dee-luded

we're not a top side Yet. but on the right track, thanks to smart decisions by Robin Boof & Co. they had this one right as well. they summed up the wicket better than anyone else & played the right cards from our current hand. I think we can have more belief in (Robin - the earl of hunting-ton) Boof, & his Merry Men, than the onfield team itself. Next test - SCG prepare to be shorn Englishmen. lookout for our next Ashes visit back to Nottingham, & Sherwood Forest.... ode to Boof > http://www.televisiontunes.com/Adventures_of_Robin_Hood_(The).html Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood He called the greatest archers to a tavern on the green They vowed to help the people of 'Our' king They handled all the troubles from this English Country side And still found plenty of time to sing! Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men Feared by the bad, loved by the good Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood He came to Sherwood Forest with a feather in his cap A fighter never looking for a fight His bow was always ready, and he kept his arrows sharp He used them fighting for what was right Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men Feared by the bad, loved by the good Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood With Friar Tuck and Little John they had a roguish look They did the deed the others wouldn't dare. We captured all the money on the English Country scene And still found plenty of time to sing Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men Feared by the bad, loved by the good Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood signed kerrry O'Keeeffe

happy WYL? justified imo.

totally agree with your future *3's skillset. I think its a special mindset for that pivotal spot, true grit is a must but also grafting runs as well as being able to be a fluent stroke-player all around. Warner has all the shots but has to prove his temperament for the spot. IMO he has the mojo for the role but needs to mature into it. I think Watto plays his best as opener against the quicks. but he's starting to look better balanced on his feet. however I'd rather him finish in the middle order,,, but play now @ *1. I'd prefer Warner to be exposed to the spinners @ *3 & later, than Watto. my order for the next 2 Yrs would be > Watto Rogers* Warner Clark Smith Bailey* Haddin Johnson ********** ********** ********** * openings for future kids

I'd look at openers as Rogers & also Bailey are short termers,,, as is Clark, in real terms with his back. Our middle order is sound, so I would look at the very top of order first. And have Warner as a 3rd opener to support any fails,,, with Clark, Smith & Bailey to follow up. .. however I think Watto will be OK, & it may be Clark who needs to rest his back before O/S. then move everyone down one spot, up to Smith.

The only place I'd consider Hughes now is in the middle order maybe a replace Bailey, but I think bailey brings a sturdy competative attitude to the team, as a mature leader in the team, Re culture. Hughes maybe is too much Gen Me??? Hoadley's violet crumble. Hughes only offers quick scoring, I'd rather Watto, Johnson, & Warner.

re watching & reading cricket, I stopped since late in Pontings time as leader. I just didn't like the way the team was heading, there was a lack of aussie-ness & aggression or something, which turned me off. lost me. but now I'm back onboard, it has to be something Re the leadership.

I think they've said Harris will Not play all Ashes tests, so he'll miss in Sydney, & Faulkner is ready I think. @ 12th man. they may rest a Watson or Clark If necessary. health? Hughes to me has run his race, as has khawaja for a while. they don't seem to have the grit for a 5 day game IMO. Is there an opener around Macca... if Watto is unfit, they could bring in a untried opener & play Warner at first drop. the next test is the right time to try out a kid bat Pre Africa. I like Smith atmo at 5, & Clark @ 4 for the moment, but in maybe 12 months or so's time, they could maybe be switched? I get the feeling Smith can bat higher some day.

I think Faulkner's coming in for Harris. And maybe now, Watson or even Clark may miss, depending on fitness. but Not both at once. imo there is no coincidence Watto is @ 1st slip. I sense he's a highly valued thinker, & get breakthroughs with the ball. he seems to be well thought of, by this clever team management. IMO 3 isn't his natural spot, but he's the best atmo, as long as Warner is opening. I'd switch them at some stage. the bowling attack is really blossoming under Boof & his entourage. I think the batsmen will to, but will take longer to recover from our recent past, than our bowlers have. Mitch Johnson is bowling great, IMO a product of a few things he's done. his core strength work, the mental & motivational things he's done, as well as the work he's done with DKL & Terry Alderman. not to mention the management of billy & boof. the core strength work seems evident in his runup, looks odd but is working. his endurance is key. Siddle is running in different imo??? reminds me a little of billy the kids runup? I think they have Sids doing a different role than his past. I like the thinking that seems to be going on in our strategies, the style our bowlers are taking, & their differing roles. working a treat.

great post macca. I think that if our weakness is our top order, & if the poms strength is their bowling attack on pitches that aid them (anderson), then this holding up pitch may have swayed the decision to Not bat first. also, our strength is having pommy bats on the defensive from our bowling attack... so we bowl first on a pitch thought to not suit our batsmen. the proof of all this now (batting 2nd) will show itself tomorrow, if we bat with composure & intelligence.

i think we have, he's opening.

bounce & the ball coming thru off hard pitches. the poms didn't like having less moments to (intuitively) play their shots, & australians prefer the ball coming onto the bat, instead of holding up off the pitch. this is why in our first session with the ball, the medium pace was king, & johnson struggled. after lunch as the pitch surface hardened up, the ball was more responsive off the surface. we got wickets again. Watson's been handy on the slow pitch. it seems that after lunch, this pitch has coughed up wickets. imo the poms prefer softer seaming wickets to bowl on, we like concrete. I doubt this wicket will brakeup inside the 5 days.

hiding our top order

I agree nasher, & in my mind the ball coming off the pitch slower with less bounce then the earlier tests is closer to English conditions, & suits them more than Brisbane. Our strength has been bowling them out cheaply & having them under the pump. but on this wicket where the ball isn't coming on as well, our bats look pressed to score freely. as well as their bowling strategy.. comes back to what Bill & Tubby say, keep rotating the strike & grab the singles, spread the field, & the runs will grow.

its not the wicket WYL, its the letdown of Australia's batsmen after collaring the Ashes. the bowlers were off yesterday in the first session as well. Warners dismissal? Watson's I haven't seen yet. & the others?

a very poignant image to keep lodged in mind, & those slightly out of focus, Re our teams future.

