philipl

Lee Bowyer, Lee Clark, Amdy Faye and Charles N'Zogbia. That's only a soft/easy midfield to play against if someone shouts "Lee's ball" and they both go for it. Otherwise, it shows the strength in depth up at St James's. It could easily pass muster as a decent mid-table Prem midfield line-up with a less neurotic manager in charge.

In the early matches, there was a litany of decisions which favoured Australia. Australia won the toss in the first two tests remember so the coin only went 3-2 for England. England just as surely dropped catches to lose the first Test as the Australians dropping Pedersen cost them the chance to make the last afternoon/evening a cliff-hanger. In fact, I took great heart from the First Test as we would have been even stevens with Australia if our performance in the field been up to scratch. It will be interesting to see whether the Australians make the generational change now to get a seasoned new team in place for the Ashes down under. If they persist with the current team more or less unchanged and appraise the series just finished the way Neekoy is looking at it, don't be surprised if England win 4-0 down under next time.

Excellent preview American (and paddy k). Head in sand over the Owen contract- his release clause is every bit as real as Bellamy's £6m get out if offered by a club in the Champions League in summer 2006 (well that rules out a return to Newcastle under new management!). Feeling insanely optimistic about this game. I know Souness was brilliant at motivating Rovers for big opposition (which he might regard us as given his history) or desperate situations (which he but not the team is in- yet). So I expect NUFC to be highly motivated and playing an attacking high tempo game. Not that NUFC have the personnel available who are capable of playing 4-5-1 and shutting the match up. This should make for a very entertaining free flowing match. With Bellamy back, I expect Hughes will work on the basis that our 4-4-2 is better than their 4-4-2 and stick with the same back 4 we saw at Bolton. Hopefully the midfields 4 is MGP, Sav, Reid and Bentley (Tugay and Moko on the bench) and the 2 would be great to see Bellamy and Jansen but I suspect the Newcastle defence will need a bit of Kuqui bullying for us to get the "best" return out of them. I think Rovers will win. It could be close: 3-2 or it could be a 5-2 repeat. Could get a bit tasty with Bowyer and Savage possibly in confrontation. Quite likely it will not be eleven v eleven at the final whistle- big challenge for Hughes to keep his players' discipline in order. We can be pretty sure that Souness will lose it big time at some point. The Scottish accountant sat close to him will no doubt be on her most ladylike behaviour. Perhaps Souness will get fired at Ewood after all.

...and the fact this nonsense/idiocy is still going on is yet another reason for the continuing decline in attendences. Generally speaking if you select your boozer to watch the match, you can be certain toi avoid any remote risk of trouble finding you. On Wednesday night at the National stadium in Malta, the Croat mob singled out the vip section for their attacks. A Government Minister needed four stitches when a flying seat hit him on the back of the head- in all 70 people needed stitches. The last time I went to an international with my step son, we had huge fun sitting with the Swedish supporters. Thankfully, I knew what the Croats were like and I stopped him heading for their side of the ground. Otherwise we could have been injured or been rounded up amongst the 103 which got rounded up and charged with "GBH by a group". There were only 500 Croats in the ground so 20% of them now have a criminal record and a suspended prison sentence.

Repeating myself but: - Matty's movement on sunday was excellent, the balls through to him were poor, - Sparky clearly has faith in Matty or else Derbs and Gally wouldn't be out on loan, Here's hoping Matty will get better service when sparky has bedded Bentley into the team. Jansen and Bellamy at their best leading the Rovers front line is a salivating prospect.

Asking rate of 7 an over if Australia skittle the last three next over. I think we've won the Ashes.

Agreed SAR. This is an Ashes deciding run chase! Plus the fading light which is the reason for my hunch about an England victory.

BBC changed their minds about overs remaining- still 55. 207 lead, 3 wickets remaining. England have got to make the Aussies really work to get those last three. We've got to push the asking rate for the Aussies well above 4 an over. This is going to be a great finish and I've got a feeling England will win this match.

Well, 196 ahead, 4 wickets to go, 54 overs remaining. Not all over by any means- Pitersen has shown what happens if a batsmen gets his eye in and slogs; its still a very true pitch. It is now into the sensational finish bracket if Australia take the last four wickets quickly and cheaply. That said, I'd rather have them chasing 240 off 40, than 210 off 50. England need to keep their heads and grind the overs down.

Worst case for England, Australia will need 160 to win and one and a half sessions to get it. Likeliest case 190 to win with the Aussies facing a tricky couple of overs before tea. Best case, England find a pairing which somehow manages to hang around for 90 minutes or so withstanding a combination of the world's most hostile quick bowling at one end and Shane Warne at the other. Aussies needing 200+ and starting their innings in the gloom a decent interval after tea. Doesn't seem at all likely. Methinks, England need amazing heroics from the bowlers with both the bat and the ball.

Friedel made two very sharp saves at the end of the game for the benefit of the "Friedel had nothing to do, the games was so boring, I fell asleep." I'm in a minority but I quite enjoyed the game. There was no nastiness, there were good passages of passing play and both sides displayed a level of technique you wouldn't have seen from any club in the old First Division.

These two dropped catches (Gilchrist and Warne) are probably going to cost the Australians very badly. Pietersen is going to take the war to the Aussies now. The target they need to get is going into the possibly tricky category now.

Somehow I think if they are in with a chance of retaining the Ashes, the Aussies will stay out there even if it means facing Flintoff with a bat in one hand and a davey lamp in the other.

Getting exciting as the time for start approaches. If England don't win the ashes today, it will be the biggest set-back to English sport since... ...last Wednesday.

