The Convicts Return

[grizfoot]

A brilliant knock from Pietersen and a fully deserved Ashes win to England

Good way to end the cricket coverage on Channel 4 as well.

[Flopsy]

Ive just watched the highlights and started crying my eyes out, in a totaly manly manner (Ive just had a tooth removed too in my defence) to have a phone call from my mate also in tears Great, almost as good as winning the league in 95 - better than winning the Worthycup

Im welling up again.

Well done to two great teams and some great support for both teams from the fans.

Although im chuffed as nuts for Flintoff winning man of the series - its Warne for me - hes been absolutely brilliant with both bat and ball - closely followed by Flintoff - then Lee - then Strauss

In the pub at lunch we were picking a world 11

Mine was

1) Trescothic

2) Smith

3) Tendulker

4) Vaughan ©

5) Lara

6) Flintoff

7) Gilchrist

8) Warne

9) Jones S

10) McGrath

11) Murilithian (apologies for the spelling on that)

Definately a large contingent from England and Australia but hey they are the two best teams at the moment.

Whats yours??

[adopted scouser]

Pint of Boddingtons

[jim mk2]

Fantastic, nervous last day at the Oval, a real privilege to be there.

"Warney's dropped the Ashes" was the best chant but "Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio" to the departing sheep worriers was sweet. Hope they had a miserable journey home.

The baritone singing Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem at the tea interval was very moving. Made one proud to be English.

This young England team is nowhere near the finished article and will get better. The fast bowlers are the best quartet since the West Indies of the 1980s and although Ian Bell has struggled he's a class batsman and will be better for the experience. Ed Joyce of Middlesex is the next batter earmarked for promotion.

2-1 did not reflect England's superiority over a fading, ageing team. England will win the next Ashes series 4-0.

Edited September 12, 2005 by jim mk2

[brfcshabba]

Not going to reply to the matron letter on page 21 Jim?

Re read the whole of this thread. It is quite amusing

[modes98]

What a day to finish a fantastic series in which the world's two best teams came head to head!

Glad i got the afternoon off to watch what has to go down in the memories of all cricket fans as one of the greatest series of all time.

After years of dross, to get a team together capable of being the best in the world is fantastic and all credit needs to go to the selectors, coaches, players and county teams.

Today i took the a second day off work to watch this decideing match and i am so glad i did, what a game!

I have been informed that i will be in attendance for the ashes in aussieland, where england will lay true claim to being the best test side in the world and maybe face warne and mcgrath, two of the best bowlers the world has ever seen, for the final time.

Well played to the aussies but even better played to the mighty england.........and Mr Pratt

[Flopsy]

"Warney's dropped the Ashes" was the best chant but "Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio" to the departing sheep worriers was sweet. Hope they had a miserable journey home.

346507[/snapback]

Still being boring and boorish

[Timmy]

I have got to say a fantastic day...the best feeling ever in sport..I can't even write this due to some kind of liquid celebrations...well done lads...

[Timmy]

they coming home the ashes are coming home!

[ABBEY]

bolluxed are woofing bouncer are you wufffingbany more

[Timmy]

the sporting contest of the decade-no question

[neekoy]

Is this the worst Australia touring team ever ?

325069[/snapback]

Well done England

Looking forward to the next series in great anticipation

Thanks to the guys that got into a decent banter with me, glad too see I got under your skin

I say it isn't the worst Australian touring team ever but possibly the best England team

[broadsword]

Still being boring and boorish

346525[/snapback]

Agreed.

Despite all the years of pain, if you can't be a good sport, don't bother.

Trust a Murdoch employee to pander to the basest tribal instincts.

Shane Warne, Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and co, you're great players (though McGrath's not always a good sport, is he? ), and it's a bit poor not to recognise the quality of the other side and devalue things with boorish chants.

Let's hope the next series is as fun.

How it could possibly live up to this standard I don't know. But jeez, this one's been good.

[Scotty]

What a fantastic series of cricket - deservedly won by a fantastic England team.

We outplayed Australia for four of the five tests, were better in every department of the game, and always seemed to produce something special when we were under-pressure. Australia kept fighting to the end though and it's to their great credit that England never had it easy. Other teams would have folded long ago. Make no mistake though, this England team are special and should only get better in the next few years.

Our bowling attack is the best in the world and hunts as a pack. If one bowler isn't in form then the others step up. We have bowlers who can produce whatever the pitch and weather conditions, and we also have specialists who can exploit certain conditions. They all have height and pace and I believe they genuinely surprised Australia with their quality. The Aussie top order just couldn't cope with them.

To be a truely great team though you have to have one or two genuine great players. Take a bow Andrew Flintoff. What a hero that man is. A sporting great who deserves all the praise he's going to get in the coming months. And we may have another one in Pietersen. He's started his career superbly and, again, he should only get better in time.

