4th Ashes Test Aust V Eng @ Headingly, Leeds

[RoosterMarty]

Goneeeeeee. MJ gets a Michelle.

1-1.

Already looking forward to the 5th Test but there will be an even longer break between Tests now!

[dedja]

263-9 with the Pres to face the next over ... Will he last the 6 balls.

Nope ... all out for 263.

Series 1-1.

Poms need to win the last test to regain the Ashes.

No-one will remember 168 runs by the Poms in the 1st session, but will remember a great win by the Aussies.

[rod_rooster]

Well done to the Aussies. Good win.

[spell_check]

Despite the fun today, it's still a thrashing. An innings win inside three days is definitely one of those.

[rod_rooster]

Would England pick Ramprakash? Would they be that stupid? Only England could do that i guess and it is not completely out of the question

[RoosterMarty]

Despite the fun today, it's still a thrashing. An innings win inside three days is definitely one of those.

Yes it is a hammering. We won such an important Test in roughly 2.5 days. Shocking performance by the Poms but the Aussies finally stood up and played cricket. England can't handle it when we do that.

[RustyCage]

Strauss getting booed by their so called supporters

[dedja]

Strauss getting booed by their so called supporters

Might be wrong but they may be booing Punter.

[RustyCage]

Strauss getting booed by their so called supporters

Might be wrong but they may be booing Punter.

They booed him too, but it was as Strauss was walking up to the the interview

[Gozu]

Performances for the 4th Test

Australia

Batting

Watson-51
Katich-0
Ponting-78
Hussey-10
Clarke-93
North-110
Haddin-14
Johnson-27
Siddle-0
Clark-32
Hilfenhaus-0*

Bowling

Hilfenhaus-1/20 & 4/60
Siddle-5/21 & 1/50
Johnson-1/30 & 5/69
Clark-3/18 & 0/74

England

Batting

Strauss-3 & 32
Cook-30 & 30
Bopara-1 & 0
Bell-8 & 3
Collingwood-0 & 4
Prior-37* & 22
Broad-3 & 61
Swann-0 & 62
Harmison-0 & 19*
Anderson-3 & 4
Onions-0 & 0

Bowling

Anderson-0/89
Harmison-2/98
Onions-2/80
Broad-6/91
Swann-0/64

[Thiele]

Good win Boys

[acockfromwayback]

Can someone please post a list of team sheets, with scores made and wickets taken. ie. MJ Clarke 389 runs @ 72????? for example
Basically just current series stats for each player.

[cyclops]

i think this is now husseys last series no matter wot happens in the last test.for the up coming summer hughes back to open,watson back to the middle order,i really think playing hughes against the lowly west indies and pakistan will be the ideal way to get the young lad his confidence back.south australias callum ferguson then must be the next choice middle order batsmen if anyone was to consistently fail.as for hughes if he continues to struggle i suppose the likes of jacques/rogers must be next in line.

[smac]

Can someone please post a list of team sheets, with scores made and wickets taken. ie. MJ Clarke 389 runs @ 72????? for example
Basically just current series stats for each player.

Stats are on the home page of www.cricket.com.au

[Dogwatcher]

Would England pick Ramprakash? Would they be that stupid? Only England could do that i guess and it is not completely out of the question

Michael Holding quote: "Ramprakash? I hear the West Indies are going to pick Garry Sobers for the Australian tour."

[MightyEagles]

Need to win the Oval Test to stay the No.1 Test Country, should it be a draw, we will go down to 2 I think.

[silicone skyline]

Strauss getting booed by their so called supporters

Might be wrong but they may be booing Punter.

They booed him too, but it was as Strauss was walking up to the the interview

Might have been the Aussie supporters booing him.

[Choccies]

Would England pick Ramprakash? Would they be that stupid? Only England could do that i guess and it is not completely out of the question

The guys has a test average of 27.32 with 2 hundreds from 92 innings and he is currently 39 years old. He'll be 40 in September.... His last test was in 2002... So yeah, go ahead and pick him ya stupid Poms !!!!! I cant believe they have even mentioned his name !!

[Dogwatcher]

They always look to the old fellas when they're in strife.
Remember they brought Gatting back to face the Warne menace as he was the world's best player of spin

[rogernumber10]

This guy posted an unbelievable stat on his blog, wrapping up the fourth test.

Posted by Andy Zaltzman 16 hours, 14 minutes ago

A quick Sunday stat


How low can England go? Answer: very low


As I write, Broad and Prior are launching a spectacular Headingley-81-style fightback – a blazing partnership that has so far brought 22 defiant runs in just 20-odd minutes. Whether this develops into the 350-plus stand that might give Graham Onions a chance to do a Bob Willis remains to be seen, so, with the game still poised so delicately in the balance, here is a statistic for you.

England’s number 3, 4 and 5 have in this game posted the worst ever Test performance by and England 3-4-5. The worst. In 890 Tests. Even counting matches when nightwatchmen have broken up the 3-4-5. Even in 19th-century games when the wickets sometimes literally had snakes in them. Ouch. (Counting only games in which numbers 3, 4 and 5 have been dismissed twice, which seems fair in the circumstances.)

Bopara, Bell and Collingwood mustered 16 runs between them in their six innings. Even by the most positive-taking of modern standards, this was ‘a bit disappointing’ and ‘something that needs building on’.

In fact it was the equal third worst performance by numbers 3 to 5 in the batting order in all Test history (excluding South Africa at Melbourne in 1931-2, when they used a completely different 3-5 in the second innings, to spectacular effect – Bell, Mitchell and Cameron managed to double the 5 runs accumulated by Christy, Taylor an Viljoen in the first).

South Africa can proudly claim both first and second place in this list of shame. They managed 12 in a Test in 1888-89, at a time when they still pretty much pitched up at the ground and asked passers-by if they fancied a game of cricket for a couple of days. And, least triumphantly of all, Keith, Endean and McLean – not the worst 3-5 in Test history by any measure – amassed 6 runs in the 1955 Oval Test. Scores of 5, 0 and 1 in the first innings paved the way for three second-knock ducks as Laker and Lock filled their spinny boots on a turning wicket.

So at least Bopara, Bell and Collingwood can claim to have done 166% better than the 1955 South African 3-to-5. A small consolation as they take their place in English cricket’s slightly embarrassed history books.

[A quick update – Prior is out. I daresay the odds are now even longer the 500-1 England defied 28 years ago. But Broad has just been dropped by Siddle. Could that be the crucial turning point? No. No. No. It could not.]

For English masochists, those who dislike England for whatever reason, and those who simply love the statistics of failure, here is a list of the worst ever performances by an England 3, 4 and 5. Please ignore if you are of a sensitive disposition, or closely related to the three batsmen involved. Thanks be to Statsguru.