jim mk2

Hello everyone

Recently moved back here after many years away and would like to hear from anyone who lives in the area or regulars at the Bonny Inn!

Supported Rovers since the age of 7 and clocked up my half century of watching the famous blue and white halves last year.

Wilpshire Blue

You're English. Loyalty and you are distant cousins. There's nothing worse in my book. Support Australia at anything you want but never against England. As I say, contemptible.

Oh and FYI Murdoch was a great supporter of Tony Blair. He bends with the national political wind and switches his politics for commercial expediency. No doubt he'll be backing Ukip at the next election.

Would agree with that. Would also explain their chip on the shoulder. This is a wonderful country and if you open your eyes and look at the opportunities on offer. .

Punishment for me has been England's performances which I've acknowledged have been pathetic. I still cannot understand why the ECB is apparently going to stick with Flower. Something is seriously amiss in the dressing room (and has been for some time) and these problems usually stem from the top.

Dear Lord H-H,

As an Englishman why would you be celebrating this ? Also look at your pathetic signature.

You're like a Rover supporter who switches sides to Burnley and then comes on here to crow about it.

Contemptible.

Loved playing it but I'm not a great watcher because the basic errors of many players annoys me. England have been a case in point this winter - some of the bits I've seen wouldn't be tolerated in club cricket. Cricket's also a bit like golf - a wonderful game when you're playing well and in form but frustrating and deeply depressing when you cannot do a thing right. Cook probably feels like that at the moment.

Agreed. Sad reflection of the skysports generation of fans.

It's been going on for alot longer than that. Blackburn boulevard in the 1960s was packed with fans in red and white scarves waiting for buses for Manchester. I hate disloyalty to town, club and country. Made my blood boil then and still does now.

Living down there in that climate would drive anyone to the brink...

Anyhoo, back to the cricket. At least England's women are holding their ends up, so to speak.

This is like blaming the unions and the workers for the demise of manufacturing when the real culprits were the incompetent and confrontational buffoons in the boardroom who were unable and unwilling to manage labour relations properly. The failure of any enterprise in business or sport stems from the top and Flower and his assistants have been found wanting.

Pietersen's the best batsman in the side and is still a significant asset if he is properly handled. Flower was in charge of this debacle and should be the one to depart.

Look, you we lost.

You We lost badly.

?

Just to remind ourselves that this is an Englishman posting here.

Both are as bad as the other I should imagine, and have been for a long time.

"Sledging" is an Australian word in the cricketing context as far as I know, because they invented it and have perfected it.

My view on "sledging" or abuse is fine along as it's witty and amusing. Most of the time it's just puerile.

Haddin appealed for a non-existent snick off Root in the previous Test that was given out and then gave Root dog's abuse when it was quite rightly overturned on appeal. One of many examples of his behaviour. He's not competitive - he's a cheat and a scumbag.

The England players have let themselves and the country down. Good players do not become bad players to that extent overnight, and something is seriously amiss.

To my eyes they looked in the wrong frame of mind from the start. Questions have to be asked over how they prepared for this tour in the 3 or 4 months from the end of last season. What were the coaches doing, and how did they get is so wrong ? Was it complacency, did they work hard enough ?

Failure in sport is no different to any other walk of life and starts at the top. Flower and Cook must account to the ECB for their actions and justify their continued employment in their respective jobs. In football they would have been given the boot some time ago.

On a positive note I am pleased with how England have conducted themselves on this tour. In contrast to the feral opposition, England have been competitive without being over-aggressive. I would never want England to sink to the depths of childish and pathetic behaviour shown by the opposition players.

In addition, his failings with the bat notwithstanding Cook is a class act off the pitch as captain and would make an excellent diplomat when he retires from the game. I do think however the captaincy has affected his form this tour, and he and England would benefit if he stepped down. If there any tough Ray Illingworth types coming through the ranks at Yorkshire, would they please put their names forward ?

The batting is the main problem and has been for 2 years or more. England have not scored enough runs. Having said that as with any failing enterprise the problem starts at the top, Flower and Cook have said today they want to stay and build a new England team but there have to be question marks over both of them and Gooch, the batting coach.

Cook will score lots more runs for England but I'm not sure he will remain as captain. He looks to have had enough.

Well done to Stokes but let them off the hook again - nasty piece of work to the fore once more. Waugh and Lehman apart, was there ever a more unpleasant cricketer ?

Dave,I'll leave it with you to prove Lehmann is an honourable and motivational character.As it is you keep going back to previous series.

Happy New Year Dave..come on South Africa.

Interesting debate between one who knows where he comes from and is loyal and the other who has the no morals.

Keep it up chaps.

Agree about Lehmann, an odious man whose code of conduct on and off the cricket field is the antithesis of the way the game should be played. I'm very surprised the EWB did not call for him to be censured by the ICC over his Broad comments last summer.

