The Ashes; Fourth Test, Trent Bridge, Aug 6-10

[The Waugh Twins]

Just read an article that the Aussie bowlers were not up to scratch for the 3rd test.

With you on that Mark

Yep Steve it's side splitting material.

[The Waugh Twins]

I was all for having Haddin dropped before I found out about his family issues which likely contributed to some poor keeping. I'll be the first to say I got that wrong.

Coming back he should not have lost his place and that's a given.

The sport can never be bigger than life and when that happens you've lost touch with reality. Of course fans are only in touch with reality as long as a W stands next to their team's last performance.

Yep well said Mark.

[hopeforthebest]

Just heard the ODI game at Cardiff has been abandoned with the umpires declaring the pitch unfit for play. Australia might put in protest to the ICC about the ashes result there.

[rich1uk]

Just heard the ODI game at Cardiff has been abandoned with the umpires declaring the pitch unfit for play. Australia might put in protest to the ICC about the ashes result there.

don't follow this comment

what ODI game at Cardiff ?

edit : ah you mean the royal London game , bit strange deciding a pitch is unplayable so far into the game

[Arthur Crabtree]

There have long been a few followers of the England team who feel the UK cricket reporters are too closely embedded into the ECB dream factory. But my impression in this Ashes is that there has been a lot more press hostility to the Aussies, and a ramped up negativity about their team. In the same way that the UK press was encouraged to build up Cook and forget KP, I'm wondering if that comes as a directive from the ECB. It may be a response to the press hostility that England copped in Australia in the last whitewash, but its been a bit disappointing to me to see the UK media follow suit.

[yorker_129-7]

I'm not so sure it's coordinated as much as a response to the fact that New Zealand won a lot of friends during their time in England earlier this year and frankly the Australian team themselves have come over here with what appears to be an intention to rub the Poms up the wrong way, either directly or indirectly resulting from the NZ series.

Plus it'd be the first time the press have happily toed the ECB line pretty much ever. The Australian team just aren't very likeable at present.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Plus it'd be the first time the press have happily toed the ECB line pretty much ever. The Australian team just aren't very likeable at present.

I'm not sure I go along with either of those. Aside from Warner, Johnson and Haddin, it's hard to get wound up by this Aussie team. But I suppose that's personal perception. They do skate close to that line they talk about, but so do England.

And the press has been used as a publicity arm of the ECB for about five years. Witness the leaks, the lack of scrutiny over Downton, the press promotion of Cook following the whitewash, the requests from Downton/Strauss not to criticise Cook and the team, and not to mention KP (which press figures have alluded to).

[KipperJohn]

There have long been a few followers of the England team who feel the UK cricket reporters are too closely embedded into the ECB dream factory. But my impression in this Ashes is that there has been a lot more press hostility to the Aussies, and a ramped up negativity about their team. In the same way that the UK press was encouraged to build up Cook and forget KP, I'm wondering if that comes as a directive from the ECB. It may be a response to the press hostility that England copped in Australia in the last whitewash, but its been a bit disappointing to me to see the UK media follow suit.

Well Sky are a massive part of the media coverage and it's doubtful whether the likes of Ponting and Warne particularly would be a party to that. Could the ECB really get away with a 'directive' to the media/press?

Most reasonable people take what they read/ hear in the media with a pinch of salt anyway I would have thought .

I'm not convinced that much of it has been over the top (certainly on TV/radio ) or that hasn't been discussed here on CMS. You'd expect a bit about Haddin and Clarke etc. Still as I rarely pick up a paper these days I may well be wrong.
'
Neither do I think that the Ashes has really properly maintained it's part of the 'national sporting consciousness'.

[Gingerfinch]

Wood for Jimmy then? Will he also open the bowling, being a swinger?

It's anybody's guess as to what the Aussies are thinking. Watson could return, but for who. Voges, or Marsh? The other Marsh could also come in.

[dan08]

Shaun Marsh will come in for Voges.

[hopeforthebest]

During his first campaign fo the US presidency Clinton had the slogan in his office saying "it's the economy stupid".

I guess in the England dressing room their slogan is "it's the pitch stupid".

Strange differences in weather predictions, BBC says 5 clear days whils another site says rain and showers around.

[dan08]

@Benedict_B: If Wood replaces Anderson, England's surnames would total just 53 letters – breaking Australia’s record of 55 letters at Faisalabad in 1988

[Aidan11]

@Benedict_B: If Wood replaces Anderson, England's surnames would total just 53 letters – breaking Australia’s record of 55 letters at Faisalabad in 1988

Some people have too much time on their hands

[yorker_129-7]

I'm not sure I go along with either of those. Aside from Warner, Johnson and Haddin, it's hard to get wound up by this Aussie team. But I suppose that's personal perception. They do skate close to that line they talk about, but so do England.

I think Australia's line is much further out there TBH. It's not just been the ones you've mentioned, there has been plenty of history with various Australian players. From "prepare for a broken ****in' arm" to Voges comments about a holiday camp, the Aussies in general don't appear to be on a particular mission to win friends or influence people.

And the press has been used as a publicity arm of the ECB for about five years. Witness the leaks, the lack of scrutiny over Downton, the press promotion of Cook following the whitewash, the requests from Downton/Strauss not to criticise Cook and the team, and not to mention KP (which press figures have alluded to).

I'm afraid I find the idea that the British press will happily and unquestioningly toe the party line without question or comment to be unrealistic. The press was all too keen to stick the boot in on Strauss when the whole KP affair reared its ugly head earlier this summer. They didn't lay into Cook because it was pretty obvious Cook wasn't going anywhere, so what would have been the point in going after him? They did go after Flower, and Giles, and both went. Moores too, especially after the World Cup. In the case of Downton I don't think any of them really had a clue what was going on with him in the first place.

As for KP, well there was obviously all the stuff early in the summer but since then the England team have been more successful than many thought (I saw several people after the WI tour claiming they couldn't see England winning another test for a while), and on the only real occasion when England did capitulate, his Kevin-ness was off playing in (from an English perspective) an obscure T20 franchise tournament, had the Leicestershire innings come on the weekend of the second innings debacle at Lord's he would have been everywhere.

[hopeforthebest]

Woakes was with the England squad in the nets at Edgbaston since when he's missed two RL games after having an injection in a knee to remove fluid. Almost every time he comes near the England set-up he needs to recover from injury.