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[alexhilly1492]

johnson has won them this game with one decent spell of bowling, itll be the same at the waca on a fast and bouncy pitch, looks like its could be 5-0 at this rate :s one good thing about mitch playing well is my fantasy side will be raking in the points off him and clarke

[joeljonno]

I think they need to take a long hard look in the mirror. They are making an average Australian side ( some of who are having blinders) look like unbeatables. Carbs and bell are the only ones who can take a little pride from their batting. Kp should be shot! Someone of his talents playing that shot when the trap it set is shocking. Root should be put in detention. Terrible shot, but you can't pick on a kid. Mitchell is bowling well but he's only a couple of tough spells away from his old spray it everywhere days. He bowled that horrible wide last night. Put him under some pressure and see what he does. He's got the ability to dictate at the moment and were batting like fools.

Bring in a proper no3. A grafter like Compton and let him just bat. Bring in some
Fire power in the bowling. Bowling 80mph at international level isn't testing anyone. Prior has to be dropped but we need to call up a decent keeper batsman. Bairstow isn't the answer.

The difference ATM is this

They have Clarke- our equivalent is bell- tho slightly less runs
They have haddin- out scoring prior massively. I think I'd out score him ATM
They have Johnson - we have medium pacers.

The rest of the aus side isn't doing a huge amount better than some of our boys. We need to hit them hard with a team capable of ruffling some feathers rather than hiding behind some

Carbs did ok, but at the end, it was similar the KP dismissal. There were two there waiting for the catch.

Bell came out aggressive from the start, he could easily mis-timed one to a fielder rather than space.

It seems that they have a bit of bad luck and a lot of bad batting. It could have been a lot worse.

Bowlers don't seem to be helping much either, very solid without being outstanding. You cant see any of them ripping through the Aussies.

[awp]

Redink, youve gotta stay off the drugs...

[Number4]

Redink, youve gotta stay off the drugs...

Nothing quite like an Englishman in denial 

[WalkingWicket37]

Root has made 2 centuries and done next to nothing since, why is he still getting picked when Compton was axed for similar?

Prior is over the hill now it would seem, and I'd like to see a proper keeper in the side (no disrespect to Rom Weasley but he's no Foster is he). Coul we call up Read or Foster (let's face it they'll get more runs than Prior on current form) and recall Compton to strengthen the top order (the selectors are unlikely to do that I'd imagine).

[SOULMAN1012]

My views for what it's worth after reading the last few pages.

Firstly England just look scared of Johnson, I can understand one of us as a club player being petrified if facing him, but these are the best players we have, to me abroad just walked inside it to protect himself first and formost not to try and survive and be pre-pared to wear one if that's what was required. The rest of the batting except bell and maybe cook and Carb's is pathetic to be honest.

To comment of moving cook to 4 is to be honest to most daft comment I have seen in ages. End of that one.

Prior just needs to bat, don't care how or where but he needs to bat, I see the point people say about bringing in Bairstow but what is the benefit? All he has done is face net bowlers for basically the last 12 months as he has been carrying drinks. Not his fault at all but he played hardly any county last season and due to poor weather etc in the warm up games nothing in Aus. Plus his keeping is not in the same class as Prior and most importantly I think prior is very very important to the England set up.

England's so called express line up of giants just looks a joke at the moment with Tremlet in the first game and stokes & broad just about touching mid 80's with not a hint of movement and the same can be said of Anderson, who to be fair has carried this side for a long while. Finn is Eratic as we all know but on his day (just like Johnson) is a bloody handful. Swann is out bowled again by Monty. The bit I'm getting at is that all our so called superstars are all playing badly as a collective. What's the answer?? Simply there isn't one at the moment, Aus are just better in every department. I think at the end of this series you have to be brave and say thanks for all you have done but Father Time has had enough. We have some amazing players in the county set up, some have had brief intro's to international like Root who made his place his own. I think it's time to look at the next crop of players. We have dominated Aus while they were trying to get over losing there greats of the game and I think the tide has now turned. Do I like it? No, is it fair, yes as they are playing better cricket and have more players in form.

[SOULMAN1012]

Root has made 2 centuries and done next to nothing since, why is he still getting picked when Compton was axed for similar?

