Have you seen the state of him after a couple of shandies?

Bolton ticket details announced and tickets on sale from top tier first which were the more expensive ones last year. Not sure for the reason but seems strange to me.

Derbyshire is suspended according to the offical site. No Jansen in the squad either.

MCMC I understand that and that's why it's a shame that people may miss out but who's fault is it. It's not Sky's fault they are a business. It's not the ECB they are looking after the game and regardless of what Phil thinks Cricket has been thriving on Sky. Of course the recent boom is down to England but that will always be the case. The ECB have to think long term, and the money from Sky will fund that future, it wasn't a small amount of difference.

There is a rule that says live football cannot be shown at 3pm on a Saturday. There is no such rule in Cricket hence why they will not mess with it. The day/night games which are shown on Sky have far higher crowds than the games played on a Sunday.

Phil I think you are ignoring one important fact and that is that whatever sport Sky cover they do it better than any other. Will they cover 5 days? They'll do 24 hours if they can get away with it. It's ridiculous for someone with an anit-Sky agenda to ignore the benefit Sky has had to sports like Cricket, Rugby, Darts to name just 3. Sports that are given pitiful coverage on the BBC at the expense of the latets reality rubbish. If you want to point the finger do so at the BBC not at Sky.

Yes but it's a daft article because Man U take far more fans away than any team but because they don't travel as far it doesn't count. Similarly a lot of Midlands clubs will take loads but don't have as many long trips. Pathetic away fans? Try telling that to the 1200+ that watched that rubbish down at West Ham.

As usual Phil you choose to argue the points you want and ignore the others, so i'll ask you again. What about 20/20? I won't repeat the points as they are just above to read but answer if you can please.

Basically if the ECB had accepted the next best offer other than Sky's it would have been for 40% less. This in turn would have been passed on to the clubs who would have suffered and it would have had a big knock on effect on the game. One of the biggest factors in the increase in cricket's mass appeal has been the 20/20 and where is that shown exclusively. Masses of new fans have come into cricket through this, many on this board so credit where it's due.

Was a great day and really glad I went despite the result. I suppose after Ponting's knock he deserved a draw but I can't help feeling we should have had that. Take nothing away from the England players though as they did give there all out there. What an atmosphere.

What's your nickname for Gilchrist?

We're not the current champions with a team full of stars playing at the top of our game are we. Apart from that i'm sure the comparison is fair.

Newcastle failed to sell out Man U away, poor crowds in the cups, haven't sold out season tickets for the first time in the Premiership. You have to remember also that when they fail to sell out it is not only the fans lost but clearly the waiting list is not there as much. They are not the only club to be struggling, Everton finished 4th but didn't sell out most home games.

Massive wicket that, shame for Warne but who cares really.

It's just a sign of the times at the moment Clare. I have to hold my hands up and say I didn't see it coming as quick as others did however last year I was taking an interest and lots of clubs have started to struggle, we commented lots last year. Newcastle, Everton etc. Our figures will be down you can bet on that but we are not the only ones suffering by any means.

Exactly right Phil. Shaddy, if we were well down i'd be praying for rain but this test is till finely poised.

Yes but the point is that certainly at the start if it's sponsorship it was based at Birmingham International and still files mostly from there. With that in mind it makes a hell of a lot more sense to sponsor them. We already receive enough charity from the trust without getting more from the other companies as well.

Is that what the Aussies are reduced to? Praying for rain. How the mighty are fallen.

Vinjay why don't you do us all a favour and either tell us about your meeting with John Williams or shut up and stop posting.

I thought it telling the confusion over whether to take the new ball. Ponting didn't seem to know what to do and it seemed just to waste time and squander opportunities to get a few wickets. Ponting and the Aussies do seem somewhat rattled and are making uncharacteristic mistakes.

Thought Bell did great to be honest and will hopefully push on from this. Hoggard did a job and stopped Freddie coming in so no complaints for me. Shame about Pietersen but it's his style I suppose. Vaughan was just fantastic. Best bit of the day was Gilchrist tipping Vaughan for four only for McGrath to go one better and uproot his middle stump off a no ball. Can't wait for tomorrow.

It's not raining in Manchester. Cloudy but doesn't look too bad.

If it wasn't for the fact that they need the stubs to apply for other games then the attendance would be a lot less.

I didn't for one minute think you had to answer to me, I just knew you wouldn't be able to resist. Incidentally if the post above was truly your position then i'm sure we would get along famously, however I find it hard to put that post together with much of what you post elsewhere. Playground politics? You could run for Prime Minister!

If it was Steve i'd avoid him as he's a bit dodgy ;-) Seriously though this is certainly probably one of the friendliest sites and the regular meet ups that occur are an open invite which are enjoyed by one and all.