Warne was outstanding for the Aussies - a legend who performed at the peak of his powers throughout the series. Lee and Langer also impressed me at times, both with their skills and their sportsmanship, but that was about it. The rest of the team only played in fits and starts and England exploited their weaknesses clinically.

The Ashes have been an incredible sporting occasion this summer fought by two tremendous teams who clearly respect each other highly. The whole event has captured the hearts and imaginations of the nation and we now have some genuine sporting heroes to follow in this country. I can't wait for the next series now.

[pg]

paddy...it would be nice if they didn't get a bat at all for whatever reason. everybody has been talking about what score the aussies will have to chase down....it seems people have totally ignored the possibility that we will just keep batting and batting. 

346425[/snapback]

Not everyone Blueboy... Richie Benaud cheekily made such a comment at the beginning of the second session.

I feel like I've lived through a whole generation of Australian cricket...and its now about to change. The '82-'83 Ashes series was my first series I ever watched. The next year, Chappell, Lillee and Marsh all retired, and Australia was in the doldrums until the Waughs, Warne and Taylor turned up.

They have all moved on, and with McGrath, Warne, Langer, Martyn and Ponting all the wrong side of 30, it's the end of another era...and the beginning of a new one.

I will be interested to see how England go in the subcontinent. How will the English top order fare against Harbajahn and Kumble? How will Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar and Ganguly (still the best batting line-up in the world) fare against the English bowlers on dusty pitches? Should be a great series when it happens.

Series averages :

Cricinfo

Some highlights :

Australia Batting and Fielding

Name Mat I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St

JL Langer 5 10 1 394 105 43.77 58.63 1 2 2 -

RT Ponting 5 9 0 359 156 39.88 59.63 1 1 4 -

MJ Clarke 5 9 0 335 91 37.22 54.38 - 2 2 -

Australia Bowling

Name Mat O M R W Ave Best 5 10 SR Econ

SK Warne 5 252.5 37 797 40 19.92 6-46 3 2 37.9 3.15

GD McGrath 3 134 22 440 19 23.15 5-53 2 - 42.3 3.28

B Lee 5 191.1 25 822 20 41.10 4-82 - - 57.3 4.29

England Batting and Fielding

KP Pietersen 5 10 1 473 158 52.55 71.45 1 3 - -

ME Trescothick 5 10 0 431 90 43.10 60.27 - 3 3 -

A Flintoff 5 10 0 402 102 40.20 74.16 1 3 3 -

England Bowling

Name Mat O M R W Ave Best 5 10 SR Econ

SP Jones 4 102 17 378 18 21.00 6-53 2 - 34.0 3.70

A Flintoff 5 194 32 655 24 27.29 5-78 1 - 48.5 3.37

MJ Hoggard 5 122.1 15 473 16 29.56 4-97 - - 45.8 3.87

Last night, I thought that England had to make above 200 to be safe. Again, all this talk of Australia making 250 of 40 overs was just more fantasy. England's bowlers had the wood on the Aussie batsman all series...and I really doubt that the Aussie batsman would have been able to score quickly whilst at the same time keeping their wickets.

Congrats to Lee and Bryan (end of the rebellion indeend ) and other long sufferring English cricketing folk. I'll see some of you at the MCG in December 2006 no doubt

[Blueboy Downunder]

now how many aussies actually thought and predicted hammering/whitewash that england would suffer at the hands of you lot?? come on be honest. after seeing us in south africa i was quietly confident that we could do the buisness over australia in this series but would have to play just as good if not better than we did out there. there was folks that did not see us in south africa and made predictions (probably) that we would get beat 2,3 or even 4-1 and the odd cocky aussie would have predcited the 5-0 whitewash....a lot of people would say what a close series it was, but in fairness i think we where a far better side than just a 2-1 win...but for a full day lost at old trafford...that makes it 3-1 and a much more comfortable victory than what we actually got.

out batted, out bowled, out fielded, out captained....simply out everythinged (if there is such a word) we where by far and away the better side and hopefully this is just another building block on the way to bigger and better things.

BY THE WAY...AUSSIE ROVER...A SLAB OF TOOHEYS NEW WOULD BE JUST FINE, THANKS MATE!!

[pg]

Blueboy - honestly at the start of the series I thought if McGrath, Warne and Gillespie could stay fit we would win 2-1 or 3-1.

I know you guys played well in South Africa, and I know that your young pace bowlers were just beginning to come into their own. But I thought that our old, ageing bowlers had enough quality to knock over your batsman.

We had also become the first Australian side to win in India in about 25 years.

As it happens, McGrath missed two tests, Gillespie lost all confidence and ability...and Warne played one of the greatest lone hands in Test cricket history.

