Macca

The selection of Finn looks an inspired one .... and England have come to play. Need the middle order to stand up

2 - 18 ... nice delivery by Finn and a good catch by Cook. Pitch has a bit of life in it too ... reckon you're right Cards - could be a terrific test match.

Thought I might post up all the playoff highlights ... a couple at a tiime up until the preseason starts (which kicks off in earnest on Friday August 14th - oz time) There is an earlier game coinciding with the hall-of fame weekend (Minnesota @ Pittsburgh) but all the teams are in action from mid August. The NFL have posted up all these games in HD on youtube which the below links will take you - the highlights can be "full screened" as well ... 1 of 11 ... wild-card Cardinals @ Panthers 2 of 11 ... wild-card - Ravens @ Steelers

I think you're right dp ... haven't seen all of the last 2 stages but apparently Froome withstood a number of challenges. Quintana looks to be the only one with any sort of chance but Froome seems to have him covered. Tonight's stage is a short one and they've just started out ... category 1 climb right from the get-go! Live coverage from the official site SBS.com tour tracker

Current standings Rest day tonight but then it's 4 days in the Alps ... Stage 17 Preview ... Profile ... Stage 18 Preview ... Profile ... Stage 19 Preview ... Profile ... Stage 20 Preview ... Profile ...

It seems Geoffrey is none too happy ... here's his column from the Telegraph ... Ashes 2015: There's no shame in losing to a better team like Australia. It is shameful to bat way England did ... and here's the BBC podcast of day 4 of the 2nd test ... England Collapse to Catastrophic Defeat

... and it's only a matter of time now you'd reckon (mind you, my predicted outcomes during this test have been more than a trifle astray ) I should just post in hindsight ... much easier that way although a little boring. The consensus over there is that the game has been and will be decided by whoever won the toss and decided to bat first. So if the England hierarchy have had an influence on how the pitches have been prepared (so far) then it may have backfired. If*, as expected, Australia go on and win this test, then we might expect the next deck at Edgbaston to have a lot more life in it (England would need a "result" wicket) Anyway, here's another BBC podcast for those who might be interested ... this time, Michael Vaughan with an hour long phone-in from day 3 *Rain might help England or they might bat their socks off in their 2nd innings and save the game (there is a small amount of rain forecast but more of a negligible amount)

Puts a new angle on "The Postman always rings twice" hey? ... What a complete nutter - 80 kgs of "post" seems a tad high, all the same. Anyway, you're right with your summation of how the race is heading JJ - the only bit I'll add is that Froome still has to carry out what shouldn't be too much of an ask for him. Stages 17 through to 20 are all in the Alps and all 4 of them are difficult as far as I can make out ... previously we've seen 3 tough stages in a row in the Alps but I'm not sure that they've been 3 of the last 4 stages. So ... it's possibly the toughest finish to a tour we've ever seen. The other thing to remember is that some of Froome's rivals are so far back they've got no alternative but to attack. I'll post up the profiles and previews of the 4 Alp's stages next Tuesday (assuming they all fit in one post)

Order is restored by the looks of it .... hard to see us not winning this test from this position BBC podcast day 2 (includes Geoff Boycott's summary and an interview with Mitch Johnson)

Deep Purple with "Black Night" (and the story behind the origins of the song)

Bit tougher today ... 87 runs only in that session. Smith looks at ease out there ... a fine player who seems untroubled by circumstances surrounding him. "Greg Chappell like" in that respect. Voges goes but we're building a large total.

Clarke might come up with a sporting declaration to open up the game. More so the time factor rather than an amount of runs.

Ha! Unfortunately our footy club is in it's own special category when it comes to ideal outcomes. I've learnt over the years to have tempered ambitions and reasonably low expectations. It's the only way I can deal with it! As for the cricket ... the state of a wicket can change expectations as well ... the Warner dismissal is a bit irrelevant now in the whole scheme of things. Graeme Swann compared the track to one he might expect in Nagpur.

If the match turns into a draw it brings us back to square one (apart from getting a bunch of batsmen some runs in the bank) Getting 20 wickets on this deck might be easier said than done - much might depend on Lyon. Fingers crossed! .

Yep, we couldn't have asked for a better result for day 1 - to only be one wicket down is a remarkable outcome. Now to press for victory - the pitch is a very good one for batting but a large score allows Clarke to attack. Haven't heard the following podcast yet but I'm sure Geoffrey Boycott has some complimentary things to say about the Aussies (and perhaps some not-so-nice things to say about England's efforts) ... BBC 5 live Ashes Report - Day 1

Yep, there's a lot of runs in this wicket and we need to take advantage. Getting to lunch only 1 down is a big plus. .

