WORLD CUP/ASHES - TALK ABOUT CRICKET RIGHT HERE!

[AussieSteve]

The 1st Test looks well poised after 3 days with the Aussies needing to make 412 in 2 full days to win. Day 4 will be crucial as I hear the weather forecast for Sunday is not good!

[TheBoy]

Indeed, it's been very good start to the series so far. You'd normally say 412 is going to be hard to reach, but with two days left (weather permitting) on a decent pitch, it's not out of the question. England will want early wickets to put pressure on but if any of Warner, Rogers, Smith or Clarke can get a couple of hundreds, it will be England who start to get twitchy.

[AussieSteve]

Congrats to the England team on an impressive victory in the 1st Ashes Test. The Aussies were underwhelming for most of the match. Now to Lord's this week for the 2nd Test where anything could happen & probably will

[TheBoy]

I have to say Steve, I was gob-smacked at the result of the first Ashes Test. I didn't expect England to play so well but most of all, I didn't expect Australia to perform so low. Any team can get caught cold in the first match, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of motivation in the team. You expect an Australian side to fight to the end no matter what the odds are, but that 4th day, Mitchell Johnson aside, it looked almost from the first ball that they had no conviction that they would win.

Maybe my thoughts are backed up by the standing down of Brad Haddin and the expected dropping of Shane Watson?

[TheBoy]

Australia back on track after the first day...

[AussieSteve]

Yeah Drew, order seems to be restored after Day 2 at Lord's with England under the pump & the Aussies well on top. Shane Watson is not suited to Test cricket in my opinion & not sure if Brad Haddin will be back later in the series either.

[TheBoy]

Looks like it will soon be 1-1 in the series. Australia have been utterly dominant in this test and England have been like rabbits in the headlights. Tell me Steve, do you think that the turn around is at least in part down to the absence of Haddin and Watson, or is this simply Australia shaking themselves down after defeat and making sure it doesn't happen again?

As for England, I could perhaps see Gary Ballance losing his place for the next Test as he in particular has looked unsteady in England's now notoriously fragile top order. Bell is the other who looks to be in terrible form, but England are prone to sticking with players and giving them every chance to pull out some form so I don't see him being dropped any time soon.

[AussieSteve]

Drew, the omissions of Haddin & Watson had a positive effect on the Aussie team's performance yes! They copped alot of bad press here after Cardiff so I thought they would respond at Lords but England seemed to drop their bundle after a terrible opening day in the field. They never recovered from that & the 2nd innings batting showed they weren't up for the contest. I think England will make changes for the Edgbaston game.

[TheBoy]

Firstly, congratulations on an impressive win for your boys, Steve. It's going to make the Edgebaston Test possibly the most vital in the series now - if Australia win, I don't see any way back for England and yet if we win, it shows that England have the ability to turn things around after such a disaster of a performance at Lords.

So far the only change appears to be bringing in Bairstow for Ballance, which seems a fair move. Bairstow has been in fine form for Yorkshire this summer, whilst Ballance has looked like a man who has never played cricket before and mysteriously sent out onto the pitch after being told some blokes will be throwing a ball at him very fast and here's a length of wood to defend yourself with. Meanwhile the Kevin Pietersen PR machine is stirring to life...

[AussieSteve]

Drew, congrats to the England Team on turning the Ashes series around once more The inclusion of Finn worked wonders as his bowling was very impressive in the 3rd Test. Our batting was terrible in both innings & the bowling wasn't great either except for Johnson on Day 2. England deserve to be 2-1 ahead now with 2 games to play. Anderson is a big loss to England for the Trent Bridge game next week though.

[TheBoy]

Thanks Steve! I have to say I can't quite get my head around how much of a topsy-turvy series this has been so far! Are there any rumblings about changes to the Australia side for Trent Bridge or is the thinking that this was just one of those matches where everything went wrong? England will possibly look to make a change with Lyth at the top as he is rapidly starting to look out of his depth. We do have a history of giving players a lengthy chance though and with the prospect of having to try someone else completely new, the temptation may be to let him see the series out.

