My dear old things, it's STW TMS!

Yes I’d say it is pathetic the way they are finishing but the score flatters the Ozzies a lot, it’s been tight up until lunch today. England were looking on top in the middle of the afternoon session with a big change on Ali’s stumping – they could have added another 30 to this total which would have changed the way they came out and the mood of England coming out. Again drop Stokes into the team and I’d have said 2 quicker wickets and 40-50 more runs on the board and this was a very different game. I’m not convinced by Usman Khawaja at 3 and they are still reliant on Smith. The bowling attack has been good but not amazing and I wonder how they will go in the day night. England need a flurry to finish here but need to get their head game in for Adelaide.

They certainly do. Khawaja might be out for Maxwell, which I don’t think would exactly help out cause. We can whinge about Ali’s stumping, but Cook and Bairstow’s stupid shots plus our inability to finish off their tail is what’s done us. Giving up in the final session was just the icing on the cake.

This really is where the Aussie differ from us – they don’t just give in.

I think you’ll find they were comprehensively out-played there, Steven. We weren’t yesterday and today, we threw it away.

as I said Zokes, a 50 and a wicket per innings from Ben the Butcher Stokes would have turned that one. Anyone on here care to sort that out….

Enjoy the day night, we expect some photo uploads from your seats

I’d better find my Flickr password! Any other easy ways gif getting a photo from an iPhone onto this forum?

imgur is the other one

and also it’s wonderful to be able to switch between TMS, ABC, WWOS and MMM coverage, TMS is always a lot more chilled out 🙂

Agreed. Usually fairly even handed on the ABC, but I try to avoid the others unless it’s badly unsynched with the video on the telly.

Go to love the Barmies: “God save YOUR queen”

Yeah, at least a sense of humour remains, much as the 10 wickets for 39 runs is possible…

A sense of humour is needed when watching England play cricket in Australia. It’s like a Tim Henman Wimbledon semi-final.

Ah well.
Adelaide here we come; drop-in pitch for day-nighter with the pink ball. Could be interesting – let’s hope so!
And so to sleep.

Yep, some concerns with Ali and a couple of others there, the Bairstow stuff looks like something out of nothing.
As the local TV are saying England need to have an honesty session after this, what worked, what didn’t.
Recover, plan, and work out how to get Cook into the game and Stokes on a plane.

What worked: concentration and perseverance with carefully laid out plans.

What didn’t: brainless shots from players who should know better; inability to bowl out their three number 11s

Having listened to Aggers & Tuffers wittering on about theremins on Sat/Sun, giving the impression they knew nothing about the subject, here’s Leon Theremin both introducing and playing; some understanding of russian would be useful.

well I admit I didn’t stay up to watch the final blows. Onwards and upwards.

It’s an unforgiving mistress cricket. Bar another excellent innings from Smith, who I detest as a person but admire as a cricketer at the same time if that makes sense, it was pretty much honours even for 3 days – we won a session, they won a session and so on. Even then it was ‘only’ a handful of runs at the end of the first digs.

Even D4, we were well in it at nett 130-5 and 150-6 but with two decent players established, prospect to set them 230-250 on a last day pitch – and then we folded, first with the bat and then potentially more worryingly with the ball when we barely created a chance, let alone a run of wickets to get their bumholes a-twitching.

10 wickets isn’t therefore a true reflection of anything but the final couple of sessions, so I don’t want to panic just yet…… but the last 2 sessions sort of makes me want to panic.

To cheer the mood up, check out the interview with Bancroft about his “headbutting” 😆

So, looks like Stokes is aclimatising/ getting over jetlag before being called up….?

https://mobile.twitter.com/rossco_1990/status/935251045533528073/photo/1

Planing in NZ is confirmed for Stokes, I assume the really want him but not sure how he is allowed to leave the country with the police thing still going on

I guess it’s because they know where he is?*

*not a lawyer

he’s not been charged with anything, can you be forced to remain in the country in that case?

No you can’t as far as I’m aware. (Was falsely accused of something a couple of years ago and was worried that I’d have to cancel travel plans, but it wasn’t the case)

Hokey kokey. Not too long to go now, and just polished off galettes for breakfast with the family. Weather cool, blustery and overcast. Bloke on next table wearing a tshirt with the entire Australian inning from Trent Bridge 2015 on it. The weather here feels distinctly similar, ball should swing like a banana.

Here’s miniZ as a test to see if I can actually post photos from my iPhone to here…

So, this is apparently a restricted view seat. Toss is 8 minutes away…

Toss won, but we’re having a bowl. Interesting, definitely bowling conditions, but not sure I’d want to bat last.

Not so bothered about my daughter waking at 3.30am

Might be about to get wet…

Ball by ball? 😆

(well we have to take our little victories when we can)

Yup. He was explaining it to an Aussie who seemed suddenly less interested when he realised the significance. 😆

Weather update: play about to start, but so too is the rain

gah, just as an aside, the fan on my computer has been whirring away and I was thinking I didn’t have that many tabs open in my browser, or anything else running – and then I realised one of the tabs was cricinfo. Closed that and instantly the fans stopped. Why has cricinfo become such a shitty website (if there was another source for ball by ball I’d never go there again)?

Perhaps it’s bitcoin mining – Cricbuzz as an alternative?

Crictime good for a video feed.

All a bit slow and sedate here. Overton initially good but very expensive in his last two. No easy wickets coming, obligatory run out excepted. Not so sure bowling first was such a great idea after all…

Warner gone and the sun is out

why do i **** hate steve **** smith so **** much?

I am fuming levels of annoyed just watching him on the TV, in person he must be ……

GGGAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Getting dark now

BIG breakthrough from Overton.

Not a bad first test wicket! Strangely quiet in here now, with the exception of the Barmies yelling “you’re not singing anymore”

It a not dissimilar position that England were in at the end of day one at the Gabba. 300 all out and England are well back in. If Aussie extend to 400+ it could be pretty much bye bye to the Ashes.

I’m surprised by the decision to put Australia in. It’s as if we’ve got carried away by the bit of drizzle and the day/night thing. Adelaide is a shirt front. Win the toss and bat every time for me.