Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in englandexpects' LiveJournal:

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Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
9:25 pm	Ashes T5D4 - England 332 & 373-9dec, Australia 160 & 348 - England win by 197 runs and the Ashes 2-1 Not a bad call, though I'm still a little surprised it didn't go into day 5. What can I say? Team effort, really. A matter of bowling and being patient and waiting for the breakthroughs. Swann was superb, Broad likewise, and Harmison (perhaps too late) remembered how to bowl - those last three wickets of his were fast and hostile... ..and Freddie, like Ian Botham before him, just had to provide the defining moment. With Katich and Ponting dug in and keeping the score moving, Katich called Ponting for a single to Flintoff's right, fielding uncharacteristically at mid off.... He pounced, unleashed a flat, hard sidearm throw that would have put several baseball pitchers to shame, and knocked back a stump with Ponting inches short. Magical, and the catalyst for a mid-afternoon clatter of wickets from 217-2 to 236-5. And the Ashes are back in England. T5D4 coverage: mostly, BBC iPlayer app (in a car with no radio or aircon while waiting for the AA), plus Five highlights. (Comment on this)
9:14 pm	Ashes T5D3 - England 332 & 373-9dec, Australia 160 & 80-0 (mostly written this morning, but I ran out of time to post it) A great day for England, specifically for Andrew Strauss and for the debutant Jonathon Trott, who seemed to be totally unfazed by the idea of batting on a supposedly deteriorating pitch - another who seems to have taken to Test cricket without any apparent trauma. Interesting question - was the target Strauss set too many? I think not. Now, the pitch is deteriorating, but England, with an admittedly shaky start managed nearly 400 in a hurry. To my mind, you have to set a target that is psychologically beyond reach with the game in the state it's in: mathematically, 540 is under a hundred a session if you can keep your head, and basically requires someone to pull off a double hundred with another century in support. Psychologically, though, it's massive. It reaches way beyond the records, and moreover you're asking a side you just skittled out for 160 to try for it. I expect, though, that Aus will make well over 300, and the game may well go into day 5. Strauss has the luxury, because of the size of the target, of setting attacking fields. Balls that wouldn't normally go for four will, and I'd expect Australia to keep up with the required rate to MAKE 540+. I just expect them to lose wickets... T5D3 coverage: Sky Sports 1 live :D (Comment on this)
Friday, August 21st, 2009
11:43 pm	Ashes T5D2 - England 332 and 58-3, Australia 160 Pinch me, someone. I'm not prepared to go as far as Mark Nicholas on Cricket on Five and say that was a historic performance by Broad, but as a game turning spell (4-8 in 21 balls) it's definitely up there. And what did he do right? Mostly he just relied on the fact that he has a good action, ran up and let the action do the work to put the ball in the right place, and then let the deteriorating pitch do the rest. And if that sounds like I'm taking away credit, hell no. Because that's what the greats DO. The reason Steve Harmison blows hot and cold is that, on a good day, it's all one big coordinated whole, and the ball lands in the right place because that's where his bowling action puts it. On a bad day, he's trying to consciously control the act of putting the ball in the right place rather than letting it happen, his speed drops by 7 or 8 mph and the ball goes all over the place. Bowling in cricket is like a golf swing: it's about having a grooved, repeatable action that is locked in muscle memory, and when all the components fire like they should, you KNOW where the ball is going to go. This pitch rewards patience: it rewards having the ball hit the spot and waiting for the right thing to happen. And that's why Stuart Broad has a 5-fer. One of his idols is Glenn McGrath. Today, he finally bowled like him. Let's not forget Graeme Swann - sure, he benefitted from two SHOCKERS from the umpires, but they were neatly offset by a couple of bad decisions that went our way. He has a lot to contribute in the final act of this one. North had a few balls turn square out of the bowlers' footmarks, and I don't see Swann being any worse. In my book? England need 200. They may scrape it with less, but I think a lead of 370+ is enough on this track. We haven't won it yet. But it's more likely than it was yesterday morning. T5D2 coverage: BBC online comms, ECB iPhone app, Cricket on Five highlights (2 Comments |Comment on this)
