Ashes 2009 2nd Test (Lords)
What a great morning! Not managing to stay up half the night to watch our boys thump the Aussies, I checked the result at 5am this morning.
What a turn around from the first test, after suffering 'you lucky bastards' for the past week it was time to dish some revenge on my Aussie work colleagues, what is blatant is the fact they are bad losers.
Surprisingly quite at work today and no news from Aussie Mick.
Find below some comments from the press here in Oz:
Ricky Ponting says his men are already turning their attention to the third Ashes Test in Birmingham following their defeat at Lord's.
The victory ended Australia's 75-year unbeaten streak in Tests at the ground and handed England a telling 1-0 series lead with three matches to play.
Ponting said his men had to make the most of the three-day practice match in Northampton starting Friday before the pivotal clash at Edgbaston.
"The next week now becomes really important for us," he said. "The next couple of days and tour game in Northampton become vital for us to make sure we're as well prepared as we can be for the start of the third Test match, which will be a great challenge for the entire group."
Ponting said Australia had time to fight back into the series. He reminded all that they had gone so close to winning the opening match in Cardiff only to be thwarted by a 40-minute stand by the last wicket pair of Monty Panesar and James Anderson.
Ponting continued: "Being 1-0 down is not the ideal situation to be in the game but as you say there are three games to go so there is still plenty of cricket to be played in the summer. It's disappointing anytime you don't win a Test and we've been outplayed for the majority of this game, there's no doubt about that, from the first morning until late on day three. The way we fought the game out from the last half of day three through to the end of today was a reasonably pleasing sign."
(Read this and other articles in full here: www.theage.com.au/sport/)
Quite an honest report, but in true Aussie style carry on reading:
Umpire Rudi Koertzen stood accused of a lack of consistency as umpiring blunders shrouded the Lord's Test in controversy.
The low slips catch claimed by England captain Andrew Strauss off Australian opener Phillip Hughes and not referred to the television umpire by Koertzen was the most contentious of three decisions against Australian batsmen, which were shown by technology to be either dubious or incorrect.
While both teams refused to be dragged into the catching controversy — whether the Australians should have accepted the word of the England captain or whether Strauss should have claimed the catch in the first place — Australian coach Tim Nielsen expressed frustration that everyone watching the second Test had a chance to form an opinion except for the man who had power to help with the decision, television umpire Nigel Llong.
Instead, Koertzen checked with colleague Billy Doctrove who was some distance away at square leg. A day earlier he referred a catch claimed by Nathan Hauritz and, on the basis of inconclusive television footage viewed by Llong, England batsman Ravi Bopara was spared. "I don't think you can be five metres away and refer it and then be 40 metres away and not refer it," retired Australian bowler Shane Warne said in the commentary box.
Nielsen said Australia could not afford to dwell on the incident but he was unhappy that Koertzen did not go through the same process as he did for Hauritz's catch.
(Read this and other articles in full here: www.theage.com.au/news/sport/cricket/poor-umpiring-pushes-test-into-controversy/2009/07/20/1247941873686.html )
'I'll never get that in my mouth': Aussies take defeat at Lords by getting the barbie going
Winging Aussies
Read below an extract from a sports writer in the land down under titled Strauss' style is unappealing:
Early in Michael Clarke's commendable innings at Lord's, he was forced to jerk his head out of the way of a searing Andrew Flintoff bouncer. The ball clipped Clarke's helmet on its way through to wicketkeeper Matthew Prior. It was a piece of cricket that summed up the ideal of Ashes competition: one competitor giving his best, bringing out the best in the other, a split-second replete with skill, courage, daring and possibility, all fairly played.
But from the slips cordon, England captain Andrew Strauss appealed.
For what? A man who had made nearly 200 runs himself in the match assuredly has better eyes than to believe it was a catch and no other form of dismissal was possible. It can only be that Strauss was trying one on. Already, officiating was a burning issue. Already, there was consternation. If the umpires already had made one bad decision, might they not make another, especially if rattled?
It was a moment that encapsulated England's unexpectedly cynical attitude in this series. It stands in stark contrast to the generally noble spirit of the 2005 series. It is so out of the character on which the English generally pride themselves, so unbecoming of any cricket team, but especially of England.
Australia, of all countries, and Australians, of all people, should know.
Bad Losers! But I guess they haven't had that much practice in recent years.
The press are nowhere near as harsh on their players as the English press would be if we had lost, they divert their criticism to the umpires and our boys, do they not see that Ponting is possibly one of the most cynical players ever to grace a cricket pitch!
(For this and other articles in full go here:
www.theage.com.au/news/sport/cricket/strauss-style-is-unappealing/2009/07/20/1247941873692.html)
All I need now is a few signings from Tilly and a good display against Ipswich tomorrow to cap off what has the potential of being a great week with my
birthday tomorrow as well.
So all I can say is COME ON ENGLAND! and UP THE BLUES!