THE ASHES IS ON AGAIN! After 5-0 white wash at home, can we win it again in England ?

[Mr Bastard]

Catches win matches, stolks's slips catch one of the best ive seen......the other catches i witnessed early were beauties also,

What a shame, the Poms were just too good yesterday..........

[Oneonone]

Looks like you wont be punting for a while bro Ahlungor putting your money on a lost cause.

[Oneonone]

Whats Johnson doing he is just bowling the ball in the slot the poms are sitting back waiting till he bowl it where they want it the ausies have not bowled with any fire we have not seen one short ball and one of the batsmen is a night watchman.

Change of bowling and at last a wicket. Thank goodness its Root out.

Come on Aussies fire up if or when we loose at least go down fighting! Don't just go through the motions.

[rooter]

Starc is on fire!!!
It's pie in the sky wishful thinking I know, but I am the eternal optimist.
If Australia can somehow come back from this it will be the greatest comeback in Australian sporting history.
here is some inspiration ...
http://www.pedestrian.tv/sport/home-...f-a/101966.htm

[Oneonone]

Stark is bowling fantastic but Johnson is so disappointing

[AHLUNGOR]

We now need to bat for three days !!

Make 600 and tried to bowl England out in three sessions or force a draw !!

[pepefirstlove]

Cocky Cook must feel so great being able to declare for once in his life

Looked so smug when he was calling them in

....

How good were Broad...? Those were unplayable. Good cricket that. Just glad that 3 overs went unscathed.

[rooter]

Have faith brothers and stay tuned.
History could be made in the next few days.
Something you will be telling your kids and grand kids about.

[harmony]

This is not the explanation for our poor performance, but I wonder if Healy has a point...
Didn't know the WAGs were supposed to join the Australians ...

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/...07-gitw4r.html

Australian cricketing great Ian Healy has blamed the wives and girlfriends of the Australian players for contributing to the team's calamitous start to the fourth Ashes test.

The former Test wicketkeeper questioned whether the WAGs were a "distraction" on tour, after the tourists' were bowled out for 60 in just 111 balls before lunch on day one, the shortest first inning in Test cricket history.

"All their partners are here and some of the most respected cricketers I played with hated that distraction
They weren't allowed on tour until after the series had been won," Healy said during his commentary of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge for Channel Nine.

"Your mind needs to be completely focused on it. Cricket is a sport that requires complete concentration. You need everything going for you and I'm not sure they're pushing for that hard enough." Healy said.

"Their hearts might not be that strong ... are they together as a team? Do they fragment from here? Do they meet and talk about it tonight? Will they confront it?"

Australian partners, back row: Isabelle Platt (Mitch Marsh), Jessica Johnson (Mitchell Johnson), Melissa Waring (Nathan Lyon), Dani Willis (Steve Smith), Kyly Clarke (Michael Clarke), and Kristy Voges (Adam Voges). Front row: Bec O'Donovan (Shaun Marsh), Sam Nelson (Peter Nevill) and Cherie Harris (Ryan Harris) with son Carter

[AHLUNGOR]

The Ashes is gone !

Michael Clarke will retire immediate after the dead rubber in the Oval !

Swans got beaten. Broncos got beaten, the Cowboys got beaten!!

Thank heaven the Wallabies finally have a win over the All Blacks !!

Bring on Eden Park !!

Btw, between the Ashes and the Bledisloe Cup. Which one would you rather win !!!

I think the Rugby! Since we haven't won it for soooooo long !

[Oneonone]

Well done England the better team won.

[harmony]

Yes brother A
Apart from the cricket, where the Australian batsmen are probably the worst lineup in history, the other results were all upsets !!!

Glad Im not a gambler

[harmony]

I have a five step plan for bringing Australia out of the slump they are in
We no longer have highly skilled players (particularly the batsmen) with a RUTHLESS HUNGRY COMPETITIVE edge
Instead we have overpaid overpampered sportpeople, whose senses are dulled by a nonstop international junket of free travel and family life cameraderie

1)No more social media until after a series is over, and only for a 1 month window
The rest of the year should be spent with their minds on improving their skills, not spending their time with their heads up their own arses

2)No more WAGS around during the week before, and during a cricket series
There is plenty of time being with family AFTER a series is finished. The team members are usually given a full 1-2 weeks off from cricket after each series
Believe me, after their retire (usually mid 30s) they will have 50 years to spend with their families
There has been too much press releases of "happy families" - this level of contentment robs these players of the "hungry edge" of competitive sport

3)Drop the Marsh brothers, and anyone else who is given a chance at International level and fails to meet the standard
I remember Matt Haydn literally waiting 10 years on the sidelines, continually scoring centuries in Sheffield Shield
Granted he probably should have been in the Australian team 6 years earlier, but when he finally got in, he was very hungry to prove himself