Prior is over the hill now it would seem, and I'd like to see a proper keeper in the side (no disrespect to Rom Weasley but he's no Foster is he). Coul we call up Read or Foster (let's face it they'll get more runs than Prior on current form) and recall Compton to strengthen the top order (the selectors are unlikely to do that I'd imagine).

I do not believe it was form that got Compton dropped or axed I think it was that he was not a team player I Remember reading in an article. Is he the best we have? Maybe .

[jamielsn15]

Carbs did ok, but at the end, it was similar the KP dismissal. There were two there waiting for the catch.

Bell came out aggressive from the start, he could easily mis-timed one to a fielder rather than space.

It seems that they have a bit of bad luck and a lot of bad batting. It could have been a lot worse.

Bowlers don't seem to be helping much either, very solid without being outstanding. You cant see any of them ripping through the Aussies.

I'm not blaming Carberry for his dismissal, absolute blinder from admittedly a very good fielder - its not a high risk shot.  As for that starting the collapse, I don't subscribe to that.  They are all professioanl cricketers and have a responsible for their own technique and mindset.  I'm more likely to blame KP for that ridiculous shot with the trap set.  You've got eyes fella, use 'em!

Yes, Bell could have mis timed, but is he likely to in this form on that deck?!  Clarke COULD have spooned his first ball on day 2 to a fielder as well.  'Could' never 'did...'

Here are my thoughts on the differences between last summer and this Ashes to date.

1) England let Australia off to a point in the final test at the Oval.  They shouldn't have experimented, they should have stuck to their successful formula and maintained momentum into this series.  They missed a trick in getting into Australia's minds with incessant pressure.  Australia started planning for 2013/14 last summer.  England not until they flew out.
2) They will never admit it, but England looked at the 2010/11 series, the 3-0 in the summer, thought they had it in the bag and lacked preparation based on a bit of arrogance and complacency.  Their warm ups were nowhere near the quality of three years ago and, partly due to the fifth test in the summer, came in with an unsettled side.  They left themselves lacking strength in depth when Trott came home and hadn't planned for all outcomes.
3) Haddin was better than Prior last summer.  Haddin is significantly better than Prior now.  Again, there is no strength in depth.  Clearly they don't rate Bairstow as a batsman and his keeping isn't Test class.  prior brings so much with his keeping, vice-captaincy and on-field knowledge, but they need to start succession planning in all areas.
4) Clarke clearly enjoys batting at home and is handling the captaincy much better than Cook.  He is top, top class.
5) If England's prep has been average, Australia have clearly gone away and done their homework and left no stone unturned.  They have learnt from 2010/11 and the summer.  The attention to detail in their focus, psychology, game and situation planning and mindset is clearly huge.  Anyone else thinking Johnson's muzzy is deliberate?  Shades of Merv and the aggression of the 90s?  It's not Movember anymore...
6) I'm a subscriber that you create your luck.  You could argue England have been unlucky losing Trott, but his form wasn't great last summer.  England almost won last summer by default (no 400+ first innings score - would we have won tests like that in 2005 and 2009?).  If you are not batting well, everything else needs to click -the bowlers haven't and the fielding has been average.  We talk about England's batting unit but the bowlers have shipped runs in both Tests.  Yes, there's an element of chicken and egg in that, but the bowlers are looking ordinary, helped in part by Johnson's  incredible form - looks like he's going to have an Alderman-esque impact on this series...  I take onboard previous posts, but you have to say overall across their careers, performing across the world, Anderson is a better bowler than Johnson and, all being equal, Anderson and Broad are a better pairing than Johnson and Harris, over the course of their careers.  But in the here and now, its no contest.
7) The psychology of elite sport is incredible - this is exactly why I studied it.  Johnson's self efficacy is so high at the minute he thinks he's going to take a wicket with every ball.  he's also been very well managed by the staff and his captain.  Compare him to previous series to now to see the difference.  Maybe a couple of technical tweaks, but mainly its his mindset and still (amazingly) some ex pro's across various sports think psychology has no place in elite sport - unbelievable.
Australia have unleashed Johnson, who didn't play in England, high on confidence and pace on quick, bouncy tracks.  England have no surprise bowlers for Australia to contend with and their matchwinners have been nullified by the pitches.

