I also left out the fact that our Prime Minister called it a 'national tragedy' on radio the next moring

Or our reaction when a swimmer falls off the starting blocks at a national trial

Good example of the work ethic you value so highly 'eh Chesh ..and yet the team that was 'out everythinged' were two runs away from going 2-0 up.

Why stop with 103!! Should have charged the lot of them

Personally, I start counting down the days before the Australian summer and cricketing season. Cricket is often the only thing that stops me losing my mind in between ski season. We've got the 'Supertests' to look forward to in October. When do you guys travel to Pakistan? Oh, and we've got Rovers playing 4-5-1 with a bunch of negative numpties who can't string together two creative passes between them

Thanks mate!!

Blueboy - honestly at the start of the series I thought if McGrath, Warne and Gillespie could stay fit we would win 2-1 or 3-1. I know you guys played well in South Africa, and I know that your young pace bowlers were just beginning to come into their own. But I thought that our old, ageing bowlers had enough quality to knock over your batsman. We had also become the first Australian side to win in India in about 25 years. As it happens, McGrath missed two tests, Gillespie lost all confidence and ability...and Warne played one of the greatest lone hands in Test cricket history. Oh, and I'm also very disappointed in the efforts of our batsman, Langer excepted. But that's a whole other story regarding Australian selection policy and NSW favouritism. Although in hindsight, Clarke did a lot better than I thought he would...but he and Katich are symptomatic of the NSW-centric selectors when IMO their are other batsman more deserving of a chance.

Not everyone Blueboy... Richie Benaud cheekily made such a comment at the beginning of the second session. I feel like I've lived through a whole generation of Australian cricket...and its now about to change. The '82-'83 Ashes series was my first series I ever watched. The next year, Chappell, Lillee and Marsh all retired, and Australia was in the doldrums until the Waughs, Warne and Taylor turned up. They have all moved on, and with McGrath, Warne, Langer, Martyn and Ponting all the wrong side of 30, it's the end of another era...and the beginning of a new one. I will be interested to see how England go in the subcontinent. How will the English top order fare against Harbajahn and Kumble? How will Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar and Ganguly (still the best batting line-up in the world) fare against the English bowlers on dusty pitches? Should be a great series when it happens. Series averages : Cricinfo Some highlights : Australia Batting and Fielding Name Mat I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St JL Langer 5 10 1 394 105 43.77 58.63 1 2 2 - RT Ponting 5 9 0 359 156 39.88 59.63 1 1 4 - MJ Clarke 5 9 0 335 91 37.22 54.38 - 2 2 - Australia Bowling Name Mat O M R W Ave Best 5 10 SR Econ SK Warne 5 252.5 37 797 40 19.92 6-46 3 2 37.9 3.15 GD McGrath 3 134 22 440 19 23.15 5-53 2 - 42.3 3.28 B Lee 5 191.1 25 822 20 41.10 4-82 - - 57.3 4.29 England Batting and Fielding KP Pietersen 5 10 1 473 158 52.55 71.45 1 3 - - ME Trescothick 5 10 0 431 90 43.10 60.27 - 3 3 - A Flintoff 5 10 0 402 102 40.20 74.16 1 3 3 - England Bowling Name Mat O M R W Ave Best 5 10 SR Econ SP Jones 4 102 17 378 18 21.00 6-53 2 - 34.0 3.70 A Flintoff 5 194 32 655 24 27.29 5-78 1 - 48.5 3.37 MJ Hoggard 5 122.1 15 473 16 29.56 4-97 - - 45.8 3.87 Last night, I thought that England had to make above 200 to be safe. Again, all this talk of Australia making 250 of 40 overs was just more fantasy. England's bowlers had the wood on the Aussie batsman all series...and I really doubt that the Aussie batsman would have been able to score quickly whilst at the same time keeping their wickets. Congrats to Lee and Bryan (end of the rebellion indeend ) and other long sufferring English cricketing folk. I'll see some of you at the MCG in December 2006 no doubt

Actually I'm still at work Keep up with the updates fellas.... ...but we still won't win it

Infra-red goggles!!

AKA 'not choking' Don't worry - your guys are getting better at it! What is the current forecast for today?