4)Don't select the team 24 hours before a Test match, as we have seen during this 2015 Ashes series
Select the team a week before the first game, and leave the selections stable, unless injury occurred

5)Change the pay scales. These over paid over pampered players are earning $800 000 - $1 000 000 salaries, and not performing
A lot of them have been lured by the money in the Indian Premier League, and are focusing on T20/20 skills, and forgetting Test standard batting
By all means play these players well, they all retire by the age of 40, and need to set them selves up for life
But they need to be also pay commisurate to their performance
Lose a series, and you lose half your pay for that series

[AHLUNGOR]

Michael Clarke should have retired after winning the Cricket World Cup at the MCG and goes out a winner, and a 5-0 Ashes Winning Captain !!

It's all in the timing !!

[kuntous]

Australia is now $17.00 to win the 4th Test.

And 36-1 to win or draw the Series, I will be putting some money on the Baggy Greens.

A fool and his money are easily parted!

[harmony]

That's good to say with the benefit of hindsight Brother A

As you may know however, Michael Clarke has been involved with at least 3 losing Ashes teams in the UK previously, and this was his last attempt at winning the Ashes in England !

He is a champion player, and lets never forget he scored a century on his Test match debut:

Clarke was chosen to make his Test debut against India at Bangalore, in October 2004, despite having a first-class average below 40. He succeeded on debut, scoring 151 and consequently helping Australia to victory, invoking comparisons to past Australian batsmen such as Doug Walters and Mark Waugh (Wikipedia)

Even the Champion Michael Clarke couldn't have predicted his poor form would prove to be a permanent issue, and that the Australian batting lineup would be piss weak
The Marsh twins also proved beyond doubt that they are not up to playing for the national team
Harsh but fair - a bit like Mitchell Pearce playing for the NSWs Blues - not up to the task

[AHLUNGOR]

That's good to say with the benefit of hindsight Brother A


[/B] a bit like Mitchell Pearce playing for the NSWs Blues - not up to the task

I am not a Pearce fans that's for sure, but while he is not Cronk, Thurston or Lockyer, he is Not a bad player, in fact I think he conducted himself quite OK for most of the Origin Games he had played. He just hadn't really been able to deliver a knock out punch in the key moments to lift the Blues team in winning a Series, but he had played well enough to win some odd games here and there. And many of the series that the Blues had lost were very close games and the Maroons were just that little bit better in closing out those games and won the series.

So, if we must use Pearce in a cricket sense, he is not a bad batsman, I think he would qualified to be a consistent batsman, say average 40+ runs, occasionally get a Ton but haven't won a match on his own, but he had not collapsed frequently with many ducks or multiple single digit outs either.

You see the difference ?

[harmony]

No brother, I don't see your point
I have no problem with Mitchell Pearce in general, and he has won an NRL premiership with the Sydney Roosters
The majority of NRL players in history have never even got to play in a Grand Final

I do give him the benefit of the doubt, although there is a lot of doubt

Generally if you are a NRL premiership winning playmaker, you should be able to make the transition to playing well for state and Australia

Countless examples include Peter Sterling, Steve Mortimer (Canterbury), Laurie Daley, Cooper Cronk, Andrew Johns,Jonathan Thurston, Brad Fittler etc etc. All have won NRL premierships, and naturally displayed the same matchwinning skills for their states and countries
Those players dominated the opposition by being able to outwit the opposition defence on a regular basis

Mitchell Pearce doesn't have that domination factor, where the opposition have no idea what play he will come up with next

I am sure part of the problem is that he believes his own hype

The sooner these young sportsmen get their head out of their arse, and disconnect from social media, the better

But probably of more use, Mitchell Pearce needs to be able to break the line, and fine the openings more consistently

In contrast, Brad Fittler would create openings with his prodigious sidestep, Andrew Johns knew how to put people in the gaps, and Cooper Cronk has the ball on a string, and can either create an opening, or chip kick over the defensive line with monotonous regularity
And Jonathan Thurston, he is just a hole opening king, and has an instinctual knowledge of where the opposition defensive line is weakest

That talent cant be taught.

[AHLUNGOR]

Well, the fifth and final test is on again at the Oval tomorrow night !!

Hopefully Captain Clarke can go out a winner !!

In the mean time, let's congratulate the Southern Stars in beating the England Women Team in the Ashes equivalent !!

Can we call in Ellyse Perry to bowl and Jess Jonassen to bat in the middle ??

[AHLUNGOR]

Is there one last efforts from Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, David Warner and Co to send the Captain out a winner ??