Congratulations England, the Ashes will soon be yours!

[150935]

Ponting out due to a severe injury picked up during the series...

I predict a draw or a win for the Aussies, who have something to prove to their own fans. England have done the job and may relax a little...

Whatever happens, the main thing is that the Barmy Army have done us proud...





...by proving once again you can watch sport and get pissed up at the same time, without feeling the need to break someones head!

Well done chaps!

Regards

Gaz

Give me a break a i did that during first day of MCG test and had a few beers to get away from such a bs performance lucky it was only mid strength had a good chat to a few blokes had a joke with a pom about the weather and replyed be nice on third day butn bloody melbourne weather is worst than the aussie cricket team

[cru_nz]

While I highly respect the Aussie cricket team I must say it was an entertaining serie's to watch as a "neutral". Australia have been dominant for so long and no doubt They will be back to Their best soon enough.

Congrat's to the Pom's, a near flawless performance, They thoroughly deserved to retain the Urn

A "finger" injury ruling out Ponting for the 5th test is somehow appropriate. The reaction of the general public and media has been extremely harsh given His standing as one of the greatest cricketer's of all time.

[ozjohn39]

BLOODY POMS!!


GRUMBLE!!


GRUMBLE!!


SIGH!


SOB!!



(Well done, you deserved the victory.)

[Rojik]

Hope we see the last of the thrice damn loser Ponting, the faster he is sacked permanently the better, by far the worse Captain we have had since Kim Hughes.

And replace him with...

I've been asking people that question all summer and am yet to hear a decent answer.

[copenhagen]

Not bad on day 2 .Could be a tight one. Steady as she goes boys. Bring this one home.

[Roddoss72]

And replace him with...

I've been asking people that question all summer and am yet to hear a decent answer.

I know i'll get flack for this but, i would make Michael Clarke our new test captain.

[150935]

And replace him with...

I've been asking people that question all summer and am yet to hear a decent answer.

I still think mike hussey should be captain brink back Hauritz as the main spinner, Steve smith has not really impressed me i think they should of stuck with North or gave white a crack, get rid of johnson and siddle maybe keep ponting and let kwharja bet number 4 and sack the coaches they are doing a pretty bad job if you compare our quicks to theres Anderson, Tremelett and the fello who came in for finn Tim Bresnan have capped it on off stump or just of it make the aussies play and if u get movment u probaly get a nick and they swung the ball for Australia only one bowler did this in 1 innings but rest of the time he was worst than a shot gun other bowlers have bowled way to short and wayward miles to wide who the hell is the bowling coach some bloke who played first grade in Christmas Island so if there is gonna be a shake down i think start with selectors clear em out than coaches than the players also make th pitchers harder to bat on for domestic matches the more batters play on a pitch that does a lot the better our batters will become shame i am not on the CA board

[150935]

I know i'll get flack for this but, i would make Michael Clarke our new test captain.

If anything make him play 2 full seasons of shield as captain and a season over in England as captain than give him a go half the problem with australian cricket all the players play internationals never play domestic games 2 positives can come out getting some the higher players to play domestic cricket A it would give the domestic cricket a massive boost and give some of the up and commers time in the national squad and B the Players will play a lot more cricket and play around australia go to each stadium at least twice for shield matches and one dayers and maybe 3 for the 20 twenty big bash so if the ground staff make the pitches favour the bowlers get the ball move around a lot more than it did a few years ago and it can not hurt for internationals play the small nations so the up and commers get matches against West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri lanka and New Zealand this may solve the problem of what we have now such a great team dominates for a decade than many of the players retire so young guys get shoved into a boiling pot

[Fodder76]

Well that was pretty comprehensive.

[Rojik]

I know i'll get flack for this but, i would make Michael Clarke our new test captain.

Nope. He didn't exactly set the world alight in that test and is only hanging on to his spot by the skin of his teeth. He is also not that respected by the playing group.

I still think mike hussey should be captain

Too old, recently coming off a bad form slump and I don't think he has ever been captain at shield level.

We need Punter to hang in there for another 12-24 months until the team is re-jigged and someone can put their hand up for the job.

Anyhoo, congrats to England. The won in all areas of the game and deserve the kudos.

[Achtung Baby]

Simon Katich didn't strangle him hard enough.....

[copenhagen]

I'm totally proud of the boys and well done. Im going to be magnanomous in victory because life is full of swings and roundabouts however this is for the journalist from the Australian Daily Telegraph.


From the Australian Daily Telegraph in November.

10 Reasons why England will not retain the Ashes.

1.Overrated

They walked around The Oval after their dominant home summer like they were God's gifts to Wisden. Here's who they really beat. No one. Nuffies and cheats. England clean-swept the worst team on the planet, Bangladesh, and then won three out of four Tests against rotten Pakistan. Now they're portrayed as superstars.

