The Ashes 2013

[Matthew Turner]

(older) Cricket fans might enjoy this episode of Hancock's Half Hour

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007k456

[Mick Norris]

England leave out Finn and Onions, bring in Taylor to cover Pietersen, plus Panesar and Tremlett

Interesting
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/23481370

[David Robertson]

If I were Australia, I'd go for broke: open with Watson & Warner; play two spinners; and crucially, bat first. Then I'd send out the openers with a mandate to attack. If they hit their straps, it could be 150-0 by lunch.

Watson, Warner, Khawaja, Hughes, Clarke, Smith, Haddin, Agar, Siddle, Lyon, Harris

Nah...that line-up doesn't scare me either

[Richard Bates]

If I were Australia, I'd go for broke: open with Watson & Warner; play two spinners; and crucially, bat first. Then I'd send out the openers with a mandate to attack. If they hit their straps, it could be 150-0 by lunch.

Watson, Warner, Khawaja, Hughes, Clarke, Smith, Haddin, Agar, Siddle, Lyon, Harris

Nah...that line-up doesn't scare me either

Which are the two spinners?

[David Robertson]

Clarke & Smith of course

[Paul McKeown]

Clarke & Smith of course

Haha! The best one could say about that is that Clarke is a batsman burdened by leadership, whilst Smith is a batsman unburdened by talent!

[Mick Norris]

Can't believe they have managed to get play started today, weather up the road here has been miserable and wet since yesterday afternoon

And Cook out, 0-1 and wastes a review too

[Jonathan Bryant]

I've got tickets for the fourth day. Hoping Jimmy and Bres dig in tomorrow morning and there'll still be something left in the game.

[Paul McKeown]

Geologically speaking, that was schist.

[Jonathan Bryant]

I was hoping for rather longer than 10 minutes.

[Jonathan Bryant]

That was fun

[Mick Norris]

That was fun

Fabulous watching the highlights, so must have been great to be there

You should go more often

[Paul Robson]

A bit like Death Race 2000 driving past the ground yesterday but the Aussies in Durham city make a pleasant change from students .

[Paul McKeown]

3-0 now puts Australia below Pakistan in the ICC rankings.

Oz just doesn't have the players. They've got their opening pair now, Warner and Rogers - just lock Warner in the storeroom overnight as Geoff Boycott has suggested - and why they "forgot" about Rogers is a mystery. Clarke is superb. Harris and Siddle are excellent bowlers. That's five who are up to the standard, but the rest are mediocre, at best.

[MartinCarpenter]

Haddin isn't doing badly either and Watson's bowling at least has been very useful. Basically all of their bowling has been good - you don't get as many quality bastmen as there are in Englands line up spontaneously out of form without good reason. Even Lyon did just fine this match.

Australia definitely aren't awful right now and have some chances for the return series in Australia. What'll happen when Harris/Clarke/Rogers/Haddin all go (soon after that you'd imagine) may be another matter.

With Rogers, the Australian selectors have a spent a while trying to produce miracles, as per their spinners. It isn't smart behaviour long term. Odd to see how totally the English/Australian attitudes to this have turned round from the 80's/90's. We're very much more systematic about things now.