All starts on wednesday



The 13 man squad has just been revealed with Harmy missing out.

England squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Jimmy Anderson, Monty Panesar, Ian Bell, Graham Onions.



Probably will see a lineup of:

Struass ©
Cook
Bopara
Pierersen
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Monty

Id go with that, but i think they'll go in with just the 1 spin bowler at Cardiff, so the only alteration to that XI i think would be Onions instead of Monty

I am very disappointed that this series will not be shown on terrestrial TV.

The 2005 Ashes series was shown live on Channel 4 and I don't think I missed a session

And they did a bloody good job too, Channel 4 were good at summat after all

you want some

Maybe

Doubt it. It's a new pitch and warm weather, should suit spin.

Likely team, though with Flintoff and Prior swtiched round. Flintoff hasn't been good enough for six for a long time, whereas Prior is in great form with the bat, even though he's got a lot of his runs against the West Indies.

I'm really looking forward to the Ashes. Much weaker teams but could still be great cricket and England have a chance to win but we'll need players to stand up and be counted. Shame I don't have Sky so can't watch it live - ridiculous!

Well if anyone else is interested... it starts today at 11am. For some reason I thought it was Thursday until a couple of hours ago, but there you go - the Ashes are upon us once more.

Looks like it will be the team Louis suggested, though I think Panesar has done nothing to deserve a place in the team at this moment in time. He's got worse since he made his debut and at the moment doesn't look a patch on Swann, who can also bat and field very well (which Panesar can't). Think the Aussies have a stronger team on paper but it should be a great contest nonetheless. I don't think an England victory is likely (a draw is virtually a defeat as Aussies retain the Ashes).

I do get a bit worried looking at that time - if we consider the technical flaws of Cook, the form of Pietersen, Flintoff and Panesar etc; and good as they are, Anderson and Broad aren't world class bowlers (yet). However, I see players who can make things happen as well and potential matchwinners at the same time. If the likes of Pietersen and Flintoff can stand up and be counted like they did in 2005, then we could be in for a treat.

On that note, all this build up surrounding the 2005 victory is as if we're the current holders of the Ashes. Unfortunately we lost them dismally 5-0 18 months later, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen again this time, whether we win them or not...

At last some fecking proper cricket

Nor me, and I won't be missing one this time either

i think dorty was referring to the cricket though, not the pub

Thanks for rubbing it in.

For the most part I've got Blofeld on TMS and Channel 5 highlights which I'm often busy during. Though I can always go round friends' houses and watch but chances are I'll miss all the good stuff.

theres a load of streams btw

That is very true - can't post them on the forum though because it's illegal according to someone here...

couldnt give a shite now


i aint an admin no more

Well it's 97-3 at lunch. Got the runs but disappointed we've lost three wickets already. Shame Bopara had to get out because he'd got himself in and was starting to play nice shots but then again Mitchell Johnson is a class bowler. The good thing for England is Pietersen is still there and he's batted well with Collingwood over the years.

Also it's not a great batting wicket and will be worst for batting in the Aussies second innings (assuming we don't lose by an innings...). They only have three pace bowlers and their main spinner, Hauritz, is not good enough to play Test cricket, let alone be Shane Warne's replacement.

thought they bowled well this morning and they defo have the upper hand atm



couple of big scores and that can change


or we could be bowled out for less that 250 and be fucked of course

The weather forecast of rain for Saturday and Sunday suggest that a draw is the most likley result of the first test.

All the same, we need a solid partnership from KP and Colly

Excellent recovery by England, 194-3 at Tea. Pieterson and Colly have put on over 100 between them

Good fightback from Pietersen and Colly. Both getting to fifty and all of a sudden the pendulum has swung in our favour. We were helped by Hauritz and Clarke bowling their very tame spin bowling. They really miss a good spinner, let alone Warne.

Now we've got to make sure at least one of the not out batsmen go on to a big score.

Anyone else feel that it just doesn't feel like the Ashes yet? Not sure why - no Warne and McGrath, not on terrestrial TV, starting the series in Wales... but it doesn't quite feel like the Ashes just yet.

they haven't really looked like they were going to get them out either, good stuff

dont mind me

The next session is crucial, in this position we have an awful habit of losing two or three wickets and handing the initiative back to the other team. If we can put on another 70 runs with a maximium of one more wicket (preferably Colly), we will be in good shape for Day 2.