2 Kevin Pietersen He might be growing a moustache for a very good cause but he's still getting around looking like Dirk Diggler out of Boogie Nights. His most recent Test efforts have been the biggest joke. John Buchanan was right with his assessment of Pietersen. Buchanan was panned because the truth hurt. There's more than one 'I' in Kevin Pietersen and it hurts morale. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar..End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

3 No top speedster

Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steve Finn are respectable quicks. But they lack the fear factor. Every truly great attack has someone pushing 150km/h, like Mitchell Johnson does for Australia. None of the touring fast bowlers are frightening. Away from swing and seam-friendly England, that doesn't leave them with much.

4 Passive captain

Andrew Strauss has to lead by example because his introverted demeanour doesn't get the blood pumping too much. Only his scores do. He leads with quiet assurance when things are going well. But he comes across as introverted and submissive when things start going pear-shaped.

5 No superstars

Pietersen is as good as anyone when he's in the mood, but he hasn't been in the mood for a long time. He couldn't make a hundred against Bangladesh - his 99 was close but no cigar - and Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus and Johnson can smell blood. Graeme Swann is the only Englishman to make a world XI right now.England are successful because they know their limitations. Which means there are limitations.

6 Over-analysis

They've faced bowling machines with footage of Australian speedsters running in at them - and still didn't want to know about Mitchell Johnson. They've given themselves three weeks in Australia to acclimatise but haven't played on pitches like the monster they'll encounter at the Gabba. Every breath they take is a part of a suffocating plan. There's no freedom, nothing instinctive or adventurous. Paralysis by over-analysis.

7 No depth

In such a cramped schedule, injuries are bound to hit both camps. England are in serious strife if they lose any of their first XI. There's a vast gulf between their top-tier players and those on the standby list. Australia can only hope and pray that off-spinner Monty Panesar is called in for Graeme Swann. Australia have eight Test-standard speedsters in the queue.

8 Chokers

This is England we're talking about. Losing is a tradition. Think soccer World Cups. Think Tim Henman at Wimbledon. Think every cricket tour of Australia since 1986-87. They always arrive talking themselves up, vowing they won't wilt under the heat and pressure and scrutiny, then wilt under the heat and pressure and scrutiny. They've hired a self-described Yips Doctor - because they need one.

9 Warm-ups

Everyone keeps rattling on about England's perfect preparation. They must be having a laugh. A few of them made runs at Adelaide Oval. It's like batting on the Hume Highway. Anyone seen the scorecards? Western Australia rolled England for 223. South Australia dismissed them for 288 on the Hume. And Australia A ripped through their top order in Hobart A yesterday. Perfectly prepared? Piffle.

10 Scars

Five of their top six batsmen are the same lot who stumbled and bumbled through the 5-0 loss on England's last trip to Australia. The scarring is deep and real. Jimmy Anderson's memories of Australia are all nightmarish. He averaged 45.16. Broad and Finn are yet to play a Test series in Australia. Hard surfaces jarring bones and muscles, oppressive heat - they won't know what or who has hit them

[Achtung Baby]

G'day cope, I saw that article yesterday and I found it quite amusing.... both the author and newspaper have little repute here in Oz. Most likely a piece to stir circulation.

[Tuck's Luck]

He wrote another one after that, when Australia won the 2nd test called 10 Reasons Why Australia Will Win the Ashes, but that doesn't seem to have got so much coverage.

Personally I think the Aussie press have been brilliant - very funny (but good natured) article about 'the English' in the Australian had me laughing out loud

ENGLAND'S RUN OF SUCCESS NOT OVER.

NOW our Ashes shame is complete, the AWAAT team has decided to bow in humility, man up and accept that the sporting world has changed forever.

It is now a fait accompli that England will win the next soccer World Cup. It is also inevitable an Englishman will win the Wimbledon tennis tittle and that the Land of Hope and Glory will produce a surfing world champion.

The least we at AWAAT can do is to salute and dedicate today's column to all things English.

So, with a heavy heart, here goes.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225983892627




Will Swanton - the author of the 10 Reasons, has written another:

10 ASHES REASONS WE KIDDED OURSELVES

THE only thing more enjoyable than putting together a pre-series list of 10 reasons why the England cricketers were duds has been the reaction over the past 24 hours.

I've been told by someone with a comically straight face I should deliver a formal apology. Here's what you can do with your formal apology. Stick it in Billy Cooper's trumpet.

But all the gloating is great. Do your damnedest. Sport swings off its hinges with different opinions. The more people who have a crack, the better.

For the benefit of the bloke with the comically straight face, lets revisit the 10 reasons.

more here ....
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/ash...-1225983791369

[Roddoss72]

I read a very good bit in a local paper and it makes a very good point that maybe the reason that the Australians are a shambles is that Cricket Australia is stuck in the 1970's as a professional organisation, every one who has been connected to this bloody shambles has had their contracts extended by two to four years.

Another factor is that these test players are treated like bloody rock stars and are pampered and catered to every whim they want, they are un-accountable, they are un-diciplined. Vastly over payed, over exposed, more concerned about their next commercial than dedicating time to their bread and butter of training hard.

Just look at one incident, the Australians had the crap smacked out of them in their first innings of the 5th Test, and instead of getting into the nets and practice like what the English did, they were all huddled aroung a sports shrink.