Oh, and I'm also very disappointed in the efforts of our batsman, Langer excepted. But that's a whole other story regarding Australian selection policy and NSW favouritism. Although in hindsight, Clarke did a lot better than I thought he would...but he and Katich are symptomatic of the NSW-centric selectors when IMO their are other batsman more deserving of a chance.

Edited September 13, 2005 by pg

[Manchester Blue]

Watching the highlights of the series last night really brought it home to me firstly how well England have played and secondly just how good the series was. So many memories you just don't know where to start but you just know they will stay with you for a lifetime. I suppose the test is where they go from here but with the quality we have and the structure will ensure we go onwards and upwards.

Congrats to the Aussies on their good spirit and especially to Warne who will not be seen again in a Test match on these shores, the games will be poorer for it. Finally thanks to all that posted on a great thread especially those that took the thread and the series in the right spirit. The only question now is what on earth do we all do now?

[pg]

The only question now is what on earth do we all do now?

346590[/snapback]

Personally, I start counting down the days before the Australian summer and cricketing season. Cricket is often the only thing that stops me losing my mind in between ski season.

We've got the 'Supertests' to look forward to in October. When do you guys travel to Pakistan?

Oh, and we've got Rovers playing 4-5-1 with a bunch of negative numpties who can't string together two creative passes between them

[neekoy]

now how many aussies actually thought and predicted hammering/whitewash that england would suffer at the hands of you lot?? come on  be honest.  after seeing us in south africa i was quietly confident that we could do the buisness over australia in this series but would have to play just as good if not better than we did out there. there was folks that did not see us in south africa and made predictions (probably) that we would get beat 2,3 or even 4-1 and the odd cocky aussie would have predcited the 5-0 whitewash....a lot of people would say what a close series it was, but in fairness i think we where a far better side than just a 2-1 win...but for a full day lost at old trafford...that makes it 3-1 and a much more comfortable victory than what we actually got.

out batted, out bowled, out fielded, out captained....simply out everythinged (if there is such a word) we where by far and away the better side and hopefully this is just another building block on the way to bigger and better things.

BY THE WAY...AUSSIE ROVER...A SLAB OF TOOHEYS NEW WOULD BE JUST FINE, THANKS MATE!!

346584[/snapback]

To be honest I think Australia was a better side then a 2-1 loss

You guys thoroughly deserved your win but to say that the Australian team was playing at their peak is loose thinking at best

The series could have just as easily been turned around if a catch had been taken, a decision given or the friggin coin landed on heads.

But that is cricket, England took the advantage when it presented itself and they won.

[stuwilky]

To be honest I think Australia was a better side then a 2-1 loss

346597[/snapback]

So you are suggesting that England werent the better team throughout the series by a small margin?

[philipl]

In the early matches, there was a litany of decisions which favoured Australia. Australia won the toss in the first two tests remember so the coin only went 3-2 for England.

England just as surely dropped catches to lose the first Test as the Australians dropping Pedersen cost them the chance to make the last afternoon/evening a cliff-hanger. In fact, I took great heart from the First Test as we would have been even stevens with Australia if our performance in the field been up to scratch.

It will be interesting to see whether the Australians make the generational change now to get a seasoned new team in place for the Ashes down under.

If they persist with the current team more or less unchanged and appraise the series just finished the way Neekoy is looking at it, don't be surprised if England win 4-0 down under next time.

Edited September 13, 2005 by philipl

[neekoy]

Of course they were, I think I have already stated that England were the better team throughout the series but to say that England outeverythinged Australia is crap

[Paul]

Like everyone else our house has enjoyed a summer of cricket. We watch Lancashire in the T20 and had a day at the OT test. All this started because my youngest is very keen and so Dad takes him along. I really enjoy the whole thing, which is a complete surprise to me.

Over the last two tests the whole family has been gathered round the TV, same again last night. Rushed home from work to see the final moments, tea left on the table getting cold as we all sat round to see England win in the field and what happens...........NOTHING.

Cricket didn't do itself any favours last night. The Australians should have stayed at the wicket, surely the captains could have had a quiet chat and just agreed this. The umpires could have shown some commonsense and sent the teams back on to the field. Instead the pinnacle of recent English cricket, the conclusion of possibly the greatest ever test series is ended with the teams in the dressing room and the umpires walking out to remove the bails. This was then followed by an interminable presentation ceremony, it was like a PC school sports day, everyone gets a medal, except Michael Vaughan who Mike Atherton forgot about. The final 40 minutes of the series and the presentations (about 6.05 - 6.50pm) was a real damp squib, somebody needs to have a serious look at this aspect of the rules.

Please don't misunderstand this; I've truely enjoyed the summer and I would never have written that 10 weeks ago. I'm not a true cricket fan, just enjoy the sporting moment and the entertainment and I suspect millions of other TV viewers will have been thinking "What? "

[ABBEY]

oh man im seriusly not well...hee hee my head hurts and i feel siock