Hopefully, 270 for 3 (or 4) by stumps. Come on England!

Doesn't bother me - good for Welsh cricket; it's just a bit odd it's not starting at Lords (or Edgbaston).

I've listened to it on the radio and to be fair, it just isn't the same as TV (likewise listening to football on the radio).

Agreed, good as Test Match Special is of course. You have to imagine what it looks like and it's obviously a much more enjoyable experience seeing it on a screen.

The only benefit of radio is that one gets to listen to the magnificent Henry Blofeld commentating
211-3.

ah well


241-5

WTF was Pietersen playing at? This isn't f****** 20/20!!!!!

He should be fined a day's wages every time he tries something as stupid as that, perhaps it would teach him a little discipline

Stupid shot and not the first time sadly, but I don't see why he should be fined but nobody else. He's done a lot for England also since his arrival after all.

The silly South African...

Flintoff out for 37.

336-7 at stumps.

Too many batsmen got themselves in and then got themselves out cheaply.

Still, at least England don't have to face the master, Shane Warne

Awful day, don't understand why people are saying it's ok - it's not. To lose 7 wickets on the first day on a really flat wicket for only 336 is shocking.

A loss, or draw depending on weather.

Because people don't have your unnecessarily high standards.

Could prove to be a good or bad day depending on how the teams play for the rest of the game. It wasn't an amazing bowling attack, but it was Australia and not Bangladesh we were facing. An 'awful' day would be all out for under 200; not 336-7.

Should be in a better position though due to silly shots from the batsmen. Pietersen should have been already out plumb lbw though to be fair.

Bit of both, yes we should have got more than 336 on the 1st day but the Aussies will be kicking themselves for not bowling us out cheaply.

Really? 336 is a fair amount of runs for one day and we only got that much due to Prior and Flintoff scoring quickly at the end. Agreed Aussies would have ideally wanted us bowled out more cheaply, but they were a bit lucky to get some of their wickets (Pietersen, Cook etc.) and it was a pretty flat pitch.

Like you said though, we were guilty of some daft batting, Colly and KP could have gone on a lot longer than the 130+ stand.

On that pitch and with the Aussie's bowling like they did, i thought around 360-380 was possible, now with the tail in play, id think at best we'll get to 360 unless Broad delivers more magic with the bat again, otherwise 400 is possible.

The wicket did nothing, no swing, no pace, no spin, no bounce, etc... 350 ish is a decent-ish score, but at the expense of 7 wickets is very poor. It's the type of pitch that the Aussies would of batted on all day and got close to 400 with on 2 or 3 down, tops.

They would? What makes you think the Aussies are that good?

It was a batting wicket no doubt, but no swing/pace/spin/bounce is an exaggeration. The wicket will deteriorate at least and we should be bowling at the Aussies last if it's not rained off, which is a good thing.

Why are you looking at things so negatively mate? It's not an ideal start, but 'awful' is taking things too far. There were definitely positives to take out of today.

The ball was swinging plenty in the match I was watching and there was a bit of uneven bounce too. Nathan Hauritz isn't all that and i think a better exponent of spin will do a lot more. There's a lot more in that wicket than you might think

Maybe not this Aussie side, but generally Australian sides are notoriously known for being able to bat with ease on poor wickets such as this. You would certainly see a century or 2.

Not being negative, just don't get why people are saying it's a decent start (not on here).

i thought it was a crap score, too many people got in and didnt continue to get bigger scores when they should have, a couple of pretty awful shots and a bit of luck.

KP should have been out earlier it looked a plum LBW he got away with it and went out to a ball he could have easily left



it all comes down to our tail now to try and get up as close to 400 as they can and then our bowlers

Hauritz turning the ball a mile with plenty of bounce in his first over, Monty and Swann will have a field day on this wicket

That's the 400 up

Great first hour for England, put on more than 80

421-8.

Anderson gone, gan on Monty

fuckin go on swanny


blast teh fuckin convicts out of the ground

Graeme Swann is class.