1st test Aust vs England @ the gabba

[El Diablo]

here's a start http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?p=2947335#post2947335

when he knows your young he then will say you know jack sh*t and unleash with his ever so funny "mum" posts

furry could fill you in on it better

 

[hineyrulz]

Well i was at Uni all day revising for the most dull exam of my life.

But things could have been worse, i could have been at home watching that...

Am i right in guessing that this Gabba pitch is one of the great all-time roads?

i wouldn't say the pitch is a road but it wasn't as quick as i excepted it to be. but we'll see what it's like after the aussies have a bowl. the scary thing for the poms is pieterson got a few to spin and bounce,warney should be drooling.

 

[lockyno1]

lets see what he can do when the ball is not swinging

We have seen he doesn't do much when it doesn't swing Twiz!:lol:

 

[ozbash]

here's a start http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?p=2947335#post2947335

when he knows your young he then will say you know jack sh*t and unleash with his ever so funny "mum" posts

furry could fill you in on it better

jj is ok. he doesnt like idiots.

him and i are great mates

 

[JJ]

here's a start http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?p=2947335#post2947335

when he knows your young he then will say you know jack sh*t and unleash with his ever so funny "mum" posts

furry could fill you in on it better

:lol: glad to see you're citing my posts El D - cheers! I appreciate the publicity :lol:

Furry's a f**kwit with delusions of grandeur, Tommy's not...

Nice to have all these Australians talkingabout me... long way to go to reach your illustrious status though ozbash! :lol:

 

[JJ]

Australia v England, 1st Test, Brisbane, 1st day

Wayward England miss their mark

Peter English at Brisbane

November 23, 2006



Andrew Flintoff carried England on the opening day but can't do it all on his own © Getty Images


At least England didn't choose to field. At least Andrew Flintoff's bowling is again world class. At least Kevin Pietersen's slide didn't end his series. At least the weather was amazing. It was not all doom and I've-been-there-before gloom for England.

Australia's habit of dominant starts at the Gabba has given England a horrible reminder of the long, flat road - and pitches - ahead. Visiting teams have had worse beginnings to series, but today's ranked highly and the sloppy trend continued throughout the day. Apart from Flintoff, the bowlers were all under-prepared and the tourists' lack of warm-up games has already sparked terminal concerns.

Steve Harmison's nine-run over to open the series, which included an embarrassing first-ball wide taken by Flintoff in the cordon, was the most high-profile disaster, but he was not alone in suffering false starts. James Anderson replaced Harmison after only two overs and immediately donated 10 runs, but both men were outdone by Ian Bell, whose only offering gave up 12. It's hard enough to win in Australia without allowing dangerous head-starts.

Each session began with a flurry of runs. Australia's post-lunch burst of 26 in three overs overtook the 17 off the morning's opening 18 balls and the visitors struggled to close the gate. Anderson twice leaked nine from the session re-starts and the chance of exerting early control swept away like the supporters drained by the sun.

Comparisons with 2005 will become tiresome - maybe they are already? - but England's greatest strength in the previous series was containment. The group attack surrounded Australia and their batsmen were unsure how their next single would arrive. Stolen of their weapons, they were unable to attack. The feeling has not yet returned.

Only Flintoff operated at a level intense enough to worry the home team and boundary opportunities were taken greedily. England hold the Ashes, but Australia looked like the side with a trophy to defend.

The surface changed when Flintoff bustled in and he twice broke through with dismissals that prevented his side from further bouts of unproductive toil. In a proactive move Flintoff grabbed the second new ball, but only for an over, and he was desperate for meaningful support. Although he did it all last time, Flintoff can't be expected to carry the team during almost every session.

Ricky Ponting is an incredible all-purpose batsman but the ease of his century was a problem for England. Ponting's fourth hundred in his past five Test innings in Australia came from only 136 balls and he never appeared in a hurry. England cannot afford to be so easy on Ponting and his partners if they want to stay in the series.

Peter English is the Australasian editor of Cricinfo

pretty embarrassing effort by England really - and Harmison in particular. Be interesting to see if he comes back better today - if not, you'd almost have to conclude he's too inconsistent and too much of a flake...

 

[spider]

pretty embarrassing effort by England really - and Harmison in particular. Be interesting to see if he comes back better today - if not, you'd almost have to conclude he's too inconsistent and too much of a flake...

Punter and Hussey would have in their minds how Langer tore into him yesterday along and helped his confidence as well.

