Ashes 2005 Aus FIVE (5) - England ZERO (0) nought ..zilch..nada

[Teatime FatCat]

Pah, the two of you will be sitting there there on the Tetley's promotional inflatable sofa, wearing your Cross of StGeorge underpants and your Barmy Army hats and cheering England on with a mixture of blind faith and alcohol. Only leaving you squalid seats to get more beer, answer the door to the pizza man or to go for a wee (perhaps not even leaving the seat at all for the last one). Your faith in the team is unshakeable, you'll never give in, and you'll induldge in Aussie bashing even when our backs are to the wall, refusing to believe we can get beaten.

And for this I salute you!

[Rachael]

The Aussies DID look beaten at one point.. but that was at least partly because they had a night-watchman and Gilchrist batting up the order and out early on: with guys like Lehman and Clarke coming in as part of the "tail" the situation was never THAT grim. The whole thing was facinating.. but despite the anticlimax.. Aus had put themselves in a position where the Indians would have had to post a record 4th innings total in just 3 sessions in order to win.

Damn typical of them, really.. and reminiscent of some sensational turn-arounds against a realy fired up Sri Lanka in their earlier tour.

2007? That's the one I'm hopeful for. By then I think we'll be somewhere near. Bit more experience where it counts. Current question marks removed either by players showing they really CAN cut it or by replacements coming through from the academy.

[Mike Small]

Aus 1-1 Eng

Optimism is like holy fire that keep a purpose aglow. I don't think England "can't win". Realistically speaking I think we can manage at least a draw. Yes, it's not going to be easy, we will definately be the under dogs even if we go into the series thrashing South Africa away from home (or in some people's eyes' anyway) but in the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity. Who knows how some one like Giles or Key or anyone else for that matter might grab hold of the opportunities that arrise during next summer's ashes and establish them selves as world class players. Who knows? The thing you really believe in always happens because eventually it is strong belief in something that makes it happen. If England really, really believe they can win , they will win.

[Beny]

Originally Posted by Teatime FatCat

Don't agree with the 5 bit or the 0 bit. Whilst not going the full 'Ernest' (apologies Ern, good for you - but I can't quite match your level of optimism), I think it'll be closer than the convicts think.

The Convicts?!

No Harmison and Flintoff... No England.....

[Beny]

No McGrath and Warne... We'd still kick ya buts.

[R W S]

You sound very confident Beny, so how about a small wager? What odds are you offering?

[Teatime FatCat]

Beny, your signiature confuses me. Are you suggesting that as well as Bradman, Thommo and Miller, God created a medium sized provincial town in France?

[Rachael]

LOL - nothing very divine about Lille that I recall.

I wonder if there's a cricket name which resembles a place name that might be worthy of association with God. Was there ever a cricketer called "Durham"?

[Occasional Fan]

There was a bloke called Devon. I think you've come across him, Rachael, right?

[Beny]

Originally Posted by R W S 21920

You sound very confident Beny, so how about a small wager? What odds are you offering?

Why wouldent I be confident?

England have 2 or 3 fantastic players. Australia have 12.

So far this year I havent seen England have to dig themselves out of too many scraps. Sure you might say thats through their own skill but it's undeniable that Enlgand will run into some trouble soon. Do you guys have a number 7 batsmen who can walk in to a fiery situation and save an innings?e.g Gilly. Do you have a bowler who can be relied upon when the going gets tough? e.g Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne.
From what I've seen Harmsion caves in under preassure and Flintoff, whilst he is a fantastic player cannot be relied upon to make 100 every innings.

You've done well against New Zealand and WI.... Now for the powerhouses. If you can't beat SA who are out of form at the momment but still a class team, then I will feel compleatly vindicated. If you can then 2005 might be worth watching.