My concern?  Momentum is everything in sport and this really could go 5-0.  Australia have to be odds-on in Perth and at 3-0, Ashes gone, what do England have to play for?

Hopefully this isn't an Englishman in denial... 

[jamielsn15]

Root has made 2 centuries and done next to nothing since, why is he still getting picked when Compton was axed for similar?

Prior is over the hill now it would seem, and I'd like to see a proper keeper in the side (no disrespect to Rom Weasley but he's no Foster is he). Coul we call up Read or Foster (let's face it they'll get more runs than Prior on current form) and recall Compton to strengthen the top order (the selectors are unlikely to do that I'd imagine).

Compton in every likelihood won't play for England again.  He spat his dummy publicly when dropped and criticised Gooch's training methods - attitude is the next thing Team England look for after ability.  His is deemed poor and disruptive.

You can't expect players who've been sitting with their feet up for months to go and play in everything that an Ashes series brings.  We talk about poor prep in the warm ups games - Read and Foster, though I do take on board their excellent keeping, would be (excuse the pun) sitting ducks.  They haven't had any prep whatsoever.

[procricket]

My views are England are not that good in the home series we won by producing wickets to suit and Arthur being a joke.

Truth is England have not played great cricket since India and Australia as a sporting nation like the efficient Germans smelt blood.

Sometimes you have to just put your hands up and say the other team is simply better.

There bowling better than us, fielding better than us, and batting better, there creating there own look.

Sometimes you have to start again however there back up looks a bit better than ours Bresnan medium pace or Nile Exocet missiles...

I think England have had two many mediocre players playing recently and the super stars have got us home but now none of them are performing the mediocre have become exposed.

Like the brand Australia are playing a special mention to Carberry he looks a classy test opener

[Number4]

My views for what it's worth after reading the last few pages.

Firstly England just look scared of Johnson, I can understand one of us as a club player being petrified if facing him, but these are the best players we have, to me abroad just walked inside it to protect himself first and formost not to try and survive and be pre-pared to wear one if that's what was required. The rest of the batting except bell and maybe cook and Carb's is pathetic to be honest.

To comment of moving cook to 4 is to be honest to most daft comment I have seen in ages. End of that one.

Prior just needs to bat, don't care how or where but he needs to bat, I see the point people say about bringing in Bairstow but what is the benefit? All he has done is face net bowlers for basically the last 12 months as he has been carrying drinks. Not his fault at all but he played hardly any county last season and due to poor weather etc in the warm up games nothing in Aus. Plus his keeping is not in the same class as Prior and most importantly I think prior is very very important to the England set up.

England's so called express line up of giants just looks a joke at the moment with Tremlet in the first game and stokes & broad just about touching mid 80's with not a hint of movement and the same can be said of Anderson, who to be fair has carried this side for a long while. Finn is Eratic as we all know but on his day (just like Johnson) is a bloody handful. Swann is out bowled again by Monty. The bit I'm getting at is that all our so called superstars are all playing badly as a collective. What's the answer?? Simply there isn't one at the moment, Aus are just better in every department. I think at the end of this series you have to be brave and say thanks for all you have done but Father Time has had enough. We have some amazing players in the county set up, some have had brief intro's to international like Root who made his place his own. I think it's time to look at the next crop of players. We have dominated Aus while they were trying to get over losing there greats of the game and I think the tide has now turned. Do I like it? No, is it fair, yes as they are playing better cricket and have more players in form.

I know a lot of people won't like me saying this and even I can't believe I am saying it but even Lyon has out bowled Swann...

Simply Swann can't bowl on Aussie wickets

[joeljonno]

I'm not blaming Carberry for his dismissal, absolute blinder from admittedly a very good fielder - its not a high risk shot.  As for that starting the collapse, I don't subscribe to that.  They are all professioanl cricketers and have a responsible for their own technique and mindset.  I'm more likely to blame KP for that ridiculous shot with the trap set.  You've got eyes fella, use 'em!

Yes, Bell could have mis timed, but is he likely to in this form on that deck?!  Clarke COULD have spooned his first ball on day 2 to a fielder as well.  'Could' never 'did...'

