it's the failure of the Australian "top order" batsmen to perform
that's the problem, the two openers did better in the second Innings,
but there's a couple who failed in both innings including the Captain

65 to win, 1 wicket to go

47 runs to win
& G Boycott is lashing the English bowlers Fenn (or Finn ) & Swan

24 runs from 2 overs by Finn
Haddin 60 Pattinson 20 31 to win
this is great stuff

Australia could still take it, 20 runs left at lunch. Just depends on who can maintain their patience/nerve better.

Who is G Boycott and why the nickname?

WHO is Geoff Boycott ????
you can't be serious --- he was the most boring English opener ever,
block, block, block, defensive, dificult to get out
uncompromising Yorkshire chap
"Blowers" is a pommy commentator Henry Blowfeldt ?? who has a "plum in the mouth"
accent

Here we go...final half hour or so. My money is on England to win by less than 5.

Well England have won by 14 runs & well bowled Anderson
it was a "close run" result, & now it's on to the next game
should Haddin have walked ??? ho ho ho

Boycott, those were the days... unfortunate name, didn't he play in SA during aparthied? Did I spell that right?

Apartheid I think it is.

"Also, Australians never walk :p."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXYbWIi8u7E

Ok Fasces, Australian very rarely walk. The culture of cricket over there is very much against the concept of walking. Still that rare example came long before the era of DRS. Whether Gilchrist would do the same with the modern appeals system at the sharp end of an Ashes test match is another matter entirely. That was only a world cup, after all.

Its not the only time Gilchrist walked, however it is by far his most famous walk. I'm not sure how you could argue that the world cup semi-final is less important then an ashes test match.

Broad isn't a walker and Gilchrist is. Quite honestly DRS still makes that fact irrelevant, this is suppose to be the gentleman's game, and what Broad did isn't very gentlemanly. This isn't the first time Broad didn't walk, but its the first time in such a high profile match.

You can say Australians rarely walk, and I will agree on you with that, but when was the last time you saw a Brit walk? I've seen Tendulkar walk, and I've seen Gilchrist walk. I haven't seen any other high profile player walk.

How could you argue a one day game of any kind was more significant than a test match? And an Ashes test match, at that! The world cups of cricket are fun spectacles but they aren't the pinnacle of the sport by any stretch of the imagination. They're not even the pinnacle of the one day game. A one day series between the top two one day sides would count for more than a world cup any day.

Walking has been a part of the culture of British cricket for some time. It has been the "done thing", just as standing your ground is the "done thing" in Australian cricket. That's not to say all Brits walk, and it is a rarer thing at the highest level of the game (and those who do walk tend to do so only at low pressure times such as the start of an innings where there is plenty of time for the team to make up for it, or after they've already put a fair few runs on the board. Not many have ever walked from broad's position).

I personally think that walking, in this day and age especially, is daft. Lets everyone leave it to the umpire and DRS and it is a level playing field for all.

"I personally think that walking, in this day and age especially, is daft. Lets everyone leave it to the umpire and DRS and it is a level playing field for all."
So much for being up to the British culture of walking.

"How could you argue a one day game of any kind was more significant than a test match? And an Ashes test match, at that!"
I think world cup is just as important as the ashes, and I'm willing to bet people from Pakistan, India, South Africa etc. would agree with me.

"So much for being up to the British culture of walking"
Don't quite see where you're going with this. Has walking been a part of the culture of the English game? Yes. Do I agree with it in international cricket? No.

Of course most Indians and Pakistanis would consider the world cup more important than the Ashes. They're not in the Ashes. Ask if India and Pakistan rather win a world cup or a India vs Pakistan test series, however, and I doubt the world cup would get a look in. The IPL itself is probably far more important to Indians than the world cup

The IPL is where the money is in cricket
The "Ashes" Tests are limited to being between Australia & England.
There is a huge historical importance in England & Australia attached to "Ashes" Test
matches-- ( I think ) the first Test Matches played were between England & Australia
In Australia there are the added historical nuances of being a nation that arose from
a collection of British colonies, & whilst there are some similarities in that with The
West Indies, there are also considerable differences,
there were Spanish, Portugese (?) & French colonies in the West Indies
and India & Pakistan had civilisations in existence long before their period as part of
the British Empire
I think all Australian cricketers would aspire to "scoring a century" or taking 5 or more
wickets in an Innings or both Innings in an Ashes Test match at Lords and being a
member of an Ashes series winning team over winning a World Cup-
- well they'd want both ideally, and if asked to choose they'd Diplomatically try and
dodge the question
As a spectator I like it if Australia can have success against all other cricketing nations
at home, but I can dismiss a test series loss in India / West Indies / South Africa / New
Zealand / Sri Lanka / Pakistan or a World Cup loss etc as long as we can win an
Ashes Test series
It's a unique sporting rivalry that has a long history -- thats what gives it so much
importance in England & Australia
plus it gives a load of Poms the opportunity to escape the grime & cold wet & damp of England & visit sunny Australia every few years -the "Barmy Army"

being defeated in Test cricket by the Kiwis is the greatest humiliation for Australia, New Zealand being a renegade offshore former Australian colony, an antipodean Taiwan as such.

disagree with that nudge
the rivalry with the New Zealanders that's taken seriously in Australia is with Rugby
although they still haven't got over the Greg Chappell / Trevor Chappell underarm bowl'd last ball of a one day game
and I like our South Pacific subsidiary, good surfing, good skiing, good fishing.
they should have joined us when the original Australian colonies created the Australian nation, they came for the talks and at one stage it looked like they would join and Western Australia would not

Nudge- not sure your history is entirely correct. They were not a former colony. They were part of new south wales well before federation. Hence, part of nsw but never a colony of Aus. That may well make more sense to Aussies than others. Sorry. :-P

thanks BPT, i knew that if i put a hook out there, at least one fish would bite.

Didn't look like a hook. Just looked like you were wrong.

sacked South African Micky Arthur, formerly Australian Test Team Coach ( briefly )
launches legal action against Australian Cricket Board seeking a lazy $Aus 4 million
in compensation --- approx 10 years salary
this blighter's coaching record with Australia is an absolute flogging 4 nil loss in India
no surprise he got sacked

bump

Ouch... Shockingly poor usage of reviews from Australia, and some pretty feeble batting in the mix. Poor Agar should not be a number 8. The young chap can be pretty useful when there are low expectations and he has luck on his side, but put him under pressure and give him batting responsibilities he's not ready for and he's bound to struggle.

Australia have really given themselves a great opportunity to excel in the 2nd half of this test. I have a nasty feeling tomorrow will just be an England batting practice day.

...although we really do need one.

England 30/3, could be an Aussie batting practice day

I'm surprised Australia weren't made to follow on. And the batting by both sides has been horrible, both games they have had to rely on one person making a breakthrough, Agar for Austria in the first and Bell for England.