I reckon back in the days of Lillee & Thomo, with lots of standing room in the outer crowds got bigger than 91,000 ... and the noise & atmosphere was brilliant back then. Fee Fi Fo Fum

Oh right, let me think about your comment again. I assume you mean it wasn't his decision, but he did what was put to him. IMO, thats why he said he wanted to lose the toss. and "can't believe I'm going to say this", cooky you can have a bat, & we'll field. great decision Clarky.

missed it dc, what happened. i went to work outside @ tea.

RyanO ! what a bowler. great control to swing it either way on call.

Watto, one out, one in, ta'ta. the medium pace balls are doing the trick so far. lets see when the wicket hardens up.

Mr Siddle! maybe after lunch when the sun bakes the surface, Johnson will get some more bounce.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/cricket/graeme-swanns-nan-blames-nasty-aussies-20131224-2zv4m.html the truth is out there Graeme Swann's nan blames nasty AussiesGraeme Swann's grandmother has blamed unwelcoming Australians for the spinner's sudden retirement and said something "nasty" must have happened to convince the England star to turn his back on the Ashes. Swann quit cricket after the third Test defeat as Australia reclaimed the Ashes, ending an international career which had yielded 255 wickets for the off-spinner. "There is something gone wrong there and I blame the Australian players. Not all the Australian players, a certain one," Mina Swann, 89, told The Journal newspaper in Newcastle, England. "I do not think they have been [made] very welcome, the team. He is not easily upset, there is something nasty happened." Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/graeme-swanns-nan-blames-nasty-aussies-20131224-2zv4m.html#ixzz2oMCywPwp

Dismal dismissal of the Poms they've imploded, got ahead of themselves when they weren't really that good anyway, but they thought they were. When the chips were down in the hot Aussie Sun, they fried like seagull shitt on the bitumen. Pretenders who only looked good in front of truly out of sorts Aussie team under internal siege. We on the other hand are back on the improvement plane. A way to go but just taking off. * the Poms, Bell as suggested imo has to Bat @ 3, & IMO after this series, should be readied to take over the captaincy shortly down the track. Cook is too conservative & goes into his shell. Pietersen has to bat in the middle order, or out the door. they've got to find a keeper who has real grit. And root the number 4 spot inplace. which would allow pietersen @ 5.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/rebecca-wilson-michael-clarke-finally-grows-into-leadership-of-australia-test-team/story-fndpt0dy-1226787781586 Michael Clarke finally grows into leadership of Australia Test team BEFORE this Ashes series began, a number of Australian players were quietly complaining about the captaincy of Michael Clarke. They weren't alone. Clarke had been the subject of much vilification since he took over from the adored Ricky Ponting. You would have read in this column my various misgivings about the Australian skipper - that he was too worried about himself to be a great captain and was not a genuine team man in the Tubby Taylor or Ian Chappell ilk. His media conferences were as dour as the team's performances on the field, with the Homeworkgate affair in India a lowpoint. Players suspended, vice-captain Shane Watson among them, with Watson quitting the tour to return to Austalia for the birth of his first child. When the regime change saw off Arthur and brought in coach Darren Lehmann, Clarke was relieved of his duties as a selector. It's my understanding that Clarke never wanted to be a selector, a role thrust upon him in the ill-fated Argus review. Thankfully, the Argus review has gone the same way as Mickey Arthur and now, in Boof Lehmann, Clarke has the support of a coach who would die for the team. That he's no longer a selector now means he can stand among his team mates as an equal. The game changer came in the first Test in Brisbane when he threatened to break Jimmy Anderson's arm. The sledge was not meant to be heard and the do-gooders out there were highly critical of the language used. Most Australians, however, absolutely lapped it up. Finally, the captain had shown some ticker away from the bat. He had stuck up for his team mates when they had been sledged within an inch of their lives by an England team used to winning and getting away with it. The uproar that ensued led to an apology from Channel Nine. The producers should have actually sent out a media release pre-empting an Ashes annihilation by the Australian team. This was the moment Michael Clarke had arrived as captain. Since then, Clarke's entire demeanour has changed. His voice is louder and clearer, his eyes stare directly at the person who asked the question and his team mates can't stop hugging each other, or him. You get the feeling they are all mates now, bonded by two years on the scrap heap, when they were let down by flawed rotations systems and a previous coach who stuck too rigidly to the rule book. Cricket Australia will no doubt take credit for the Ashes victory. They will try to tell us that those terrible systems, invented by sports scientists, were the reason we won the series. What really happened is that the players themselves, led by Clarke and Lehmann, went out there and did it for each other. Lehmann told CA the rotation system was over, probably in the same language Clarke used on Anderson. http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/rebecca-wilson-michael-clarke-finally-grows-into-leadership-of-australia-test-team/story-fndpt0dy-1226787781586