Here are my thoughts on the differences between last summer and this Ashes to date.

1) England let Australia off to a point in the final test at the Oval.  They shouldn't have experimented, they should have stuck to their successful formula and maintained momentum into this series.  They missed a trick in getting into Australia's minds with incessant pressure.  Australia started planning for 2013/14 last summer.  England not until they flew out.
2) They will never admit it, but England looked at the 2010/11 series, the 3-0 in the summer, thought they had it in the bag and lacked preparation based on a bit of arrogance and complacency.  Their warm ups were nowhere near the quality of three years ago and, partly due to the fifth test in the summer, came in with an unsettled side.  They left themselves lacking strength in depth when Trott came home and hadn't planned for all outcomes.
3) Haddin was better than Prior last summer.  Haddin is significantly better than Prior now.  Again, there is no strength in depth.  Clearly they don't rate Bairstow as a batsman and his keeping isn't Test class.  prior brings so much with his keeping, vice-captaincy and on-field knowledge, but they need to start succession planning in all areas.
4) Clarke clearly enjoys batting at home and is handling the captaincy much better than Cook.  He is top, top class.
5) If England's prep has been average, Australia have clearly gone away and done their homework and left no stone unturned.  They have learnt from 2010/11 and the summer.  The attention to detail in their focus, psychology, game and situation planning and mindset is clearly huge.  Anyone else thinking Johnson's muzzy is deliberate?  Shades of Merv and the aggression of the 90s?  It's not Movember anymore...
6) I'm a subscriber that you create your luck.  You could argue England have been unlucky losing Trott, but his form wasn't great last summer.  England almost won last summer by default (no 400+ first innings score - would we have won tests like that in 2005 and 2009?).  If you are not batting well, everything else needs to click -the bowlers haven't and the fielding has been average.  We talk about England's batting unit but the bowlers have shipped runs in both Tests.  Yes, there's an element of chicken and egg in that, but the bowlers are looking ordinary, helped in part by Johnson's  incredible form - looks like he's going to have an Alderman-esque impact on this series...  I take onboard previous posts, but you have to say overall across their careers, performing across the world, Anderson is a better bowler than Johnson and, all being equal, Anderson and Broad are a better pairing than Johnson and Harris, over the course of their careers.  But in the here and now, its no contest.
7) The psychology of elite sport is incredible - this is exactly why I studied it.  Johnson's self efficacy is so high at the minute he thinks he's going to take a wicket with every ball.  he's also been very well managed by the staff and his captain.  Compare him to previous series to now to see the difference.  Maybe a couple of technical tweaks, but mainly its his mindset and still (amazingly) some ex pro's across various sports think psychology has no place in elite sport - unbelievable.
Australia have unleashed Johnson, who didn't play in England, high on confidence and pace on quick, bouncy tracks.  England have no surprise bowlers for Australia to contend with and their matchwinners have been nullified by the pitches.

My concern?  Momentum is everything in sport and this really could go 5-0.  Australia have to be odds-on in Perth and at 3-0, Ashes gone, what do England have to play for?

Hopefully this isn't an Englishman in denial... 

Not blaming Carberry for his dismissal?  He hit it straight to square leg fielder. I don't see how that is different to KP?

[procricket]

I know a lot of people won't like me saying this and even I can't believe I am saying it but even Lyon has out bowled Swann...

Simply Swann can't bowl on Aussie wickets

Lyon is no mug in truth never has been he has the favorite old sock feel he keeps coming at you.

[jamielsn15]

KPs chipped it to one of two fielders set for that shot.  The fielder hasn't had to move.  he hasn't driven it, he hasn't launched it into the stands.  He's chipped it.

Carberry has pulled a ball full pelt six inches off the ground and Warner has dived and stuck his hand out relying on his reflexes.  Ask yourself which shot you'd be most annoyed about playing and getting out?  And then ask your team mates.

I'm sure the commentators would have slaughtered Bailey if he'd dropped it and Warner would have, like Root, got a 'he's got close, would've been an incredible catch...'  It was.  We criticise the England players for going into their shells, Carberry plays an attacking shot and warner pulls off a superb catch.  A dolly it was not.

[procricket]

Easby i see your reading this what it look like live at the ground mate