The Ashes 2006/07: The Brisbane Test Thread - Day Three

[John]

Botham talking about declaration he can't understand it. I can.
Any side would say 2 days to bowl a side out is well enough. Rest the bowlers give them a nights rest, the pitch may of got a bit worse.

[Mr Hutt]

All im saying is fine.. he has supreme confidence in his bowling and batting abilities, however it is not neccessary that England'sbatsmen after getting tonights rest will not bat for 700 runs in the next 2 days, shouldve gone for the kill IMO

[DomainK]

I would love to see England bat the two days out. If Australia cant win it from here, it will put a lot of pressure on them for the rest of the series. England can certaily do it. Its possible. But judging from the way they batted in the first ennings, it looks very improbable.

[Occasional Fan]

I think you're right there, DomainK. England's chances of a draw have gone up from 0% to about 0.01%.

[Mr Hutt]

and someone really needs to put a sock in giles mouth

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mai...4/scbrig24.xml

Im sure Ern will tell me dont believe everything you read now but.. this coming in the middle of a test match?? is quite absurd!!

[greg]

I won't bother getting up early tomorrow but something tells me when i do get up we will probably be 6 down.

Totally mullered in this game,well done Australia.

[Scott-Wozniak]

Originally Posted by Mr Hutt

and someone really needs to put a sock in giles mouth

Im sure Ern will tell me dont believe everything you read now but.. this coming in the middle of a test match?? is quite absurd!!

Whats wrong with being honest and admitting that the whole side were suffering from nerves on the first morning of the Test and that impacted on some poor performances? It's not surprising they were nervous, this series has been hyped beyond belief.

Socks, mouths? I could make a few suggestions.

[Mike]

One could make excuses for England's bowling performance in the 1st innings because the pitch was a batsman's paradise but how can you defend the England bowlers who let Australia score at a run-rate of 4.5 in their 2nd innings just after their own batsmen struggled at less than three runs per over?

Simple answer is that England's bowlers are not hitting the cracks that McGrath & Co exploited. They just haven't got their length right all match. Before the series began, I said Hoggard would not be as effective in Australia because the ball doesn't swing much there.

Looks like Anderson will be dropped for the Adelaide Test. As Ian Chappell said, if he can't take wickets at the Gabba he has less chance of taking wickets at the Adelaide Oval.

The commentators have spotted a problem or two with Harmison's technique. His bowling arm, at the point of release, is not in the 11 o'clock position from the POV of the striker. It's at 1 o'clock which means he could spray it to 2nd slip!. Also, the non-bowling arm is not extended behind his body in the follow through. It's tucked in against his ribs. This would reduce his pace. So, he's losing pace and accuracy with his current technique.

Last point is that Geraint Jones was unlucky to get out LBW to McGrath from a ball that obviously hit a crack. It jagged back outside off stump of a good length and Jones had no time to get his bat across to cover his pads. Other wickets were gifted to McGrath like Harmison and Giles.

[Scott-Wozniak]

Originally Posted by Mr Hutt

After watching Englands demise at the hands of Mcgrath and Clarke they hardly even needed Lee for that, im still wondering why Ponting has chosen to bat again... it makes no sense to me other than he wants to drive england into the ground, however what if england bat better in the second innings? i think he has made a mistake here.

I would have thought it was fairly obvious why Ponting batted again - 1/ he doesn't want to bat last on a wearing pitch, 2/ He wants to wear out Englands bowlers as much as possible, 3/ He wants to make the game safe before trying to win it 4/ He doesn't think England stand a snowball in hells chance of batting out two days against Shane Warne on days 4 and 5.

If England can salvage a draw out of this they'll take a lot of momentum going into the next game and frustrate the hell out of Australia in the process. Can't see it happening though.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Mike

One could make excuses for England's bowling performance in the 1st innings because the pitch was a batsman's paradise but how can you defend the England bowlers who let Australia score at a run-rate of 4.5 in their 2nd innings just after their own batsmen struggled at less than three runs per over?

That's a bit disingenuous: you can judge the bowler on their performances as Ponting and Hussey racked up their big partnership in the first innings... but once any side gets into the luxury zone of a 450-500 score... there's not a lot even good bowlers can do... and the same was true when Langer was throwing the bat and looking to ride his luck in the first innings.

The TMS crew observed that it's almost impossible to even come up with a bowling plan when a side a batting to build on a 400+ lead... and whilst some of the bowling MAY have deserved criticism... you really shouldn't be using stats like economy rate in this situation - when building on a 400+ lead even an average batsman can play with the same freedom that Lara exhibited in his recent, stunning innings.

Originally Posted by Mike

Simple answer is that England's bowlers are not hitting the cracks that McGrath & Co exploited. They just haven't got their length right all match. Before the series began, I said Hoggard would not be as effective in Australia because the ball doesn't swing much there.

More perceptive judges have noted that Hoggard has bowled excellently thus far, getting less bounce off the pitch than Flintoff but consistently getting the ball int he right areas and offering few loose deliveries. He's been unlucky in the wickets column... but there's also this to consider: when a player as good as Ponting is in fine form and on a roll... there a times when there's not a lot ANY bowler can do.

Seamer argued that Hoggard (consistently), Giles (who has been praised in several quarters) and Anderson (bar dropping short too often) bowled rather better than the criticism in this thread would suggest... and their figures against Ponting and Hussey bear this out. 1st innings:

RT Ponting -    0s	1s	2s	3s	4s	5s	6s	7+  Dismissal  Runs	Balls     SR
SJ Harmison	38	3	2	2	3	0	0	0		25	44	56.81
MJ Hoggard	64	12	3	1	4	0	0	0	lbw	37	84	44.04
JM Anderson	37	7	2	1	8	0	0	0		46	55	83.63
A Flintoff	30	8	3	0	4	0	0	0		30	45	66.66 AF Giles	40	21	1	0	3	0	0	0		35	65	53.84
IR Bell	        4	1	0	0	2	0	0	0		9	7	128.57
KP Pietersen	8	8	3	0	0	0	0	0		14	19	73.68

MEK Hussey - 	0s	1s	2s	3s	4s	5s	6s	7+  Dismissal  Runs	Balls	 SR
SJ Harmison	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	5	20.00
MJ Hoggard	25	4	0	3	1	0	0	0		17	33	51.51
JM Anderson	41	3	2	1	3	0	0	0		22	50	44.00 A Flintoff	16	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	bowled	8	20	40.00
AF Giles	28	11	2	0	2	0	0	0		23	43	53.48
IR Bell	        0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	1	100.00
KP Pietersen	25	8	1	0	1	0	0	0		14	35	40.00

Originally Posted by Mike

The commentators have spotted a problem or two with Harmison's technique. His bowling arm, at the point of release, is not in the 11 o'clock position from the POV of the striker. It's at 1 o'clock which means he could spray it to 2nd slip!. Also, the non-bowling arm is not extended behind his body in the follow through. It's tucked in against his ribs. This would reduce his pace. So, he's losing pace and accuracy with his current technique.

The commentators have been talking of this for several months now... but Duncan Fletcher has warned that in Test cricket it's difficult, sometimes, to say if the technical problems are causing loss of confidence or vice-versa. Today's Telegraph contains some thoughts from Bob Cottam (formerly England bowling coach) on this matter.