coming into the test team... just bowl fast, hard & fast... & improve from there. I think a bit of menace wouldn't go astray. along with guile.

Stumps on Day 2 in both matches

England 1st Innings 361

I. Bell 109

J. Bairstow 67

R. Harris 5/72 (26)

S. Smith 3/18 (6)

Australia 1st Innings 128

S. Watson 30

M. Clarke 28

G. Swann 5/44 (21.3)

T. Bresnan 2/28 (7)

England 2nd Innings 3/31

J. Root 18*

A. Cook 8

P. Siddle 3/4 (5)

S. Smith 0/1 (1)

Well after what looked like a very good start quickly turned to disaster with yet another batting collapse. Watson & Hughes wasting reviews while Rogers didn't use one when he should of and copped a horrible decision. They really should hand over DRS to the 3rd umpire!

Will take a very good bowling effort followed by batting effort to pull off a miracle here. I'm hoping we can knock them over for under 190 and chase 420odd which would set a new record. A very long shot, but not totally out of possability!

Meanwhile, elsewhere at Stumps on Day 2:

Australia A 1st Innings 226

M. Henriques 71

K. Jarvis 4/54 (16)

Zimbabwe 1st Innings 142

M. Waller 25

F. Ahmed 4/54 (11.5)

Australia A 2nd Innings 156

A. Doolan 52

E. Chigumbura 4/26 (10)

Zimbabwe 2nd Innings 4/51 (Target 241)

H. Masakadza 35*

J. Hazlewood 2/10 (5)

Australia A seem to be in control there on what seems to be a pitch that's crumbling! Cummins up to match figures of 4/25 off 14 overs which is fantastic and it's also good to see Fawad Ahmed taking wickets! David Warner made 11 in the 2nd innings to go with his 6 in the first for those of you interested.

I reckon Australian cricket suffered a near death experience overnight. Our batting line up is like Melbourne's midfield - third world. We wasted the last couple of summers and failed to bring in a proper succession plan to replace the likes of Ponting and Hussey. Send Warner home, call up Doolan and (I'm doing a Caro here) sack Inverarity.

I reckon Australian cricket suffered a near death experience overnight. Our batting line up is like Melbourne's midfield - third world. We wasted the last couple of summers and failed to bring in a proper succession plan to replace the likes of Ponting and Hussey. Send Warner home, call up Doolan and (I'm doing a Caro here) sack Inverarity.

I thought the same thing about an MFC parallel. The results are similar too, gallant enough in defeat to give you some heart, followed up in the next match with a crushingly pathetic performance that makes you think there is just no hope. Jeez I'm tired of supporting rubbish sport teams.

in trouble and leadership is terrible

worries are

hughes, cant play spin, doesn't handle pill outside off stump, hates swinging nut.otherwise ok

lyon cant spin, cant bowl. cant bat

harris knee only comes up every 2nd test

rogers dunno, I will think of something, could be darky

kulwaja, should never been dropped, will be ok after 30 tests

Watson, sook

warner bigger sook, not good enough for tests

haddin backstop with 3 shots

Clarke, as sharp as a 2 dollar hooker

starc, trying to save test in india and he crossbat slogs

other than that we look pretty good

said before the series started and now mickey aurthor has backed it up

Watson , cancer in the team , has used DRS more than any player in world cricket.selfish bugger

Clarke nice bloke , FAIR batsmen, not a leader, cant control Watson or warner . poor example of leadership

lyon, cant spin

hughes, still has hole outside off stump, cant play spin, doesn't like swinging delivery, otherwise ok

kulwaja. was said by ACA , struggles to play spin, lacks confidence after being dropped 3 times already in career

haddin, nothing but a backstop, not a wicketkeepers bootlace. haS ONLY 3 SHOTS AND 2 of them are slogs

pattinson. captain has tried to harness a stallion. let him LOOSE

siddle , thanks mate

harris can only play limited amount on tour thanks ok

starc, fat head needs kick up blurter. went for slog with a batsmen at the other end in india as we tried to save test.

what to do. select a WICKETKEEPER. ludeman

put trust in a young batsmen and let him play 30 tests,

find a skipper

tell Watson and warner they are in charge of our 1 day and 20/20 team. their good at innings in the 40s

Edited July 20, 201311 yr by jazza

I reckon Australian cricket suffered a near death experience overnight. Our batting line up is like Melbourne's midfield - third world. We wasted the last couple of summers and failed to bring in a proper succession plan to replace the likes of Ponting and Hussey. Send Warner home, call up Doolan and (I'm doing a Caro here) sack Inverarity.

