The Ashes: 1st Test - The 'Gabba, Brisbane

county

england need a wicket big time but i can`t see it coming,the aussies are stem rolling them atm

DMC

Its a flat slab at present.... Prediction that one of these openers and Ponting will be still there at the close.... only 1 down for 300+

DMC

Time to stick the head under the duvet and leave TMS on low...

county

50 up for langer

county

wicket for england,come on:)

county

109-1 at lunch

Bluetonic

346 - 3 (90 overs)

KevIRL

Great stuff from Ponting.Looks like Flintoff is Englands true danger at the moment. Didnt watch any of it last night, working too early this morning. First live action I'll get to see will be Fri night.

county

went to bed just after the second wicket and from what i seen freddie was getting sod all help out there,ok the wicket wasn`t great for the bowlers but some of the bowling was wayward to say the least,the gamble of playing bowlers coming back from injuries and not enough match pratice was never going to work

DMC

I knew a wicket would fall once I turned off the PC

Giles didn't play great. Not spectacular, but Giles isn't spectacular. That's why Monty is rated so much higher. Giles was outshone by the sheer misery of watching Harmison bowling first up. (no misery if you support the Aussies!) He got it together in the afternoon session, but the damage was done.

One thought that went through my mind when Pietersen stuck his foot in the turf (not comparing it to Simon Jones 4 years ago), but with Monty in the stand, and knowing he is not the best fielder, maybe Monty is thinking, "I'm glad I'm not out there!"

Fletcher has too much faith in some players. That faith has to be repaid, but how many times can you ask players to do it, and then they don't before their dropped? He only drops players if they don't fit into his system!

RuggieBear

I listened to the start of it on 5Live. they were at the Harmison household....:D

First ball....groans.

dereko1969

got to see the first session, wish i'd had a bet on harmison's first ball being a wide, should've done so after seeing his 'performance' in stormont. given the spin that pieterson got (according to reports) it seems there will be a good bit there for the spinners and the decision to play 'the king of spain' seems even more mental. the ozzies could put up 600 quite easily, then we'll see what cook is made of. i'm still hoping joyce might get in if cook or bell doesn't perform. anyway here's to another late night!

kyp_durron

Pieterson did turn it a lot...:eek: , yup Warneys gonna have some fun.

England needs wickets early, here's hoping Harmison can pull himself together.

DMC

Nice tight highlights package there from the BBC.... Shame about putting the Bearded Wonder and Vic Marks on the telly

Is it me or is the great man starting to let age get to him? Richie's voice wasn't very strong on the interview there...

Off we go for another few hours

England need wickets, wickets and ... um... wickets! Otherwise the Aussies will be looking to get to 600 and/or an hour after tea.

county

better bowling all ready by england but as DMC said england need wickets

kyp_durron

To be fair, Ponting and Hussy deserve some credit as well. It's going to take something special to get them out.

Good to see Ed out there even as a sub.

county

kyp_durron wrote:

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Good to see Ed out there even as a sub.

love to see him catch ponting:)

kyp_durron

county wrote:

love to see him catch ponting:)

Wouldn't we all

Uh oh, here comes Harmy....

county

car crash tv=harmison bowling this over

DMC

Scattergun once again...

kyp_durron

Well, Jones is earning his keep today

DMC

Beefy is suggesting "let him bowl.... he'll get his rhythm, let him bowl...."

My arse. Let him bowl and get his rhythm, but not in the second day of an Ashes test match. Go away to the academy in Perth and practice there. This is embarrassing.

kyp_durron

150 for Ponting.

Stuart Broad should be getting a phone call right about now. They can't play Harmison after this surely? Even Mahmood would be better.

DMC

Oooh.... Harmison or Mahmood..... can I have neither?

Harmison won't be picked after this. This reflects badly on the coach. If he was that bad in the Champions Trophy, what has he done prior to this test that made the decision to drop him in the last match of that tournament the wrong decision?? He's done nothing since arriving in Australia to justify his worth in the team. He hasn't earned the place on the team.

Yes, Stuart Broad is badly needed.

kyp_durron

DMC wrote:

Oooh.... Harmison or Mahmood..... can I have neither?

Harmison won't be picked after this. This reflects badly on the coach. If he was that bad in the Champions Trophy, what has he done prior to this test that made the decision to drop him in the last match of that tournament the wrong decision?? He's done nothing since arriving in Australia to justify his worth in the team. He hasn't earned the place on the team.

Yes, Stuart Broad is badly needed.

I was only saying Mahmood to put Harmison's performince in perspective .

Really though where are England going to get a wicket from?? This is looking far from good...

DMC

Bowled 'im! Out of the ground! Super ball.

Hussey b Flintoff 86

407/4

county

the one and only freddie gets the 4th wicket

Royale with Cheese

Wow, 407/4. England back in with a shout...

county

Royale with Cheese wrote:

Wow, 407/4. England back in with a shout...

easy there tiger;)

Royale with Cheese

county wrote:

easy there tiger;)

Don't worry now, there may have been a hint of sarcasm in my post. This is very depressing altogether