Before play started...: England dicking all over the Aussies
Where did it all go wrong for Australia?: They gave up the ghost
Where did it all go right for Australia?: They got England all out (eventually)
Where did it all go wrong for England?: No extra wickets in the extra half-hour
Where did it all go right for England?: The first three days, as well as today
Who won each session?: Morning - England. Afternoon - England. Evening - England.
Who's winning the game?: Not even a question of if, but when England will win this game.
Shot of the day: Tremlett's drive for four off Beer. Gorge.
Ball of the day: Anderson's reverse swinger to get rid of Uzzy
Man of the day: There are eleven men in that England team, pick one. I'll go for Collingwood, for no other reason than he should be remembered today.
And finally... Ashes Oddity: I queued up for 45 minutes, to pay for a $30 ticket for day 5. As play ended, the SCG decided to allow free entry tomorrow. Thanks.
Showing posts with label Michael Beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Beer. Show all posts
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
An appropriate picture of Michael Beer...
This probably just about sums up his feelings about his afternoon. Captions please!
Monday, 3 January 2011
Day One At The SCG
Before play started...: Ricky Ponting had an injury, so Michael Clarke stepped up as captain (unpopular). Ponting was replaced at 3 by Usman Khawaja (dayboo), as well as Michael Beer coming in for injured Ryan Harris (also making his dayboo). Ashes retaining England were unchanged.
Where did it all go wrong for Australia?: Didn't tick the scores along as quickly as they would have wanted. Lost wickets at key moments. Nobody went on and went big.
Where did it all go right for Australia?: Good partnerships being developed, Watson showing he's a proper opener, Khawaja showing he's test class.
Where did it all go wrong for England?: Didn't take as many wickets as they would have hoped with the muggy overhead conditions.
Where did it all go right for England?: Took wickets when it mattered, and bowled dangerously. Stopped any free flow of runs.
Who won each session?: Morning - Australia. Afternoon - Even. Evening - Just about England.
Who's winning the game?: Tight one. Both teams will feel there's a bit in it for them. Though with Khawaja falling last ball, I'd say England are ahead.
Shot of the day: Khawaja's pull off Bresnan for 4. Or Watson's drive for four (also off Bresnan).
Ball of the day: Bresnan's one to get rid of Clarke. Nice shape.
Man of the day: On debut, Usman Khawaja. Looked solid and assured at the crease throughout. Will be kicking himself that he got out in stupid circumstances.
And finally... Ashes Oddity: After enduring horrible, miserable weather in England over the past few months, I arrive in Sydney, and my first day of cricket is massively rain affected.
Where did it all go wrong for Australia?: Didn't tick the scores along as quickly as they would have wanted. Lost wickets at key moments. Nobody went on and went big.
Where did it all go right for Australia?: Good partnerships being developed, Watson showing he's a proper opener, Khawaja showing he's test class.
Where did it all go wrong for England?: Didn't take as many wickets as they would have hoped with the muggy overhead conditions.
Where did it all go right for England?: Took wickets when it mattered, and bowled dangerously. Stopped any free flow of runs.
Who won each session?: Morning - Australia. Afternoon - Even. Evening - Just about England.
Who's winning the game?: Tight one. Both teams will feel there's a bit in it for them. Though with Khawaja falling last ball, I'd say England are ahead.
Shot of the day: Khawaja's pull off Bresnan for 4. Or Watson's drive for four (also off Bresnan).
Ball of the day: Bresnan's one to get rid of Clarke. Nice shape.
Man of the day: On debut, Usman Khawaja. Looked solid and assured at the crease throughout. Will be kicking himself that he got out in stupid circumstances.
And finally... Ashes Oddity: After enduring horrible, miserable weather in England over the past few months, I arrive in Sydney, and my first day of cricket is massively rain affected.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
What Aussies Think
If you haven't noticed my blatant name-dropping and showing-off, I'm in Sydney. Actual Sydney, in Australia. Where the 5th Ashes test is, tomorrow.
If you're sitting there in England, I know the burning question on your lips is what do the Australians think of all of this? (If you're Australian, you probably know what the Australians think. And if you're from somewhere else in the world, you may or may not be bothered). So partly to continue showing off, and also to help give a total insight of the Ashes, here's an English perspective of the Aussie perspective of the Ashes. This is from what I've read in papers and overheard on trains. So pretty accurate.
