So England finally has.....

[eduardo]

......a cricket team.

I must admit I am still a bit sceptical but to turn this Test around and be a bit unlucky with bad light not to make it 9 on the bounce well........it wouldn't have happened a few years ago.

A timid defeat would have followed 139 all out in the past.

Not now!

[Deuce Bigolo]

The Springboks are a joke really

Good for a session or 2 then splatt

Like most other nations playing the gentlemans game

cheers
B...OZ

[eduardo]

Sadly I have to agree with you, you annoying Australian ......

England are playing some good cricket. The structure's better. The selection policy is consistent and county cricket is much better than it was.

But like everyone else in world cricket we are still along way behind the australians no matter how much the press try to tell us otherwise.

Test crickets no contest for the aggravating Aussies. You must be getting bored of it. Well I'm getting bored of seeing you win.

We'll have to wait for Warne and McGrath to retire before the "urn" comes back into the possesion of the almighty (that's England in case you didn't understand).

[diplodocus]

easy to diss the boks afters we've been giving them a doing...but
any team with the likes of Pollock, Smith, Kallis, Gibbs, Rudolph at home cannot just be dismissed as a 'joke'. All of the above would be in or knock on the door of any team. I did say this tour would be a test of how far we had come and if we could give the aussies a real game, I think i've got my answer.
Just gutted there aint a Headingly test this time

[Deuce Bigolo]

A Joke is probably too harsh

Would you settle for a team with too many weak links when put under constant pressure

cheers
B....OZ

[eduardo]

South Africa do still have some very good players and annoyingly they still have that long batting line up.

Pollock is still quality and Kallis is the best all rounder in the world (and I include Flintoff and Gilchrist in that) and there are some good supporting players as you mention.

We are better than them in my humble opinon but they will still be a tough nut to crack and aren't going to role over and die.

We will prevail in this series and I do believe that we can test the Aussies but I just don't think we'll beat them.

Needless to say that I hope that I'm wrong.

[Deuce Bigolo]

Sport is 10 percent physical and 90 percent mental

Even when lesser teams have Australia by the throat they invariably crack

Thats nothing to do with talent but mental toughness

Plenty of teams when 5 down batting or 1/300 when bowling just give up

Take Pakistan...Asutralia needs 120 to win so the main stike bowler starts off on a short run to save his energy...thats just pure bollocks in my book

cheers
B....OZ

PS You are right I am sick of their not being a real contest...thank god world series cricket decimated the Australian test team otherwise you POMS even with Beefy Botham might not have won any of those series in the eighties against our third elevens...Graham Yallop captain of OZ...in a nightmare

[eduardo]

So what about Pakistan?

Your opinion of them can't be too great. I have watched a fair bit of that series and been very very disappointed.

Bangladesh woulde have put up more resistance.

[eduardo]

Got a feeling we beat your much famed team of Chappell, Lillee and Marsh et all in 1981 and you had them back from World Series Cricket? Or have you forgotten that?

I also agree with your point about sport being mental which is why.....I also agree that Shoaib Achktar's short run was a joke. 120 should have been more than enough to beat you what with your inability to chase small totals under pressure (India this year, Oval, Melbourne, Adelaide against us, Sydney against South Africa, the West Indies run chase).

I don't agree that Australia play pressure cricket more than the rest. Put them under pressure and they crack the same as anybody else does. The problem is having the class to get into that position in the 1st place.

Australia have better players. Simple. Not better pressure players.

[Deuce Bigolo]

Maybe but it could also be argued that the oppositions 3rd,4th & 5th bowlers are shite compared to ten fiftenn years ago

Most of the Aussie batsman with maybe 1 exception have been put through the mincer dropped because the bowling was too hot back then

langer,hayden,martyn,lehman are all resurrections

Its always been the case with us losing when chasing small totals
Mainly in dead rubber games it must be said apart from those early to mid eighties debacles

You might be right about lillee,marsh & chappell but by then they were the team unlike today where the other 8 actually pull their own wait

Wether the Aussies are a class above especially in the batting is debatable
pakistan had them 5 for bugger all in the last 2 tests and through inept tactics let them off the hook

cheers
B....OZ