the way the game has gone so far has it tath we got off to a good start but warney pegged us back and now between straussy and fred we have steadied the ship. warney knows he won't get too much turn on a first day oval pitch, so he is using guile and experiance to get the wickets...which fair play have worked. it must be a worry for ponting though with the other bowlers all going for almost 50 runs apeice. that is apart from katich.

this is probably the most important test match for england in the last 100 years. we are now at a level of world cricket that we deserve and to take it to the next level....this is the one that if we win then we can be truely called a great test country.....and rightfully too be crowned as (if we win or draw this test match) the best test playing nation in world cricket.....it is there for the taking michael vaughn...so lets have the bottle to take it.

i see your point phil. obvious that we are gonna try and bat as long as possible without declaring, so we might as well do it at the start of the test match. i too am getting very nervous....come on lads!!!!

if we win the toss then we must put them in because by doing this it is making them use up there own time, whereas we couldn't give a stuff how long they stay at the crease for.....then say after 1 and half days...we bat and then bat for 2 days or at least try to....if you see where i'm going with this.

well it all depends on how much people can handle their booze. there is nothing wrong with getting drunk and going to a footy match. the problem lies with the after effects and the actions of the individual/s. when you (generalisation) start to hurl abuse at people and cause provocation with opposing supporters then that kinda person needs to look at themselves.....i notice that by all accounts they went on a coach. now if this is the case then how much time did they actually have to get so tanked up?? a couple of hrs before the game and maybe a couple of pints at half time....?? if that is the case then that is just funny...

the tactic for this test match will be very interesting. from our perspective i would say taht vaughny if he wins the toss would not to even think about a declaration.....in the first inning. on the other hand and depending on what the pitch is normally like at the oval, it wouldn't be all that bad if australia batted first...cause it is they whom have to get us out as quickly as possible. if we do win the toss, then i wouldn't be surprised to see micahel vaughn put them in.

was watching sbs coverage through channel 4 last night and after the game had finished greg matthews could not have put it better if he tried..... "our discipline is not good enough, we are not gracious losers (bad losers) and england have totally out played us in 3 test matches"....now i never thought i would see the day when an australian would actually admit to something that most other folks already know.....being bad/sore losers. pigs are flying in the skys above australia today and it's gonna be a blue moon tonight.

when lucas and sav made them tackles, they immediately complained of protested innocense....in true fact neither of them had any right to. i thought that we could and probably should have won the game and i just wanted to see a little more composure in all areas of the pitch from us. having tugay sat in the middle and directing the traffic makes us a totally different team. on to lucas neill....up until his sending off i thought he was playing ok and having a decent game. however, this sending off must tell hughesy and his staff that they need to get lucas into theiur office at brockhall and have serious words with him. i believe it is one thing to have a discipline problem, but another thing altogether to be totally stupid about it...if that all makes sense. already on a yellow card, and he decides to go right through the back of edgar davids...thus nearly breaking his legs in the process. Andy todd....well if my eyes did not deceive me then he too will be suspended after headbutting andy reid and he certainly would deserve a suspension.....team captain is not leading by example and to be fair he has not done so far this season. I am that angry with these blokes right now that i am struggling to think of what to type.

first of all please lets not use the excuse that the tickets are too much. the attendance for saturday was surely the most disgraceful effort i have seen for a long time. apart from circumstances that are unforseen....this shows what kinda fans we have...or at least what some of them are like.

i must agree with you dave regarding the umpires and getting things wrong. people might agree with me here that overall i think the umpires have had a decent series so far. however we all accept that they are gonna get things wrong but the things they are getting wrong are not close decisions....they are big glaring errors. i don't agree with using technology for everything in cricket as it would take away the whole human element of the game. hopefully at old trafford we can have a really good game from the umpires without too mnay big mistakes.

an excellent day of cricket to see our lancashire lad kicking ass with bat and ball. showed some fight to get back into the test series so hopefully we can get it over and done this morning in pretty fashion so the lads get an extra day off.

if you have posted something in this context to take the michael, then you have certainly done what you set out to do.....if not, then you have to be having a laugh. a brilliant start to the test match with a great opening stand. yes tresco should have gone on and scored a big hundred but the way straussy got out, are you joking....come on you have to be!!!! that delivery from warney was almost akin to that one that had gatting wondering what was going on 12 years ago. the captain showed a glimpse of what he should done more often......it was a totally cocked up shot. ian bell....well another nothing show from a bloke whom i can't recall when he last had a decent innings against a good test nation. freddy and pietersen....steadied the ship and brought us back into the test match. the tail enders showed a little bit and added some good runs. so to say that it was another rubbish batting performance from england....is a little tunnel visioned. if the collapse had of continued when we started losing wickets......maybe, but that did not happen.

i was hoping that there would not be too many changes to our test squad, as a matter of fact i was hoping that it would stay the same as that squad that finished the series last winter in south africa. both countrys have had players play for them that weren't actually born there before, so get over it and look forward to the cricket.

my thoughts exactly mate. we will come up with something aussie rover but please not vb.... but then again the pleasure of pouring a slab of that down the drain would be wonderful.

a convincing victory and probably well deserved. they played the better cricket and took advantage of our mistakes, oh and that catch by ponting....brilliant.

pg i am actually a big teddy bear mate. and believe it or not i used to be a little boy. it is a shame that mrs mcgrath was so ill and we wish that on nobody, not just her but the whole family aswell. i am sure that if sarwan had of known that she was not well, then he would not have made that comment.

cheers blue phil, that was rather imusing once again reading all that. the above quote is my point illustrated perfectly.

i agree with you boddy g. further to the part about adding a second good striker to to play with, we need to try and get in a really good footballing central midfielder to complement this great signing. otherwise it is kinda defeating the purpose of what we arre trying to do.

that is one of the funnier things i have read for a while...... as usual from our australian counterparts, when we play them in a test tour, plenty of gobbing off based upon past series. well our team in the last 2 years has enjoyed and deserved the rise in test cricket aswell as one dayers and it has been a long time coming. so far this summer australia are not in our league in terms of cricket, but i aint counting them out (far from it). australia are a very good side and have been for many years now so it would be against our peril if we all started writing them off so early in the peace. however, should our good start to the season continue and go on through the summer and we win the test series i am absolutely certain that we will still have plenty of aussie on here again gobbing off, or....hang on maybe we won't cause common knowledge tells us that (some) aussies can't handle being given stick and try and shy away from what was previously been said from their end. we all give it and we all take it....if you can't do the latter then don't even bother.

i would never ever walk, cause it evens up the count for all the times that batsmen get crap decisions given against them. well tied game, is it a pre-cursor for the upcoming one day series against australia and then the ashes? if so then we should be in for a nail biting summer, and a great summer at htat if you are a nuetral.

jimbo as i understand it my friend from the south has done just the same as strauss and pietersen in moving to another country for a better life, taking up citizenship of that country and therefore embracing it.....aint nothing wrong with that mate. for what it is worth i myself always will support england and nobody else.

very good point there, p32. having their national captain and a player that is idolised over there especially in the black community, who just happen to be crackers about football and the premier league. these two lads could market our club over there without even trying (to market us).

if we do end up signing andy cole, again....he will get a massive reception from the fans at ewood for the first home game. further to that possibility if he does sign, it makes the departure of steady even more puzzling considering what a good partnership they had when playing together.

none of us live in england, so explain what that has to do with the price of corned beef?? I love that sign, ewood park follow junction 4