7:56 am	Ashes T5D1 - England 307/8 (and we're caught up!) So - is that a good enough total? Interesting question. We have a spinner, they don't (unless you count North), and it appears to be dusting up a bit. I'd like to see Broad and Harmy (and Anderson) do that thing they do... has anyone noticed how England lower-middle/tail-end batsmen seem to really like to spank 50+ runs in morning sessions when we're 7 or 8 down overnight? I can point to any number of incidents, frequently involving one or both of Broad and the big Durham guy - another one right now would NOT hurt. Marks to Bell for sticking in and Getting Runs, and Trott for not being fazed on debut. T5D1 coverage: ECB iPhone app, BBC text comms, and I'd really like the TV tonight for the D2 highlights, dear... In fact - pulls out iPhone Sky+ app, sets the Five highligts to record :D (2 Comments |Comment on this)
7:52 am	Ashes T4D3 - England 102 & 263, Australia 445 - Australia won by an innings and 80 runs So, 1-1. I don't think anyone really had any hopes of a Headingly-'81 reprise, but Broad and Swann did give it the old college try for a while, by the looks. Broad, in fact, seems to have had a thoroughly reasonable game, and it's a shame he didn't manage a maiden 100. And Anderson managed one scoring shot (a four) before getting out. We move on to the Oval, and it's pretty simple. England win, we recover the Ashes. Any other result and - well, there they go for another year or two. T4D3 coverage: ECB iPhone app, BBC match report, CricInfo (Comment on this)
7:48 am	Ashes T4D2 - England 102 & 82/5, Australia 445 Well, it wasn't the pitch, then :D North's turn to go big this time. At the time it completely bypassed me that Broad had taken 6, mostly because by the time I got to a scorecard, we were all just shaking our heads at the England second innings middle order collapse. The overnight worry, mind, was whether Anderson would get off a duck and continue his no-ducks streak - still hasn't managed a duck in his entire career. T4D2 coverage: ECB iPhone app and CricInfo. And a lot of 'not looking'. :D (Comment on this)
7:43 am	Ashes T4D1 - England 102, Australia 196/4 Oof. This was not a particularly pretty sight when I fired up the iPhone. I was half wondering if I could find a thesaurus app for synonyms for 'abject' and 'dismal'. Apart from Cook and Prior, England's first innings was all that and the proverbial bag of chips. Maybe it's just me, but... is Siddle really that good? T4D1 coverage: ECB iPhone app and (much later) CricInfo because they have end-of-day scores in the archive card. (Comment on this)
7:39 am	Ashes T3D5 - England 376, Australia, 263 & 375-5 - match drawn Of course, that presupposes we GOT any early wickets. Suddenly, we seemed to be suffering from an inability to get the Aussies out. Clarke is starting to look kind of tough to shift. [N.B. Yes, I know these are late. Massive catchup after not having time or a decent keyboard while on holiday] (Comment on this)
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
7:36 am	Ashes T3D4 - Australia 263 & 88-2, England 376 Looks like that was a day not to miss, too. But miss it I did - very pleasant day spent at Epcot, with occasional teasing from the rest of the party as I snuck the odd peek at the score. Something tells me I'd have loved to have seen the Flintoff innings... Interestingly set up game. If England can get early wickets, anything could happen. T3D4 coverage: ECB iPhone app, BBC post-match reports (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
7:43 pm	Ashes T3D3 - Australia 263, England 116-2 It is gloriously sunny here. Shame the same can't be said about Edgbaston :D At a hunch, this might be a draw. Also, as an aside, looks like Onions over Harmison wasn't that bad a pick! T3D3 coverage (such as it was): ECB iPhone app, CNN sports news, free Barnes and Noble Wifi, and finally the apartment WiFi has started working!!! (Comment on this)
7:39 pm	Ashes T3D2 - Australia 263, England 116-2 Well. Well. Why does all the fun happen when I'm nowhere near a TV? While we were waiting for our flight at Gatwick, Onions and Anderson basically removed the Aussie middle order in a morning burst of 7-77. The tail then proceeded to wag mightily while we're over the Atlantic, and I managed to grab a close of play score on the free WiFi at Orlando Airport. T3D2 coverage: BBC text comms via iPhone on various free WiFi. (Comment on this)
