peasy23

Yep, mental stuff from Cook again. I know Borthwick got a bit of a smacking the other day but that's all part of the learning process. Not bowling him now will be worse for him than getting whacked around a bit.

61-5 at lunch, Stokes and Ballance doing quite well.

And here comes Mitchell...

Just the usual from England, their hopes now lie with one man playing his fourth ever test and the one at the other end on debut.

So much for the Aussies batting again before tea, it will be before lunch at this rate!

England's selections for this series have been stunningly inept. Compton had a couple of poor games and has been unceremoniously binned completely. They could have done with having another experienced opener there and he averages over 30. If he'd managed that consistently on this tour he would be among England's top scorers! Why even bother taking Finn? He seems to have got worse since being involved with the England coaches, but he would have been a much better bet with ball in hand than Bresnan pootling in at 80mph and not scaring anyone. Throwing Borthwick in was either brave or stupid. He managed to take a wicket but went for 7 an over, the boy might make a good player but IMO it was wrong to throw him in for this match when the Aussies have treated spin with disdain right through the series, and none of the pitches have offered much turn. His confidence might take a battering from which it never recovers. Good performance by Stokes taking 6 wickets, probably the one real plus England can take from this series. If he can learn to tighten things up a bit to slow down the scoring then he can be a big weapon for England in the future. Rankin has had a scan which showed nothing, England are saying that he was suffering from cramp and should be ok to bowl in the second innings. Good read on cricinfo though that he has suffered from "psychosomatic" injuries in the past. http://www.espncricinfo.com/the-ashes-2013-14/content/story/706673.html

Haddin comes to the rescue again, a lot of people think Johnson is a shoe in for man of the series, but Haddin must also have a shout. Several times he's come in with Australia's first innings in tatters and produced a great innings to turn it back their way.

Root out and Carberry stays, which doesn't really fit in with bringing in 3 new players and looking to the future! Australia unchanged, first time ever they will have used just 11 players in a 5 match series. England win the toss and will have a bowl.

Team still to be confirmed, but Borthwick, Rankin and Ballance have all been handed caps so will start. Borthwick batted at 3 for Durham, will likely be number 8 for England. Edit: looks like it's Root who has been left out and Carberry stays in. Shame for Root as although he hasn't had a great series he was promoted into a position he shouldn't have been anywhere near in the first place IMO.

Just had a look around and the rumours seem to point to it being something like: Cook, Root, Bell, KP, Ballance, Stokes, Bairstow, Borthwick, Broad, Anderson & Rankin? Ouch. Could be another very sore one for England IMO.

As I posted above Monty is struggling so Borthwick isn't a surprise. Who's rumoured to be dropping out for the other two? I'd guess Anderson for Rankin?

Yep, best thing I've watched over the holidays. A much more modern reaction than Watson fainting in "The Empty House" and I also liked the nod to the book with Watson trying to rip off his patient's "disguise."

Seen a lot of angry posts on their Facebook page and also on Twitter, it was madness IMO to arrange the game for a day that there was no public transport. Pissed off a lot of their own fans with both the scheduling and the late call off.

Ashes News: Monty doubtful for England with a calf strain which could see Tredwell or Borthwick get a game if he fails to make it. Australia have added uncapped 28 year old Tasmanian batsman Alex Doolan to the squad as cover for Shane Watson should he fail to shake off a groin injury.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/25565942 New Zealand's Corey Anderson sets a new record for the fastest International century, scoring 100 from 36 balls in a rain shortened 1 dayer against the Windies in which the Kiwis battered 283-4 from just 21 overs! He was ably assisted by Jesse Ryder who also scored a ton in his second match back after being severely beaten up outside a nightclub in March.

Wow. Went to bed before England started to bat and even with the extremely low standards they have set this series I'm stunned to get up and find Australia back in again! Haddin is averaging 65 for the series, that's brilliant cricket, especially in some of the situations he has been batting, like last night's rearguard action.

One over in particular by Anderson to Lyon made no sense as he fired in bouncer after bouncer, one needed a superb take by Bairstow to stop a boundary. Why not try a couple of short ones then bang in a Yorker?

Haddin gets another 50, this time from just 59 balls. Why don't England try bowling at the stumps?

One to look forward to during tea later, Piers Morgan v Brett Lee in the nets. Hopefully Brett gives him some chin music!

Best quote on TMS: Michael Vaughan: I can't think why they've got in a fine leg, I can't see Monty having a hook. Henry Blofeld: To stop the bails I would think.

Didn't really expect England's tail to do that much, but I thought they might have lasted an hour or so!

Wonder if England's tail can put up any more resistance than they have so far in the series, especially with the new ball still only 10 overs old.

How can they be "defenceless throughout the down" as far as getting hit goes, but then be allowed to tackle and block the returner? Complete contradiction IMO.

Definitely, a classic example that you should never believe how good or bad the media say you are. Certainly has to be questions about the squad that England took, and the lack of depth in batting cover. Also, why take the bowlers they did then not play them? Are they all really that bad? The two biggest positives for England have been Carberry and Stokes, but you could say that was down to circumstances as much as planning. Would Carberry even have played in the first warm up match, and subsequently in the Tests, if Cook hadn't got off the plane with a stiff back? Stokes only got his chance because Trott went home, you can bet he wouldn't have taken part in the second Test if Trott had stayed.

Sadly all too predictable, read through the BBC text commentary earlier. When he smacked the 6 the guy typing it said it's worrying that KP is looking for gaps in the field, that's usually a bad sign. Sure enough, within a few balls he's out. Decent stuff from Stokes today.