The Panglossian

The umpires have high-pitched, squeaky voices!

Only vague memories, Tim. Please remind me who hit him that time.(was it that rough StKilda ruckman who later played for us? I can't think of his name)

Smith got crunched lots of times, and Lockett might have done it, but I think you might be thinking of Sean Wight, who stood in the hole,yards in front of Plugger, on the MCG. Lockett knew he was too late to spoil, so ran full pelt , both knees up , and crashed his back. I reckon it was worth 4 weeks, but the ump didn't even give him 50 m. It ranked with Judd's efforts , as one of the most vicious assaults I've seen on the footy field.

His Dad was one of the most gutsy players I've seen......not just a spectacular mark.He was prepared to stand in "the hole" and be crashed by the on rushing pack, time and time again( a bit like Steven Icke.

Looks like David Schwarz. Plays like Todd Viney ! Keep it up!! There's a touch of Josh Kennedy(Swan) there , too.Perhaps he learnt from him 2 weeks ago.

I reckon we'd have won but for the 11 from Johnsons first ball. No balls must be avoided at all cost.

I saw Lyon at the movies a couple of weeks ago. He was with his sons. They looked pretty porky...not like sportsmen at all. They're by Lyon from Brett Lovett's sister, correct? Perhaps they've inherited Brett's body shape. I hope they can play like him or the Loin chop!

Did anyone else hear Freddie Flintoff drop the C... word when he failed to put away a loose ball while batting in the BBL last night? Mark Waugh and Gilly tried to cover it up humorously by saying "yes, he said he tried to CUT that one , didn't he" ! I don't know how they managed not to burst out laughing.

I had no work on Thurs am so I stayed up. When I went to bed at 3.15, I couldn't get to sleep because my heart was still pounding!There was huge irony when Phillander was given not out caught at short leg, because his hand was adjudged by the third ump to not be in contact with the bat when the ball hit his thumb. We lost the (?2005 or 2009)Ashes because Kasprowicz was given out caught behind when his hand wasn't on the bat, and we only needed about 2 to win! It looked like we were going to not win this series ,due to the DRS preventing this error from being repeated. However it wasn't clear enough from multiple replays, to overturn the umpire's decision , in my opinion. With 4 overs to go, and two wickets to get, it was hard to be optimistic. The bowlers looked so tired. I was cursing the time wasted the previous day when Doolan couldn't hit it off the square. Also the time lost due to rain early in the Test, which wasn't entirely made up for by the early starts . I also felt Clarke under -bowled Smith.What did it matter if he served up some tripe and got belted? We had so many runs to spare.

Great article by Chris Cordner in the Age today ,criticizing the Australian Test team for their sledging and general behaviour. I agree with him that we can beat the English without this boorish larrikinism. In fact, I think sledging increases the steely resolve of the opposition ,usually. Let's pretend we're nice guys to Steyn, Morkel, Philander etc. They won't have the broken morale the Englishmen displayed when things started going against them for a change.

Hey Biff, what's Wade's MFC connection?Does he barrack for the Dees? If so, I can't help but hope he becomes Haddin's replacement,though I hope that's not too soon. Haddin has really improved his keeping in his thirties, so it's not too late for Wade.

Absolutely right, WYL.And I reckon it was a gutless decision by Clarke, with our collapse for 98 last Ashes Boxing Day at the forefront of his mind. He saw the clouds and a bit if moisture in the pitch and didn't have the confidence in his batsmen to tough it out for a session then benefit from the huge advantage of RUNS ON THE BOARD. We might still win this game, but it will take a heroic effort, instead of cruising to a trouncing like in the first three tests.

Oh no!

Let's hope we win the toss again, bat first again, and storm to 4 nil, with Warner smashing a ton in a big partnership with Rogers. We have to make up for that debacle in the last Boxing Day Ashes Test......what a huge disappointment that was!

Are you saying that Jonathon is a distant relative of the 19th century Trotts? Where did you hear that? Interesting!

Perhaps Harry Trott was shell-shocked?No I just googled him,and he finished cricket long before WW1. His brother Albert committed suicide 4 years after retiring from cricket. You're not referring to Marcus Trescowthick trotting back home , are you?

I reckon one of the crucial decisions in the first Test was Clarke's courageous choice to bat first. There always appears to be greenness in first morning wickets, tempting captains to bowl. But if you get runs on the board....even an average total, the pressure goes firmly on the opposition. Also, prior to the game we all thought England had the superior spinner, so batting first was a good idea. One slightly worrying point is that Rogers, Watson, Bailey and Smith didn't succeed with the bat(though Rogers was involved in a 60-odd opening partnership in the 2nd dig.) We can't always rely on Haddin and Johnson with the bat, though it looks like Clarke and Warner are in for a good series. I watched a bit of Dooland on Cricket Australia TV. He looks technically sound and reliable. Did anyone notice how much Cook and Carberry struggled against Siddle at the start of the 2nd innings. ?Both were very lucky to survive.

Farad Ahmed 5/58 so far.....cleaning up WA tail. ?? a chance for Brisbane Test!?

I' d like to have a word to the Pom selectors,and earnestly request them to include Jayde Dernbach in their Ashes squad. Leave out Jimmy Anderson and pick Jayde!!!!!!!!

Mattie Wade has the happy knack of escaping criticism. It's no surprise when he drops a catch or misses a stumping, since he fumbles so often in the normal run of play. If you watch him closely, you'll see his head jerk upwards when the ball bounces, unlike top class keepers, whose heads remain still. He's a good no.7 or 8 batsman at test level , with a terrifically flexible game(attack or defence). I haven't seen enough of Paine, Hartley or (can't remember the NSW 2nd keeper behind Haddiin......ex Victorian.....bats well too....how old is he.?) We need a better keeper in England. Just thought of the NSW keeper.....Peter Neville. Went OK as a batsman when Haddin returned to the side, too. And what a great slip fielder!

I'm a disillusioned Victorian supporter. I think we have a captain with very low intelligence. What a catastrophic decision to send Tassie in on a perfect pitch, when all our fast bowlers were out injured, and we had the best (?only) spinner in the match. I think it was a gutless decision. White saw a bit of greenness in the track, thought about Hilfenhaus, and tried for the easy option. He does it over and over again. There is no inspiration or leadership skill in his demeanour. And he's too scared to bowl himself, even after getting 3 for 4. He just made enough runs at the end of the season to get another contract after a shocking first two thirds of the season. I say drop him, and make McDonald captain if he's fit again next year.

Oh Dear, Macca. Not a good weekend for Demon and Hammer supporters. Lucky we're used to it! I think we might have been getting ahead of ourselves! A bit like Ratten complaining about winning 13 and not making the Finals!!

Thanks Macca. But I am really worried about how we'll go against the South Africans.Hope you're right! Didn't remember you're a Hammers man! But Chelsea have already won two...and they're ahead of us in the alphabet,so won't they be above us?

Great to see the Poms losing the series, and no. 1 status overnight. But really, they didn't do badly. That South African side must rank with the best ever teams. What a bowler is Steyn!! Yet Philander is overshadowing him by far! Morkel is good, and Kallis has 280 test wickets. Meanwhile, "Tahir Jack" is an excellent leggie, with great control and a good wrong'un. Their batting is top class with Kallis an all time great. The Poms did well to get so close. We'll struggle against both of them! I'm amazed we're no.3 in the world.....and only a point behind England!

??????? Your article says he's moved to SA to boost his chances of playing more Test Cricket Disappointing result overnight. Clarke elected to bowl on a perfect pitch with a wet ball. Our batsmen were under pressure from the first over. D Hussey was bit stiff....bat to helmet to stumps!