7:34 pm	Ashes T3D1 - Australia 126-1 Looked like this was going to be a bit of a non-event. At the time I left work, no play and an inspection due. By the time I got home, however, (which included a mad dash to Vision Express, Maplin and the local DHL office), it was all over, and Australia, thanks in chief to a rather dismally limp bowling performance by England, were a comfortable looking 126-1. D1 coverage: ECB iPhone app, BBC online text comms. Too busy packing for the States to see any highlights, and this is the first chance I've had to actually get a net connection since. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
8:41 pm	Ashes T2 aftermath The big news - KP's had an operation on his Achilles and not only won't be fit for T3, that's it for the series. Hrm. So... I guess that's Bell coming in at 3, and Bopara back to 5? Can't see many other options unless the impossible happens and Trescothick comes out of retirement. Which (sadly, given his cracking form at present) ain't happening. Bowling-wise, I'm still tempted to swap Onions for Harmison, especially if he's carrying an injury as he's rumoured to be. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, July 20th, 2009
10:56 pm	Ashes T2D5 - England 425 & 311-6d, Australia 215 & 406 - England win by 115 runs And... breathe. 75 years of not beating Australia at Lords comes to an end. Head said Australia weren't going to get there. Heart just had that niggling little worry that with Clarke and Haddin still there they just might. Cometh the hour, however, cometh the big lug with the dodgy knee, and an absolutely phenomenal spell of 90mph fast, nasty and intelligent fast bowling. Ask an Aussie batsmen who they'd prefer not to face, and I'll bet you the answer'd be Freddie. Closely followed by Harmison when his head is in the right place and he's got some overs under his belt, I suspect. Haddin wasn't good enough to get his bat out of the way of a lifter, Hauritz just plain wasn't good enough, full stop, and Siddle is probably still wondering how a ball off a 15 pace shortened run from a guy who's limping all the way back and has already bowled nine overs beat him for pace and line. Credit to Swann too, and to Strauss for the bowling change that saw Clarke beaten by flight and drift, and Johnson (after an excellent knock) lose his middle stump. Face it though, the only way Strauss was getting the ball off Freddie at the other end was when the game was over! While today belonged to Freddie, the match belonged to the team. Roll on Edgbaston, where we'll see if both Freddie and KP are fit. I suspect the answers are yes, even if he spends a lot of time just fielding at slip and probably no. T2D5 coverage: BBC online comms (didn't get the TMS feed before Haddin was out, so superstition prevailed) plus full Sky Sports Xtra highlights. (Comment on this)
7:51 am	Ashes T2D4 - England 425 & 311-6d, Australia 215 & 313-5 Good start.. Strauss (wisely, IMO) declared, and Australia lost a bunch of early wickets to dubious umpiring decisions. I find it amusingly ironic that the King Of Whinge, Ricky Ponting, was the only one of the first four Aussie wickets that was unquestionably out. After that - great knock from Clarke and Haddin - England really need to see them off bright and early on day 5. T2D4 coverage: TMS online streaming, Sky Sports 1 live. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
11:32 pm	Ashes T2D3 - England 425 & 311-6, Australia 215 Well, well... On the down side, what the frod was Broad doing trying to knock the Aussie tailenders heads off? Onions proved pretty quickly that pitching it up and letting them hang their bats out to dry was a much better approach. And the afternoon session looked like Bopara and KP were having a bloomin' net, not setting a target. Otherwise? Great knocks by Colly and Prior, and 522 already looks an intimidating target. I'd declare overnight, but Strauss has been over-cautious in the past... Looks like it should be a good day for Swann tomorrow. T2D3 coverage: Sky Sports 1. Live. Gloriously live. All bloomin' day. (Comment on this)