Anderson will be a huge miss though and we will possibly need another Finn performance at the very least to get a positive result from Trent Bridge. I'm guessing that Mark Wood will be the man recalled and he at least offers something a bit different to the other seamers, but there have been some other more like-for-like replacements mentioned.

Hopefully the Test lasts more than 3 days this time, anyway!

[AussieSteve]

Drew, looking ahead to the 4th Test on Thursday I believe that Shaun Marsh & Peter Siddle may be included in the Aussie 11 at the expense of Adam Voges & Mitchell Starc. That is what the media here are suggesting anyhow!

[TheBoy]

I've had to turn down a ticket for the 3rd day! :( I was there for the final day two years ago, but this time I got offered the ticket at too short a notice and can't get out of it. Damn!

Steve, what has happened to Peter Siddle over the past couple of years? Last time I saw him, he looked one of the better Aussie bowlers at the time. Has he had injuries or a lean patch?

England are still sweating on the fitness of Mark Wood to replace Anderson. I'm guessing England will give him every chance up until the last minute, but with such importance on having 4 fully fit bowlers, I can see uncapped Mark Footitt being given a baptism of fire. I have to admit I have not seen Footitt play, but from what I hear, he is the most similar to Anderson in bowling style.

[AussieSteve]

Well what can one say about what's transpired at Trent Bridge in the 4th Ashes Test An unmitigated disaster from start to finish for the Aussies
First off, strange selection decisions to leave out Mitchell Marsh & not pick Peter Siddle smacked of panic
Then losing the toss & being bowled out for just 60 runs inside the 1st session of play meant they did not have the stomach to fight their way through a great bowling spell from Stuart Broad. Well done to him on totally embarrassing our batting line up & delivering the Ashes Urn back to England! The next 2 days of play was the icing on the cake

Party time in England I think now for you Drew & everyone there except the expat Aussies !!

[TheBoy]

Steve, I genuinely don't know what to say to you... I can only imagine the mood in Australia right now. Obviously I'm delighted that England have regained The Ashes, but I don't think anyone thought the way the results have come would have been possible! The morning session of Day 1 was surreal - no one could believe what they were witnessing. You have to give Broad credit, but what on earth was going through the Aussie batter's minds? Joe Root deserves a big mention too for his century which has moved him to number one batsmen in the world and was crucial to making sure Australia didn't really have a sniff of making a comeback.

I'm just gutted that I had to turn down that day 3 ticket!

I'm sure there will be a long and deep examination of the Australian set up. Michael Clarke has already made the decision to retire from International cricket after the Oval test - do you think that's the right decision? I know he hasn't been playing well, but he's still relatively young in cricketing terms and it almost seems a bit defeatist to me on his decision. It seems very un-Australian to admit defeat and not offer determination to turn things around.

Do you think there will be wholesale changes for the final test?

[AussieSteve]

Drew, I think there will be some changes to the Aussie team for the 5th test at The Oval; anyone's guess who'll be made the scapegoat for the last 2 dreadful Test match defeats. Michael Clarke's retirement was always on the cards since his batting form has gradually been diminishing in recent years. He quit ODI cricket after the World Cup earlier this year so most likely he was playing on only to win an Ashes series away from home. He will keep playing cricket at T20 Level like many other guys have done in recent years to earn extra cash in the IPL in India, Big Bash here in Oz & other similar tournaments. He recently became a father also.

On a lighter note, most cricket fans here want generational change in the Aussie Team going forward & feel that Trevor Bayliss has played a major role in the rapid improvement & confidence in the England Team right now

[AussieSteve]

The 5th Ashes Test was rather anti-climactic the Aussies winning easily once it was apparent the English players weren't really into the contest. A series win to England by 3 matches to 2. Credit to both teams for playing attacking cricket throughout the series. One observation worth noting is that none of the Tests went into the 5th day - that is a reflection of the 2 captains how they approached the series wanting to entertain the spectators at the grounds & the TV viewing audience.

[TheBoy]

The one disappointing part of this Ashes series for me was that there were no tight matches. Each one was won in a fairly comfortable manor with most of them pretty much decided after the first innings.

We still have the ODI's left to play although they tend to have a feeling of 'after the Lord Mayor's show' to them, but hopefully we get some good matches :)