Macca

Yep and in the case with Burns, he's been given a taste of the big time. What happens with Burns from now is up to Joey himself - he got picked on spec so he's obviously got something ... he can now go back to shield or Australia A level and hopefully get better - and he's young enough to get better too. Martyn, Langer, Hayden and many others had to fight their way back in after being initially picked on spec. It's been that way going all the way back to Bradman and beyond - and it works. Khawaja is another who can get back - he's also currently on that Australia A tour in India. Jordan Silk is another with prospects. It's not all doom and gloom as the so-called experts keep telling us. In fact, I'd wager that the system we have in place is much the same as it's always been. It's more that people just have less knowledge because it's not in their face. The selectors job is to look further than just the numbers - I'd compare it to evaluating a top rate draftee in footy - there are no guarantees yet sometimes they can hit the jackpot. Re the bowling - Starc and Hazlewood still have a few kinks to iron out but there's a big upside with both of them. Cummins and Pattinson look to have bright futures too (if they can remain fit) Mitch Marsh & Nevill both need a decent go at it and I wouldn't rule a line through Maxwell either - temperament is his issue and that can be learnt. As for the current series, who knows where it takes us from here? Trying to make predictions is pure guesswork Anderson might be out for the remainder of the series with that side strain and if that's the case, they'll really miss him - and our batsmen would be relieved too (if he was to miss)

I'm not against picking older blokes per se but we shouldn't put ourselves in a position where we are forced to use 4 or 5 new players in the top 7 because of the general age of the team - it's not like these aging cricketers are all all-time greats. It should be more of a gradual process - rotating young talent through the no.5 batting position is one way of doing things - the all-rounder traditionally takes up the no.6 spot but there would have been nothing wrong with batting Mitch Marsh behind Haddin as a softer intro. I was surprised to see Brad left out of this test - not because of what Warnie and others said, more so that without him, our middle order and late middle order looks vulnerable (and this isn't just an ordinary series - it's the ashes) .

5 of the top 7 in the team (from the first test) are either finished, finishing up, never should have been picked in the first place or possibly coming to the end prematurely. It's time to rebuild the batting side of things as we have traditionally done - picking old blokes just because they've made a few runs at shield level is fraught with danger. Just about all of our top batsnen over the years were picked on spec and picked when they were relatively young - fact Most of these top players were NEVER "bangin' down the door" - another fact. Bancroft just made 150 against India A and he's a 22 opening batsman from WA - the average punter would never have heard of him because other forms of first class cricket are not in our face anymore ... there are a number of other promising young players out there if people could be bothered looking. .

Advantage England ... we had them 7 for 190 but Moeen & Broad have swung it back in their favour. Minimum 370 required by us when we bat again (that would give us a 225 lead) Ideally we make in excess of 400 ... however, we'll almost certainly need one of our batsman to dig in and make a big hundred to get to that sort of figure.

Yep, sometimes the ball can act "strangely" but that was decidedly odd

Lyon 3 for 3 off 3 overs in 3 spells. That's gotta be some sort of record.

Starc in particular and then he picks up a wicket - he's a bit like that. His height and pace and the fact that he's a left armer means he can still pick up a wicket even when he's not bowling well. Mitch Marsh looks a likely type - nice movement away. The game is evenly poised - they'd want to be at least 150 ahead after the first innings - if it's only a 100 odd, we're back in it.

Ha! ... and another one goes 6/86 - egads! I've readjusted down to 160 -180 odd but it's "trending" downwards ... Johnno might get amongst 'em (we'll need him to)

Yep, Rogers has been tremendous .. there's another big score for him here if he can get through the first half hour after lunch. You'd think we'd need at least 250 but if we get 300+ we'll hold the advantage - need Voges, Marsh and Nevill to all contribute though. Looking forward to seeing Johnson on this deck but we'll need to give our bowlers some runs to play with.

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. .