Glad you're confident mate ... the Poms will be, that's for sure. A bit surprised that Lehmann described the first test debacle as a "hiccup" ... did we win even one session in Cardiff? Nevill is playing his first test and he may be more worried about not making a mistake. There's pressure on Voges to perform - he doesn't get the same luxury of patience that a younger player would get ... he was brought in to make runs from the get-go and the time is nigh. Mitch Marsh is playing his first test in England and it won't be easy for him either. I reckon he's got a lot to offer but unlike Voges, we need to be patient with Mitch. If our top order doesn't perform, we could easily go 2 nil down. Bayliss has got England playing with confidence and aggression. I still believe we can win of course but we'll need a number of things to go our way.

I reckon England will be happier with Nevill & Mitch Marsh in the side as opposed to Watson & Haddin ... we've lost a lot of experience in one hit and suddenly our middle order and late middle order looks suspect . Clark is still a bit more vulnerable at 4 rather than 5 and a batting order of Voges, Marsh and then Nevill is hardly going to make England all that fearful. Make no mistake, they'll be going all out for a win and we'll need to bring our A game in order to win. Lose this and we can just about kiss the Ashes goodbye. The red herring is that Stokes & Wood are excellent exponents of reverse swing so their attack will once again be a handful. They bat deeper and have a settled side who know how to play in their home conditions. We were comprehensively outplayed in Cardiff and it will take a major turnaround for us to win this test. They've got their tails up and we need to improve big time. What is going to most interesting is the state of the pitch - the Aussies shouldn't be expecting a lively track - white, flat, dry & a bit on the dead side is my tip. Obviously hoping for the best but I can't say I'm all that confident.

Current standings Over the next 3 nights the riders venture into the Pyrenees ... 3 tough stages which should start sorting out the general classifications. Froome leads the way but the other notable riders in the race aren't all that far behind him. There's sure to be an attack or 2 over the next 3 nights (it should also be noted that we're in the Alps next week for another 4 tough stages) Preview stage 10 Preview stage 11 Preview stage 12 And here are the 3 profiles ...

The next test is in 5 days and we'd want to get our act together in a hurry - we seemed to have played as if we came in under prepared. We've been thoroughly outplayed on every day of this match (have we even won a session?) If Starc is out injured I reckon they'll play Cummins over Siddle (as long as Cummins is not too much of a risk due to a lack of match fitness) Siddle doesn't inspire but he does offer a decent line and length. We also need a 5th bowler with strike ability so Mitch Marsh may well be preferred over Watson. Edit: And Watto is out LBW again (and in the same way) - egads. I'm loathe to ever single out one player in a team sport but he'd now have to be facing the axe. However, I'm not convinced that Voges should be an automatic choice either. Also, it should be remembered that the selectors will often give any given player the first 2 tests of a series as a way of proving or establishing themselves. We haven't had too many players put their hand up in this test in all reality. We need to re-group and we need to do it quickly. .

History tells us that it's a tall order for the Aussies but I'd expect us to make at least 300 (which is only 112 runs short of the target) We'd need a lot of things to go in our favour and I suppose you just never know - England would have wanted to bat us out of the match and they haven't quite done that ... a 470-500 target would have been their preference. If we can get to 3-250 we're in with a chance - on this wicket, that's a bit of an ask.

We're looking at a largish deficit on the first innings now ... and obviously, we have to bat last on a wicket that may play lower and lower. The truth is we've been thoroughly outplayed thus far and it will take a huge turnaround to somehow get back into this match.

It's England's test to lose from here. We haven't batted or bowled well (so far) according to the condition of the pitch - far too impatient. Hopefully Watto and Haddin can put together a big partnership and our tail can make runs ... or we get lots of rain :-)

South Australian Rohan Dennis wins the time trial in record breaking style ... he may hold on to the yellow jersey for a while if the next few stages end up being decided by the sprinters (remembering that the riders don't hit the Pyrénées until stage 10) ... Tour de France: Next challenge for Rohan Dennis after time trial win - show he can climb

The Tour de France starts tonight as many are aware ... Froome and Quintana are joint favourites whilst Contador and Nibali are joint 2nd favourites. Rodriguez is an outside chance and Porte is at long odds as he's in the same Sky team as Froome. The course is reasonably flat until we get into the 2nd week when it really hots up ... before the last flat stage (stage 21), there are no fewer than 9 of the 11 prior stages that involve climbs ranging from extremely difficult to reasonably difficult. Many of those stages involve multiple climbs. So there's quite a lead in after an initial week and a half of basically flat stages. I'll post up some profiles in the 2nd week but here's the official site with the stage previews Also, here's the profile of the 3rd last stage (stage 19) ... the leading riders will have already completed 7 difficult stages from their last 9 completed stages before embarking on this one ...