Hopefully Siddle and Harris can start to dig us out of that hole tonight. Then we need some sort of miracle to chase down the 400 (at least) that we'll probably be chasing.

I'm done with Shane Watson.

That review was 100% selfish, nothing else. He's a petulant boy who wants to be everything; he wants to open the batting, he wants to open the bowling, he wants to field at first slip, he wants to be captain, he wants to be everything.

We will go nowhere while he keeps opening the batting - you need more from your number 1 than 30s and 40s and 50s with no prospect of 100s and a constant worry of being out LBW, a flaw he's not been able to fix in 6 years.

Khawaja is terrible. The fact he's getting a game speaks volumes of our complete lack of batting depth. Smith and Hughes will occasionally give a good knock, but generally lack the technique to be consistent.

Rogers and Clarke are our only two Test-quality batsmen, with Clarke out of form and Rogers copping some really rough LBW decisions and good bowling.

Major, major struggle street.

Certainly is cause for concern. If this series ends up being an England whitewash which is still a possability and something many people predicted then changes should be made and for the start of the Australia leg. There's no point waiting till after the Ashes down here as after that we have a tour of South Africa, then Pakistan at a neutral venue and then a home series against India, so you may as well bite the bullet heading into this coming summer.

As others have mentioned, it may be time to cut loose some of our serial under performers who seem to cause issues within the team and say to the likes of Watson & Warner that they're ODI & T20 specialists from now on. On top of that thank some of the older player we brought back for this series like Haddin & Rogers but say we need to move forwards.

Bring in Jo Burns to bat at 3, bring George Bailey in as captain to bat at 4, throw Mitch Marsh into the deep end at 6 as an allrounder and bring in Tim Paine a keeper & vice captain. Our bowling line up can pretty much stay the same. That would then just leave the question of openers? Maybe give Hughes & Khawaja first crack at it, but keep a close eye on players like Nic Maddinson, Jordan Silk & Alex Doolan who could come into that role also.

Potential Australian XI for the GABBA Test:

Phil Hughes/Alex Doolan/Jordan Silk?

Usman Khawaja/Nic Maddinson?

Jo Burns

George Bailey*

Michael Clarke

Mitch Marsh

+Tim Paine

Ashton Agar

Peter Siddle

Ryan Harris

Jackson Bird

12th Man: James Pattinson/Pat Cummins/Micthell Starc

Edit: Added Silk

Edited July 20, 201311 yr by Tall Defence

tim paine , is the best keeper ,but his hands wont hold up for 5 days and back to back tests

amazing you say to change after this series, well many moons ago they wanted hayden out , so that a younger player could get some tests under his belt before a coming ashes series. ponting refused to let hayden be dropped and his last 10 tests were pitiful and stopped the selecters giving a young player 10 tests to learn the ropes before the ashes, the result has been ongoing for the last 7 YEARS and this team is still paying that price.

our captain has no balls and doesn't stand up to the bullies that surround him, that's why the dropping of katich was the worst thing in our last 7 years , he would have made a great leader and didn't take chit of anybody, yes a proven skipper

when ponting sided with Clarke over the lara affair it spelt the death knell not only for katich but Australian cricket

we wont be out of this hole for another 4 years at least

we will get the occasional hero to love for a month and that's about it

good strong batsmen who can handle all conditions take at least 35 tests to blossom, so it will take maybe 5 years to clear the decks of rubbish and find and teach the next lot

hold on and wait because this will get very painful

tim paine , is the best keeper ,but his hands wont hold up for 5 days and back to back tests

What are your grounds for claiming that? He had a lengthy time out, but for the latter half of the Shield season he was a regular feature. His form isn't much at the moment, but there's not much doubt about his fitness. I expect that within the next 12 months he'll be pressing for Test selection once again.

This article sums it up well, I think.

Certainly is cause for concern. If this series ends up being an England whitewash which is still a possability and something many people predicted then changes should be made and for the start of the Australia leg. There's no point waiting till after the Ashes down here as after that we have a tour of South Africa, then Pakistan at a neutral venue and then a home series against India, so you may as well bite the bullet heading into this coming summer.