 

[waltzing Meninga]

noone said he's not, the suggestion was that Ponting was the best since Bradman.... He may well be the best Australian since Bradman, but even that is debatable, but he's almost certainly not the best batsman since Bradman... even of the current crop there's a couple that may well rate higher

What other current batsmen averages 59 at test level over a 10 year career?

Ponting is definatley the best batsmen in the world over the last 10-20 years, and the best batsmen I have ever seen.

I cant vouch for the likes of Pollock, sobers etc as I never saw them play btu Ponting is the best I have seen, and the stats would back that up

 

[lockyno1]

Dravid is extremely close WM IMO, and Lara and Tendulkar both have cases. It is just a matter of who you want in your side.

 

[JJ]

Of current batsmen Lara, Tendulkar are certainly worthy of consideration... so too do Dravid and Kallis IMO

Ponting is great no question, but anything beyond that is debatable -

But his average outside is "only" 51.... Injuries have taken their toll on Tendulkar, not surprising as he started so young... but

Overall you're talking 58.2 (perhaps a little higher, but the current innings is not complete) vs 55.4, 32 centuries vs 35.

But as I said above, Ponting averages 62 at home and just 51 away, whereas Tendulkar is 55 both home and away, Dravid 52 at home and a whopping 65 away from India! Lara more like Ponting - 63 at home and just '48' away



plenty of people have averaged 58 over a lengthy period, so he's not unique there (Steve Waugh for example)

Not bagging Ponting at all, but it's not as cut and dried as you might want to believe

 

[waltzing Meninga]

Dravid is extremely close WM IMO, and Lara and Tendulkar both have cases. It is just a matter of who you want in your side.

Maybe close, but he doesn't have the range of shots of Ponting, and can't take the attack up to the opposition like ponting can.

 

[waltzing Meninga]

Of current batsmen Lara, Tendulkar are certainly worthy of consideration... so too do Dravid and Kallis IMO

Ponting is great no question, but anything beyond that is debatable -

But his average outside is "only" 51.... Injuries have taken their toll on Tendulkar, not surprising as he started so young... but

Overall you're talking 58.2 (perhaps a little higher, but the current innings is not complete) vs 55.4, 32 centuries vs 35.

But as I said above, Ponting averages 62 at home and just 51 away, whereas Tendulkar is 55 both home and away, Dravid 52 at home and a whopping 65 away from India! Lara more like Ponting - 63 at home and just '48' away



plenty of people have averaged 58 over a lengthy period, so he's not unique there (Steve Waugh for example)

Not bagging Ponting at all, but it's not as cut and dried as you might want to believe

Im not saying its cut and dried, just saying that he is the best player I have seen

 

[JJ]

Im not saying its cut and dried, just saying that he is the best player I have seen

that's fair enough...

An interesting question (not just for Ponting) is how would he have gone on poorer wickets, with less impressive bats and no helmet?

 

[lockyno1]

I tell you what it raises a interesting point JJ. There has been some outstanding batsmen on uncovered pitches that don't average 58 who could easily claim to be as good as Ponting IMO.

 

[JJ]

Sutcliffe, Hobbs, Hammond, Headley, Walcott, Barnes and others probably all averaged mid 50's and above...

thing is they're all great, depends on what style you like, and in many cases who you've seen and has impressed you personally.

FOr mine, I like the more elegant classical style of Dravid and Kallis - Kallis hasn't impressed a lot of Australians, but he's great nonetheless. Dravid is just about perfect IMO though, but doesn't bristle with aggression like Ponting and even Tendulkar and Lara...

 

[HevyDevy]

I tell you what it raises a interesting point JJ. There has been some outstanding batsmen on uncovered pitches that don't average 58 who could easily claim to be as good as Ponting IMO.

Who? Nathan Hauritz? Shane Watson? Darren Lockyer?

 

[spider]

Tony Grieg saying the umpire "may have got it right"

* falls off chair "

 

[skeepe]

Surprise surprise, both Giles and Pieterson have already been off the field this morning. Joyce has barely had a rest.

 

[El Diablo]

:lol: glad to see you're citing my posts El D - cheers! I appreciate the publicity :lol:

Furry's a f**kwit with delusions of grandeur, Tommy's not...

don't try and worm your way out of it. as soon as you found out furry was 18 or so you carried on like a complete dick saying he knew jack sh*t and you were the wise old master.

Nice to have all these Australians talkingabout me... long way to go to reach your illustrious status though ozbash! :lol:

who is the one with delusions of grandeur?

 

[The Colonel]

200 partnership for Ponting and Hussey, the Pommy fielders may as well go and sit in the stands and watch with a little more comfort.