The Ashes First Test Lords Sunday 24th July..Day 4.

[Lemming]

I think Thorpe would have been back in for Bell! We really could do with him. Thorpe might at least be able to "shut the gate" when playing a forward defensive. He might also not be so stupid to leave his bat above his head when the cleverest bowler ever, with numerous variations bowls a ball of off-stump line!

[Kirsty Harris]

Originally Posted by Lemming

Yeah, who cares about the most overrated comedy ever: Friends?....Why can't we see a bit of Butcher's 173*, Hussain century last year, or when we scithed through the WIndies?

The main problem with Friends is over-exposure. It seems to be on every time I turn the t.v. on!! What was once a mildly amusing sitcom now grates on my nervous, especially the shockingly awful theme tune!!!

Today would have been a lovely opportunity to revisit some great test matches of the past, because it's a miserable Sunday, were most cricket fans now have nowt to do because they had planned to be watching the cricket!!

oh well, I think the Grand Prix starts shortly...

[John]

Still raining me thinks no play today.

Headline of the Day comes from The Independent

AUSTRALIA OVER THE HILL AND FAR AWAY

[Kirsty Harris]

Originally Posted by Lemming

I think Thorpe would have been back in for Bell!

Well, it still looks like a faint hope at the moment, but just maybe it could be the shortest retirement in history......

I wouldn't bet on it, but it does seem something is going on. Why else would Graveny be so keen to meet with Thorpe?

[Kirsty Harris]

God I'm bored!!!

Still raining!!!

[Victor Frankenstein]

thorpe said on the bbc that he would not come out of retirement no matter what happened. I think going back to thorpe would be a step backwards anyway, Bell is a good player and has the potential to be a great player, lets not do a ramprakash on him and drop him after one bad test, he made a mistake in the first innings against the greatest seam bowler ever, and in the second innings was suckered by the greatest leg spinner ever, not to add the high pressure situation he found himself in thanks to the incompetence of his fellow batsmen.

I'm not convinced that thorpe would have done any better, it's not like he's been in form at all all season and is having serious back problems again, experience only gives you so much, strauss is a good example of an experienced world class batsman who is woefully out of form and he's hardly set the test alight...

The only classical batsman to have done well on this pitch is katich, all the other scores have come from unorthodox approaches and getting down the wicket, thorpe is well known for playing from the crease so i don't think the pitch or the quality and nature of the bowling so far in this test would have suited him either. Of course, he could have come out and grafted hundred in each innings, we'll never know.

English fans are far too fickle, I do hope the selectors don't do the same.

Weather down here near southampton has cleared up, just overcast now but quite humid, it's heading in the london direction so sadly i don't think we're going to escape from the rain, there will be enough dry weather tomorrow for australia to get a result. I hope we don't go in and just try and defend for the draw as we've shown time and time again we're no good at it, we have two stroke makers at the wicket so i'd just tell them to go for it, if they get out then tough luck, it's not their fault, tresco, strauss, vaughan and bell are to blame for this situation, particularly vaughan as he's the captain and yet played the laziest of strokes in both innings, not a good example to set.

[John]

Just stopped raining.

[Occasional Fan]

The BBC website reports that a pitch inspection was due at 1515 BST, but there is nothing on the result of that yet. Cricinfo is speculating that play may re-start at about 1645 BST, although there is no official word yet.

[Pete]

I think Mark's just said it'll restart at 3.45

[Occasional Fan]

That's right, Pete: Cricinfo's commentator seems to have confused GMT and BST. Re-start is due under heavy cloud at 1545 BST - in ten minutes' time. Play will continue for as long as possible in an attempt to get through 42 overs today.