Australians hate Michael Clarke
Australia's newest test captain has only an 8% approval rating, and is hated for a variety of reasons. From his wannabe celebrity status, to his breakup with the nation's sweetheart* Lara Bingle (*Note - in no way the nation's sweetheart), Pup is being ridiculed, disliked, vilified and generally "bagged" (I learned a new word) in the Aussie press. My humble view on it? If he was making runs, none of this would be happening.
Australians love Brad Haddin
The man who would / could / should be captain. But would he be so highly touted if he wasn't making runs???
Australians respect English players
Jonathan Trott is viewed as a latter-day South African-English Bradman; Strauss and Flower as some sort of dream team sent from above to lead successful cricket teams. Graeme Swann is seen both as a great off-spinner, and as a comedian (fair assessment). His latest Ashes Diary (you know, the one where he does the impressions of Richie Benaud and Tony Grieg) has been repeated many times on every news channel.
Australians think Kevin Pietersen is a dick
His "I resigned for the greater good, so praise me" quote has been added to the general public perception of the big ego (remember FIGJAM?), and while he's respected as a great player, he's still seen as a dick.
Ricky Ponting will be remembered for his three Ashes losses
While his vast achievements as both a batsman and captain have been recognised and celebrated, there is a general understanding that any captain that loses 3 (or at least isn't able to pick up the urn in 3) Ashes series will always be remembered for those defeats.
Usman Khawaja is the new golden boy
All of those marketing-speak phrases like "poster boy for a new generation"; "trail-blazer for many Australian communities" and such have been used for Uzzy. And a lot is expected of his batting.
Selectors don't know what they're doing
Picking Bollinger (universally popular) for Adelaide = bad move. Picking Doherty = bad move. Not picking Hauritz = bad move. 4 quicks at Melbourne = bad move. Steve Smith = bad move. Original 17 man squad = bad move. Michael Beer = bad move. Clarke as captain = bad move. Not much support for Hildrith and the boys.
If you're sitting there in England, I know the burning question on your lips is what do the Australians think of all of this? (If you're Australian, you probably know what the Australians think. And if you're from somewhere else in the world, you may or may not be bothered). So partly to continue showing off, and also to help give a total insight of the Ashes, here's an English perspective of the Aussie perspective of the Ashes. This is from what I've read in papers and overheard on trains. So pretty accurate.
Australians hate Michael Clarke
Australia's newest test captain has only an 8% approval rating, and is hated for a variety of reasons. From his wannabe celebrity status, to his breakup with the nation's sweetheart* Lara Bingle (*Note - in no way the nation's sweetheart), Pup is being ridiculed, disliked, vilified and generally "bagged" (I learned a new word) in the Aussie press. My humble view on it? If he was making runs, none of this would be happening.
Australians love Brad Haddin
The man who would / could / should be captain. But would he be so highly touted if he wasn't making runs???
Australians respect English players
Jonathan Trott is viewed as a latter-day South African-English Bradman; Strauss and Flower as some sort of dream team sent from above to lead successful cricket teams. Graeme Swann is seen both as a great off-spinner, and as a comedian (fair assessment). His latest Ashes Diary (you know, the one where he does the impressions of Richie Benaud and Tony Grieg) has been repeated many times on every news channel.
Australians think Kevin Pietersen is a dick
His "I resigned for the greater good, so praise me" quote has been added to the general public perception of the big ego (remember FIGJAM?), and while he's respected as a great player, he's still seen as a dick.
Ricky Ponting will be remembered for his three Ashes losses
While his vast achievements as both a batsman and captain have been recognised and celebrated, there is a general understanding that any captain that loses 3 (or at least isn't able to pick up the urn in 3) Ashes series will always be remembered for those defeats.
Usman Khawaja is the new golden boy
All of those marketing-speak phrases like "poster boy for a new generation"; "trail-blazer for many Australian communities" and such have been used for Uzzy. And a lot is expected of his batting.
Selectors don't know what they're doing
Picking Bollinger (universally popular) for Adelaide = bad move. Picking Doherty = bad move. Not picking Hauritz = bad move. 4 quicks at Melbourne = bad move. Steve Smith = bad move. Original 17 man squad = bad move. Michael Beer = bad move. Clarke as captain = bad move. Not much support for Hildrith and the boys.
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