9:14 am	Ashes T2D2 - England 425, Australia 156-8 Now THAT's more like it. Ok, so the first three overs of the morning were a bit dismal, as Strauss, Swann and Broad toppled one afer another. But from there on, it was pretty much all England, starting with a 47 partnership including some cracking drives and cuts through the packed off side, from Anderson and Onions. Anderson in particular is turning into a very useful asset at number 10. And then... well, well. 4-1. 10-2, and oh dear Ricky. He's entitled to grumble a bit at the standard of umpiring for his dismissal - once Koerten was convinced he hit it, though, all the third umpire could do was confirm Strauss had caught it. The fact that he hadn't hit it, and he was plumb lbw in front of leg stump, is neither here nor there. So, sorry Ricky. Still out. Quit whinging. Rain interrupted things a bit mid afternoon, but once play restarted properly, Anderson and Flintoff, particularly, shone, and ripped the heart out of the Aussie middle order, aided by some superb field placings, and later on the team of Broad and Cook cleaning up Johnson and Haddin. So, currently, the Aussie batsmen are a guy with a nasty stomach upset and a guy with a dislocated finger. Doesn't say much for Hilfenhaus that he's batting after them :D And they're worryingly (if you're Australian) short of the follow-on target of 226. Make 'em bat again? Hell yes. T2D2 coverage: BBC TMS stream, ECB iPhone app, BBC text comms, and (FINALLY) Sky Sports 1 LIVE, plus Channel Five highlights. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 17th, 2009
7:50 am	Ashes T2D1 - England 364-6 First things first - head won - Onions for Panesar. Have to say, looking at the way the wicket appears to have behaved today, that might be a really smart move. Mind you, Harmy was apparently pretty hostile for Durham at Trent Bridge once he got there. It all started brilliantly (sounds a bit like T1, in fact!) - best opening partnership for a long time, before Cook missed a straight one midway through the afternoon. After that, Bopara did a brief Vaughan-esque 'look classy, get out' appearance, KP got out to a good ball, Collingwood and Prior succumbed to attacks of the stupid, Freddie failed to read the script... the last fall neatly falling for 32, 16, 8 and 4. Broad ruining the pattern by being not out 7 at the close... ...and Straussy's still going on 161. Should be an interesting morning if Broad can stick around. Other moment of the day was Hauritz dislocating a finger to a sharp chance... he's apparently OK to bowl., but is (understandably) dosed up on painkillers. T1D1 coverage: BBC online comms, ECB iPhone app, TMS streaming audio. No TV highlights, since Certain Folks (me included) had a bunch of Torchwood to catch up on. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
9:29 am	Ashes T2 - Lords And all the news is about Freddie's retirement. I'm probably going to be unpopular when I say this, but he hasn't actually been fit to play Test cricket pretty much since 2007, period. And the stats don't lie: England have a better winning percentage lately without him, and KP plays better when he's not in Freddie's shadow. Apart from that: news is he's fit and playing, so.... who do you pick out of Harmison, Onions and Panesar? Interesting one: my heart says drop Swann and Broad, play Harmy and Panesar. I want to see the Aussie top 5 handle Harmy, and Broad isn't best suited to trying to knock people's blocks off - like Gough, he's better with someone at the other end doing it. As for Monty? I just have this inkling that the last hour of the first test may have given him his self-belief back. Head says Onions for Monty, and that's it. I guess we'll find out at the toss. (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
9:21 pm	Ashes T1D5 - England 435 & 252-9, Australia 674-6d - match drawn Nice to be wrong :D Not the best of mornings - KP effectively playing no shot to one that nipped back slightly, Strauss and Prior not really contributing, but the obdurate Collingwood hung on all afternoon for a griity 74 before he was caught at the second attempt by Hussey, having seen Flintoff, Broad and Swann come and go as partners. (Not that convinced by Swann's need to pull the ball that got him LBW, mind.) And then it came down to Anderson and Monty. Forty-one minutes to survive, provided they passed Australia's total... Ponting is so going to get pilloried in the Aussie press - I can't quite understand why he was trying to winkle out a number 11 bat with a part time spinner. And, in a sad irony, despite Monty's awesome defence for 40 mins? Short of an injury to Swann, he'll be dropped for the next match for Onions. I'd also wonder about dropping Broad for Harmison, too after his performance earlier against Yorkshire. T1D5 coverage: One quick pained look at the ECB iPhone app (at about 90-5), and then from about 5pm the BBC text commentary, plus (after the fact) Ch 5 AND Sky Sports 1 highlights. I freely admit, I'm superstitious. If England are doing well in a critical situation, I won't change my means of watching the cricket. I started out around 5pm on the BBC text comms on Anne's netbook, and so there I stayed. I didn't even tell Anne what the score was, for fear she'd turn the TV on :D (2 Comments |Comment on this)