Simon Sharma on the impact of Katrina on America. Apart from Andy "America deserved it" which was an absolute disgrace, nothing on here matches the intensity of angst about the failures in the South reflecting the state of America which out-poured in the New York Times yesterday. I was also absolutely amazed at how the fourth anniversary of 9/11 passed virtually unmarked and unnoticed yesterday. It might have been different in the States but elsewhere it was virtually ignored- and I'm commenting from having read the international press. From a European perspective, Paris, London, Moscow and other European cities had suffered from terrorism for years so 9/11 was at one level utterly more horrific but on another, just another tragic dot on the map. For Americans it was the first time they felt vulnerable at home. McVeigh being home-grown was seen as an isolated nutter who acted rather than the thousands who fantasise. Sympathy for the US Administration has totally ebbed away: - most of us know someone from this side of the pond who has seriously been inconvenienced or worse by the new "Homeland Security measures". All bureaucracies are stupid to a greater or less extent but it takes an American to be an absolute insensitive bonehead and American deference (whereas European anarchy would break in and some humanity enter the situation) to back it up 100%. - unlike us Europeans, Americans don't know how to be imperialists. The military victories in Afghanistan and Iraq were awesome but all the American hang-ups about the War of Independence seem to render them clueless about what to do when they are in charge of someone else's country. - and now in the face of a calamatous but wholly predictable natural disaster, the US has reacted with less dignity and public spiritedness and about as much deployment of civilisation and technology as Sri Lanka did in the face of the Tsunami. - Kyoto and the UN reform might be a side show but it aint smart to be happy in isolation from the rest of the democratic first world who think America is stupid and wrong. - Blair might be a poodle of convenience but do the American Administration need to so casually and unthinkingly humiliate him (and by extension, Britain) whenever they feel like it? We love and support Americans but we dispare of them collectively at the moment.

If ever there was a vindication of coming off for bad light, it was Australia's batting yesterday. Would they have lost eight wickets for less than 100 had it been bright sunlight yesterday having got to 260 odd for 2? There was great bowling granted but it is still a batting paradise. So much so, I would take Neekoy's concession even though it is premature. However, a certain Shane Warne will keep all of us on the edge of our seats in an extremely tense, nervous and competitive final day. Warne will take at least five wickets today- get your money on it. If England are about 220 all out late in the afternoon session. We are in for some of the most exciting cricket in history in the gloom this evening. Just hope there is no rain and we get a full day.

I thought Hughes was right to replace MGP. MGP was pretty anonoymous in the second half and hardly threatening in the first. Whilst not to take anything away from one of the true stars on our books, MGP is still a long way from being a complete winger/midfielder. Bert on the other hand did get stuck in and involved and generally had an OK match. However, we saw the future this season when Bentley came on and the team gelled into a much more cohesive unit. In fact, Bentley was playing balls into the front line which Matty would have thrived on but Kuqui didn't have the speed of thought to get onto. I know Matty got little change out of the Bolton defense physically but his movement was drawing them all over the place- we just didn't have the guile to exploit it and that is down to Savage (who was playing the safe balls and retaining posession), MGP and Reid (who were both ordinary) and Bert (we all know about his limitations when it comes to selecting the right out ball). I'd just add that the Axe had a good game and did exactly what was needed of him dealing with the Bolton balls forward and that Nelsen was immense- as always.

Unfortunately you are correct- Rovers would have lost yesterday had we been without him.

The Opta stats on Savage at half time were stunningly good- way ahead of any other player in number of successful tackles, passes completed etc etc. When Bolton were getting on top during the first half, savage was the key difference in keeping it 0-0. The whinge to poll was about the stupid booking he'd just given Matteo. At that point Poll was giving everything and anything in favour of Bolton.

Decent enough point, Rovers coming stronger in the second half after a poorish first half. Graham Poll had ten minutes before half time when he gave everything to Bolton and booked Matteo and Savage- why? Encouraged by Zura and Bentley, Reid looked a notch below today. Kuqui just isn't a Prem player. Jansen's movement was back to the Jansen of old- shame nobody could get the ball to him. Potential costly comedy moments from our two Australians- Bert falling over the ball dribbling out of defence and sending it backwards to a Bolton forward on the edge of the area and Neill chosing a drven volley (woefully executed) when a defender's lob would have found the empty net. I'm happy with the point but could/should have been three.

The Australians took the light twice when offered. Presumably the light was a factor in the extremely dramatic Australian collapse today- five wickets going down for ten runs I think. Very likely that there will be no further play today.

The only conceivable way England can win this Test is if the Australians get them all out for around 220 and there is very little tim e lost to the weather. I can hardly see England making a sporting declaration which gives them a reasonable chance of bowling Australia out with the Ashes in the bag if they draw!

Two bad drops off Hoggard now- wonder if we are going to pay for this? With better light, all the Australians are doing now is wasting their own time to get England out. In the meantime, England tails are up.

With a theoretical maximum of 150ish overs remaining (call that 130 for weather interuptions) and Australia all but equal on the First Innings now, I guess England probably need to score about 260 in their innings to secure the Ashes irresspective of whether the Australian tail wags or not. That ought to be achievable.

Hayden gone- bit of a farce out there at the moment. It shows the sporting spirit of this series that England aren't bowling a succession of throat balls. Five down- we're in amongst them now. Hopefully we can rip the guts out of the Aussies in this stygian gloom. Cannot see an early Australian declaration as England would immediately take the offered light. Four wickets this morning and Australia still behind the English first innings total. Just about as good ass could have been hoped for.