As others have mentioned, it may be time to cut loose some of our serial under performers who seem to cause issues within the team and say to the likes of Watson & Warner that they're ODI & T20 specialists from now on. On top of that thank some of the older player we brought back for this series like Haddin & Rogers but say we need to move forwards.

Bring in Jo Burns to bat at 3, bring George Bailey in as captain to bat at 4, throw Mitch Marsh into the deep end at 6 as an allrounder and bring in Tim Paine a keeper & vice captain. Our bowling line up can pretty much stay the same. That would then just leave the question of openers? Maybe give Hughes & Khawaja first crack at it, but keep a close eye on players like Nic Maddinson, Jordan Silk & Alex Doolan who could come into that role also.

Potential Australian XI for the GABBA Test:

Phil Hughes/Alex Doolan/Jordan Silk?

Usman Khawaja/Nic Maddinson?

Jo Burns

George Bailey*

Michael Clarke

Mitch Marsh

+Tim Paine

Ashton Agar

Peter Siddle

Ryan Harris

Jackson Bird

12th Man: James Pattinson/Pat Cummins/Micthell Starc

Edit: Added Silk

Well you've pretty much thrown out the entire side. A bit OTT, maybe?

The players who, IMO, need to be replaced are Watson, Khawaja, Hughes and Smith. Problem is, we don't have enough batsmen in Australia to fill four spots at once.

Warner shouldn't play Test cricket again (not because of behaviour, but because he's simply not good enough). Cowan probably isn't good enough. Shaun Marsh I still rate, but he can't make the Australia A side at the moment. Maxwell and Henriques are those classic players Australia's been attempting to find for a while now - all-rounders who aren't good enough at either trade. Doolan made a 50 in the Australia A side and has made some runs, but he seems a limited batsman and hasn't done a whole lot to warrant selection.

Matthew Wade could be a left-field selection, as a batsman only. His batting is better than the four I mentioned above. Probably not the best move, but we're that short on batsmen it's not completely out of the question.

You could mount an argument that Clarke will be the only batsmen in this current squad who will return to England in 2015 (yes, we're back in England in 2 years time, not 4) ... Cricket - future tours

At some stage the selectors will have to bite the bullet and pick young batsmen with good techniques and temperament (big runs would be handy as well but the first 3 bits of criteria are very important)

In the last 5 years we've been picking old blokes with good technique and temperament (North, Cowan, Rogers) or young blokes without good technique or temperament. (Hughes, Warner and Smith have technique issues whilst Khawaja and Shaun Marsh have temperament issues)

The selectors need to identify the young batsmen with good technique and temperament and give them a good go at it. Doolan, Maddinson, Burns, Silk and Mitch Marsh could easily be given some opportunities. Obviously not all at once but over a period of 18 months to 2 years. There are no doubt others in the mix.

The current batting line-up is taking us nowhere. Rogers is a good player but he's too old. Watson is not a test opener and might survive if his bowling holds up. Hughes, Warner, Khawaja and Smith (see above) and Cowan is too old. The only older player who stands out is Bailey (he adds badly needed leadership)

One of our biggest issues is our batsmen's ability to play spin. Swann didn't bowl all that well last night but he picked up 5 wickets. He'll probably do much the same in the 2nd innings.

As an aside, here are our batsmen from the '85 campaign.

Wood

Hilditch

Wessels

Border

Welham

Boon

Ritchie

Matthews and Phillips were used in the top 6 or 7 as well.

We've been here before and it took Border, Simpson and a totally revamped batting line-up before we returned to power again.

I'm done with Shane Watson. That review was 100% selfish, nothing else. He's a petulant boy who wants to be everything; he wants to open the batting, he wants to open the bowling, he wants to field at first slip, he wants to be captain, he wants to be everything. We will go nowhere while he keeps opening the batting - you need more from your number 1 than 30s and 40s and 50s with no prospect of 100s and a constant worry of being out LBW, a flaw he's not been able to fix in 6 years. Khawaja is terrible. The fact he's getting a game speaks volumes of our complete lack of batting depth. Smith and Hughes will occasionally give a good knock, but generally lack the technique to be consistent. Rogers and Clarke are our only two Test-quality batsmen, with Clarke out of form and Rogers copping some really rough LBW decisions and good bowling. Major, major struggle street.

It seemed only yesterday that Khawaja was a young, up and coming gun. Now he's 26 and hopeless. Where's George Bailey at the moment?