Steady on Manchester Blue - was just having a nice fish After all, why should Chesh and Jim have all the fun phillipl - relax. You've won. There will be no miracle come-from-behind Lazarus-esque Aussie resurgence. I reconciled myself that fact a month ago. England have won the Ashes - congratulations Now all you have to do is to beat Pakistan away, win you next home series, and then retain the Ashes in Australia in '06-'07 to be crowned as World Champions. The last test has been a bit of a let down, and the weather has become too much of an influence lately. That, along with Gilchrist's form with the bat, have been my only gripes from what has otherwise been a fantastic and memorable series. Best ever?!? Dunno about that. Australia in India in 2001 was pretty amazing as well.

Ah, so the only way that England could win the Ashes for the first time in over a decade was not to turn up at all "Oooh... it's big scarey Michael Clarke sending left-arm spin whizzing past my ankles at 10 mph!! Oooh er.... I'm scared!!!!"

So this planned open-topped bus parade running through Marble Arch for the victorious England squad... ...presumably the only people watching the parade will be ex-pat convicts throwing empty VB cans at them

There isn't necessarily anything wrong with going the other way theno ... i.e. construct a system around a stay player capable of winning games. The Dutch used to structure their midfield so that all the action would funnel in towards Rijkard...who could then regain possession and launch another attack. Similarly, the Juventus 4-3-3 'trident' was built around Roberto Baggio. At least, that's what I read in 'football system and tactics' written by two ex Danish national coaches. But whether you decide on a system and plug in the best-suited players.... or build a system around star players... you have to commit to it. Sven to me seems like Souness of two seasons ago. He has no idea what his best team is... in terms of line-up and formation. Indeed - Souness saved himself and the team when he decided to play with no wingers and build a 'daimond' formation based around Tugay.

So who's coming out to Australia for the rematch?

Latest I heard was : Saturday & Sunday - sunshine and showers. Fri 30% chance of rain Sat 60% Sun 30% Mon 10% Really, Australia had to skittle England for less than 300 to have a decent chance of winning the in the equivalent of four days.

The Age (snip) Hurricane Katrina victims in Houston, Texas, were "underprivileged anyway" and life in the Astrodome sports arena is "working very well for them," former first lady Barbara Bush said. The comments by the mother of President George W Bush have fueled the ire of some Americans, who see the Bush family as out-of-touch patricians. "Almost everyone I've talked to says 'we're going to move to Houston,"' Bush said in a radio interview after visiting evacuees at the Astrodome with her husband, former president George Bush. "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said. "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this - this is working very well for them." (snip) She may as well have said "Let them eat cake"

Once again, everyone is in denial. Taking into account the state of that pitch (i.e. a batsman's paradise) and the forecast for rain later into the test, England are in the box seat. If they manage to scrape together 350 for the first innings, it will take a miracle for the Australians to win it from there. Now a couple of times this series they've almost managed miracles...but they've always fallen short. I'm still amazed that people think that the Australian batsman can put together 5-600 when most of them are struggling to average over 30 in the four tests so far. Losing Jones is a big blow for England...no doubt about that... but I'm sure Harmison and Flintoff will cause enough problems to make sure that the Aussies don't have much (if any) of a 1st innings lead.

Crikey you must be saying that through gritted teeth eh Jim? I'm off home now...looking forward to another six hours on the couch!

So Marsh's coaching academy hasn't accomplished a thing then?!? Didn't Lillee hand pick Jones and Harmison years ago as well??

Dave - how can you 'improve' the umpiring? A human beings eyes and ears are only so accurate. The umpires we have are the best in the world. As long as players appeal for everything (even when they know it's not out) you'll have umpires giving bad decisions.

Serves the b******'s right!!!

Just remember that almost 50% of the US population didn't vote for George. And I'm sure that the majorty of people killed/injured and affected by this disaster all vote democrat anyway. George Bush isn't smart enough to be a genocidal tyrant. Dick Cheney though I think George Bush is losing a lot of political capital out of this disaster... and the comments from his mother "they should be happy to stay in superdrome, its an improvement over what they had" certainly don't help. I wonder if the establishment will now begin to criticise Bush and distance themselves from him.... whilst grooming a new folksier Republican nominee who is more down to earth.

Yes, Watlzing matilda is a great song and should be sung at every Australian football game, as well as the cricket. The problem with having one of the worst national anthems ever written (the dirge that is Advance Australia fair) is that you cannot sing it to create a decent atmosphere. So...what's the weather forecast for today?