Tag: sport

England are a better side than we saw at Lord’s. On another day, the top order will bat better, Hoggard and Jones will be more consistent, and the fielders will hold some catches. Australia will not always be as good. Even by Glenn McGrath’s standards, that was an exceptional bowling performance. He can’t possibly bowl that well for the whole series, and if he does – he’ll win them the Ashes and they’ll deserve it. If the right combination of circumstances comes together (England playing better, Australia playing worse, and a bit of luck), England could still have a good win in the next Test. Then the whole psychological balance could change, and I think the teams will suddenly seem a lot more closely matched.

I think that can only be described as a thrashing.

It’s going to take a pretty remarkable bit of batting (and indeed some decent bowling) to win this one.

But then we always knew it would take some remarkable performances to regain the Ashes. Is there anyone in this side who could provide an Atherton-like two-day batting performance? Or alternatively Freddie and Pietersen could knock it off together in a couple of hours.

You know it must have been dire when 155 is a pleasing total. It’s a lot of fun watching KP smack the ball around; it’s even more fun watching Harmison and Jones do it.

Or at least they do in 30 minutes – the toss is about to happen. I love this moment, when nothing has happened yet and everything is still possible.