The Ashes

[nookiebear]

Extra half hour taken!

BTW, Prior has taken 22 catches so far in the series (best ever 28 by Marsh).

Big Deal!

[nookiebear]

Siddle gone for 45.....need 2 more wickets,,,but it keeps on raining!!!

[nookiebear]

Hilfenhaus gone for 7.................only 1 more wicket needed

[Starman]

Done it. 3-1. Brilliant.

[nookiebear]

Done it. 3-1. Brilliant.

Can't find an Aussie anywhere!!

[isanbirder]

Nice to see a bit of fight from Smith and Siddle;  we haven't seen too much of that in this Aussie innings.  A great series for England, outplayed them in every department (including the spectators!).

[nookiebear]

Paul Collingwood has announced hir retiement from International Test Cricket

[isanbirder]

And Australia not only is in a crisis, but its cricket administration won't admit it.  Ostriches, not emus!

[nookiebear]

What a cracker,,,,,,,England win 20-20 by one wkt off the last ball

[isanbirder]

Rubbish cricket, Nookie... or hit-and-a-giggle if you prefer.  Fun, but dumbed-down cricket for the instant gratification generation.  Nice to win, of course, but of no significance whatsoever in terms of the rivalry between the two sides.

That notwithstanding, it was nice to see a good debut for one Woakes, of whom I had never heard;  we shall hear a lot more of him.

[nookiebear]

Rubbish cricket, Nookie... or hit-and-a-giggle if you prefer.  Fun, but dumbed-down cricket for the instant gratification generation.  Nice to win, of course, but of no significance whatsoever in terms of the rivalry between the two sides.

That notwithstanding, it was nice to see a good debut for one Woakes, of whom I had never heard;  we shall hear a lot more of him.

I had never heard of him before either .....I agree its rubbish cricket but it does pull in the crowds

[isanbirder]

Rubbish cricket, Nookie... or hit-and-a-giggle if you prefer.  Fun, but dumbed-down cricket for the instant gratification generation.  Nice to win, of course, but of no significance whatsoever in terms of the rivalry between the two sides.

That notwithstanding, it was nice to see a good debut for one Woakes, of whom I had never heard;  we shall hear a lot more of him.

I had never heard of him before either .....I agree its rubbish cricket but it does pull in the crowds

Yes, it's a great way to raise money for the game... and also to ensure the players a decent income.

[tommynew]

Quote by Isanbirder

Rubbish cricket, Nookie... or hit-and-a-giggle if you prefer.  Fun, but dumbed-down cricket for the instant gratification generation.  Nice to win, of course, but of no significance whatsoever in terms of the rivalry between the two sides.

That notwithstanding, it was nice to see a good debut for one Woakes, of whom I had never heard;  we shall hear a lot more of him.

During my time living in the backwaters of Yorkshire (and probably the same all over England) an innings of more than 20 overs was the exception rather than the rule, mainly due to weather, availability and light, so why is it you consider it instant gratification on the international stage. If you don't like something then do the other thing or things that give you gratification

[isanbirder]

Quote by Isanbirder

Rubbish cricket, Nookie... or hit-and-a-giggle if you prefer.  Fun, but dumbed-down cricket for the instant gratification generation.  Nice to win, of course, but of no significance whatsoever in terms of the rivalry between the two sides.

That notwithstanding, it was nice to see a good debut for one Woakes, of whom I had never heard;  we shall hear a lot more of him.

During my time living in the backwaters of Yorkshire (and probably the same all over England) an innings of more than 20 overs was the exception rather than the rule, mainly due to weather, availability and light, so why is it you consider it instant gratification on the international stage. If you don't like something then do the other thing or things that give you gratification

Village cricket and international cricket, although they're the same game, are two very different things.  The village version, which I'm not criticising, is geared to half a day or a day at most... and it's the cradle from which international cricketers come.  But it involves different levels of skill, training etc.  There is often no time at all for the batsman to 'get his eye in', and the time limits mean that every ball has to be made to score runs if possible.  I agree that a lot of time is wasted on defensive play (in Test matches in particular), but if the bowling is at that level, defence is a major part of a batsman's repertoire.  In T20, you see good batsmen getting out to attacking strokes which are unjustified by the calibre of the bowling... and any bowler, however well he's bowling, is restricted to four overs.  Towards the end of the 20 overs, you see wild hitting necessitated by the time restrictions.

In the modern world (and this goes far beyond cricket) everything is geared to what I've called instant gratification.  People are simply no longer prepared to struggle to get what they want;  they want it NOW, preferably without effort.  This, in my opinion, is destroying the character of which we as Britons are proud.  I could go on at length on this, and write it better (!), but I think that's enough for now.  Tommy, I think you're the same age as I am... so your attitude rather surprises me!  But perhaps I come from a more innately conservative stock.

Your last sentence... yes, indeed I do.

[nookiebear]

Was the last sentence fuced up by ADMIN??