Comments on: Ashes backlash begins

By: SixandOut.net - The International Cricket blog » Ahead of Perth

SixandOut.net - The International Cricket blog » Ahead of Perth — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:17:59 +0000

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By: Justin Sykes

Justin Sykes — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 20:37:21 +0000

Luke Pomersbach – stared for Western Australia today. I don’t care if he can play or not. Give the guy a place in the Ozzie team – if only for his surname!

By: Matt Thornton

Matt Thornton — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:06:40 +0000

I’m not sure why one victory is more than likely, unless of course the series is already lost…

By: jp

jp — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:59:33 +0000

Sure the 2nd test was a disaster, but we only need one draw (more than likely) and two victories. That sounds a lot, but again one victory is more than likely, which leaves one match to fret over.
The joy of already holding the Ashes is we only have to draw the series.

Alternatively, once we had the ashes we should have refused to ever play Australia again…

By: Justin Sykes

Justin Sykes — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:43:08 +0000

You can’t blame the coach for the players performance. You can hold him accountable for the pressure he puts on his captain. To have tried FOUR times to make Flintoff take the blame for THEIR selections is apalling – he must go.
This is terrible leadership.
As an Australian, I am pleased by the win – but gutted that all that anticpated enjoyment has now been sucked away. There is a quote in the Simpsons when a Lothario is trying to seduce Marge; “Better than the deed, better than the memory … the anticipation”. That has all gone from the next three matches. Game over.

The one good thing about 2005 was the wait for the rematch. This is not a rematch. India in India is the only real challenge nowadays (and we did that last year).

By: Matt Thornton

Matt Thornton — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:40:23 +0000

Hi Rishi,

I do agree with you that Panesar is a quality spin bowler (though I wouldn’t call him a strike bowler), and I certainly think that he has a big future ahead of him – I WANT to see him in the England side. But I do find a little ridiculous the claims that Panesar would have bowled significantly better than Giles. Hmm, no, that’s not right, I do think he would have bowled better than Giles. However, I don’t think it’s possible to say what effect he might have had. For instance, Shane Warne really struggled on the pitch in England’s first innings – it’s hard to think Panesar would have done anything much better – I think people are overrating the impact Panesar might have had. Equally, playing in an Ashes series is a huge thing and it would have been interested to see how he handled the pressure.

Personally, I do believe he should have played from Test 1 and Giles should never have been brought back to the side. But I don’t think it’s fair to blame our defeats solely on Giles as some people appear to be doing. It was a collectively bad display which is why we lost.

By: Rishi Gajria

Rishi Gajria — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 04:37:09 +0000

“Panesar is almost certainly not the answer to England’s problems. Despite showing some excellent form in the series he has played in, were he to be included in the side now, the amount of hype and buildup surrounding him, not to mention the not inconsiderable amount of barracking from the Australians will affect his performance”

You are assuming the hype and weight of expectations will get to him. He performed with distinction in India and Pakistan against batsmen who know how to play spin fairly well.

By: Rishi Gajria

Rishi Gajria — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 04:34:36 +0000

“It’s impossible to say whether Panesar and/or Read would have had a significant or sufficient impact on the game to alter the outcome”

I disagree about Panesar. He is a frontline strike bowler and a quality one at that. Giles can only get wickets when the three other seamers are performing well.

By: Flintoffs Ashes » 2nd Test Reaction

Flintoffs Ashes » 2nd Test Reaction — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:31:46 +0000

[...] Wed 6 Dec 2006 2nd Test Reaction Filed under: England, Cricket, The Ashes — mike @ 12:29 am I was going to post a longand flowing reaction to the defeat in the second Test but then I read Matt Thorntons article over at Six and Out and figured that it had already been said. [...]

By: harrowdrive

harrowdrive — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:13:00 +0000

I feel like I have been punched in the stomach. The worst part is that England battled so hard and were on top in this game until Warne scared the bejesus out of them.

Just when I tought the Aussie aura had been beaten, it’s back.