Kallis test average 55 with bat compared to Botham's 33, so as batsmen Kallis was two leagues above Botham. With the ball Botham 28 to Kallis 32 so not really a lot in it, especially when you consider that Botham was a front line bowler whereas Kallis was a reluctant 5th bowler. And to quote a true England and cricketing great Harold Larwood Botham was 'over-rated and his bowling wouldn't burst a paper bag.' Hard to disagree with a the man who for me is second to only Sydney Barnes as England's greatest bowler of all time.

Well Ned, Botham's batting role at No 6 was different from that of Kallis who batted at No 3. Botham was one of the exciting hitters of a cricket ball in the history of the game.Who will ever forget the way he single-handedly destroyed the Australian bowling in 1981, but I expect that sticks in your antipodean craw. Botham's bowling was miles better than that of Kallis. His 8-34 against India was a masterclass in the art of swing. As for Larwood and Barnes, they weren't a patch on the greatest fast bowler of them all, Frank Tyson, a Lancashire lad from Bolton.

Now how about complimenting a current England player on becoming the youngest player to make 8,000 runs in Tests ?

Well said Ned, ignoring the fact one of the greatest all-rounders played for "your" county.

Stats don't tell the whole story. I played cricket to a reasonable level and I'm not easily impressed by professional cricketers. The test of a player for me is whether i would pay good money to watch them and I wouldn't pay to watch Kallis. I would however pay to watch Botham who always emptied the bars at cricket grounds whenever he came in to bat. We used to down tools at work to watch him on TV in his pomp because he was compulsive viewing. There haven't been many players in my lifetime of whom you could say the same.

Now take back what you said about Cook and Bell and praise Cook for his 8,000 runs achievement.

Good player Kallis, but never had the ability to excite like Botham who in his pomp was the best I've seen.

Anderson was bending the ball both ways only last summer. He'll come again.

I am absolutely delighted for Chris Rogers, my brother played cricket with him about 20 years ago now for North Devon and he is a smashing bloke. He is a cricketer I really admire played minor counties and went around the doldrums of county cricket playing for Northants, Leicestershire, Derby and then he got the Middlesex captaincy making lots of runs at all those counties, then Victoria wanted to get rid of him and he just hung on there and now luck at him. He has been a gritty and determined player all of his career at 36 he is now getting the reward that he deserves. The England players like Pietersen, Cook and Bell who have more natural talent than Rogers could learn a lot from him how he is always working on his and the pride he places on his wicket.

Rogers seems to be a popular player even among the England players but why would you want someone to do well against England unless you are a rock cruncher (which you've never denied) ? I know the Root family and want him to do well for Yorkshire but never against Lancashire.

You're way off with your criticism of Cook and Bell too. Cook had to work hard at his technique after problems early in his career and Bell too has worked hard to improve after his temperament was questioned.

I'll tell you what Ned Kelly: how about praising Cook for becoming the youngest player to make 8000 Test runs, beating even the likes of Tendulkar ? Go on, you can do it - even though he plays for your enemy England.

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Haddin comes across as a particularly nasty piece of work. His attempt to get Root out and then abusing him after the appeal was upheld was disgusting. If I had the ability to bowl at 90mph plus like Broad I know where I'd be aiming.

Heavens knows what England's batsmen were thinking about yesterday - from Root's daft's runout to Bell's first ball shot that even a club cricketer would have been embarrassed to play this innings was the low point of a very poor series. England might take ten wickets today but it's highly unlikely. If Flower (and batting coach Gooch) were in football they'd have been sacked long before now.

Sailing along nicely at 60-0 but three quick wickets before I went to bed and the eventual outcome was entirely predictable when I turned on the wireless this morning. I'd be very surprised if our bowlers ran through them a second time.

Pfft.

How long have you been following England cricket ?

England have also reverted to their old trick of playing properly after the battle has been lost.

Just seen the scorecard - almost everybody got in and then got out. Not good enough.

Quite right. Six wickets down and at least 100 runs short. Pietersen dropped twice too. England's batting has been a problem for almost 2 years now.

Extraordinary decision by Swann really, especially the timing of it. Couldn't he have waited until the end of the series ? Early 30s is too young to retire to for a slow bowler. As a club player who played until my fifth decade I wasn't even at my peak at 33 !

As with Trott however i think there may be a subtext with his decision. Probably involving his marriage.

And I love the convict jibes, ask any English soldier in 1916 and they where happy as Larry knowing the convicts where holding the line!!

Ah, Gallipoli. Another longstanding whinge like the so-called "Bodyline" series.

Come on then. are you the descendant of convicts or just another turncoat ?

Good interview with Andy Flower on the radio today. I might be wrong but he sounds like he's ready to pack it in.