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In an almost empty Gabba on Day 5, the Barmy Army finally got it's wish & could congregate together & krank up the noise.  Nearly all the locals were all at work, & the English fans were ruthless to those few Aussies Fanatics that offered any retort to the relentless Barmy Army chants.

The unwavering energy, passion & loyalty of the 'Army is great, & let's hope they can push England to bigger and better performances in Adelaide and Perth.  The free standing areas at the Adelaide Oval and the WACA will help them get critical mass & the noise should be incessant.

Unfortunately today, their songs were cut short by a weak England lower order batting performance, with the last 5 wickets falling for 70 runs in about one & a half hours.  I was back at the house where I am staying in the Brisi 'burbs by 12.30!

Despite England's poor performance, I had a fantastic time & can't wait for Adelaide in five day's time.  I just wish that I was going to all 5 days instead of just 2!

There's a rumour that McGrath may not be fit in time (due to bruised heel and old age)......remember England won it's 2 games of the '05 series when he wasn't playing.....

I may not get a chance to put up a report each day during the next test, so look out for the next report on the following Monday.

Until then..

COME ON ENGLAND!

It was the most enjoyable day of the Gabba test so far (for obvious reasons).  Finally we won a session (the 2nd) & it looked as though we were prepared to fight to hold onto the little urn.

Before Colli & then Freddy gave their wickets away, I thought we might even have a stab at winning it tomorrow.  But an Australian win is almost a certainty now, with 90 overs to be bowled & only 5 wickets left.

But the cricket today was great, & I gave up my usual 30 min sing song in the shade with the Barmy Army in Section 25, to stay in my scorching hot seat & watch the Warne vs Pietersen battle unfold.  Advantage Pietersen at the moment, but I think Warne will get his man tomorrow.

Stu flies back to Syd tomorrow morning, so I'm off to the Gabba with Drew for at least one session & if we can last 2, then there's a remote possibility that we'll be saved by some forecasted QLD thunderstorms in the late afternoon.  If by some miracle that happens, then the celebrations with the Barmy Army in Brisbane tomorrow night would be special!

Despite England's woes, we've had a great time in Bris Vegas so far, & apart from when the Aussies we're having batting practice in the 2nd innings, the cricket's been interesting to watch.

Looks like Ponting & McGrath may have some injury woes which is a major worry for the Aussies, especially with the Adelaide test starting in only 5 days.  I keep telling myself that it's a 5 test series, and although the Aussies have been by far the better team to date, the momentum can change very quickly (as it did in 2005).  Plus we only need to draw this series to retain the Ashes.  So don't lose faith!

COME ON ENGLAND!

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COME ON ENGLAND!

Where do I start!  The last 2 days I have kept saying it can't get any worse, but I fear it might.  The Aussie bowlers have been rested & the pitch will be worse.  England will do well to get through today.

But how can Australia look so much better than England? Their 2nd innings score breezed past England's paltry 157 without the bowlers even getting a wicket....How can the pitch be so benign for the England bowlers?

The ground was very quiet for most of yesterday, especially once the Aussies didn't enforce the follow on & had some more batting practice.  Gone was all the banter & the Aussies are just now bemused by the Barmy Army's incessant optimism and England's school like cricket.  I think they, like us, are bitterly disappointed with the total and utter lack of a contest (plus Cricket Australia's shortsighted decision not to block out sections of the ground for the Barmy Army).

England did win something yesterday though....my Brisbane tour colleague Stuey was 1 of 3 English fans, selected out of the thousands in the ground, tasked to take on Australian fans pushing a giant Beefy cricket ball around the infield.  And we won by a country mile!  Check out the photos...Well done Stuey!

Plus I had a great Indonesian meal before retiring to the sack early, a bit sun bleached & weary after watching another disappointing day of cricket (for an England fan).

On the bright side, Australia will set us 5+ sessions and 700+ runs. So we can still win!!!  And imagine what a huge win that would be!!!

COME ON ENGLAND!

What is worse than the Aussies giving you crap all day as they put on tons of runs & make your top order batsmen look like startled rabbits...when they don't because they feel sorry for you!!!

And I feel after just 2 days of the Ashes, they have such a pychological stranglehold on England in all departments that it's hard to see how we are going to get out of it.  Not even the Barmy Army has been able to get into full voice & lift the mood of depression amongst England Fans (and probably players too).

But hey, isn't this why we were called Barmy in the first place?  Travelling to all corners of the world watching England get smashed.  So let's not worry too much about the result & enjoy the banter, beers & sun, & watch a truly magnificent Australian XI in full flow....

I guess when a side that has the best spin bowler ever, the 2nd best Australian batsmen ever, the best Australian fast bowler ever, and the best Australian opening partnership ever is always going to be tough to beat, esp. at home.

On the flip side, none of England's top 7 batsmen have played a test match in Australia.  And without Jones, a strike spin bowler, or any swing to help Hoggard, and a completely misfiring Harmison, England are left with Freddy to try to break the Aussie's back.  He's almost done it single handedly so far, which is amazing given this is his first match back from a serious injury.

In the crowd yesterday it was the same story as Day 1 with the Queensland fun police out in force.  I never knew beach balls, snakes made of plastic cups, trumpets and mexican waves were such dangerous weapons.......

Today we're off to the Gabba with our friends Drew & Dubhe, who we're staying with.  Looking out the window at 8.30 this morning it looks like there is a fair bit of cloud cover which is bloody typical since it was clear blue skies and a completely flat track whilst the Aussies were batting.

No doubt the Aussies will roll us for under 200 & make us bat again.  Or maybe Pietersen & Bell can put on a 400 run partnership & help avoid the follow on.....

COME ON ENGLAND!! (pleeeeeease)

Is this some sick joke.  Has someone warped me back to 2002.  4 years ago I watched England bowl all over the place whilst Australia smashed 300+ for 3 on the 1st day of an Ashes series.....

The only difference ths time was that we lost the toss....enough about cricket anyway.

Enjoyed a day in the sun, sung a few songs, drank a few beers, had a great curry, but something was missing today.  Maybe there was just too much hype and we were expecting too much.  The Australian Fun Police didn't help, pulling up every supporter who tried to have a smidgen of a laugh.

And the Australian Cricket Board have done a fantastic job of splitting up the English fans into small groups so there was minimal atmosphere at the Gabba which was a shame.  Roll on Adelaide where we will be on the hill & can congregate on mass & get some momentum to the songs.

England need to bowl much much better & the Aussies bat a lot lot worse for us to stand a chance.  Ponting was brilliant today & never looked like getting out from ball 1.

Hopefully I will have better news to report tomorrow.  Now it's time for bed, the beer & Aussie sun has taken it's toll!!!

COME ON ENGLAND!

This time tomorrow, I'll be racing to the Gabba from the airport at breakneck speed trying to get into my seat for the 1st ball of the 2006-7 Ashes series.

My flight arrives at 8.55am & we have to drop our bags off at a mate's place where I'm staying, & then head straight to the Gabba.  It's going to be tight!

The hype is getting ridiculous here, with Channel 9 running a 2hr show last night called Ashes to Ashes.  It was basically a series of on-stage interviews with loads of Aussie & England cricket legends and current players.  Some of the illustrious names included Ponting, Vaughan, Tufnell, Langer, Hayden, Strauss, Pietersen, Botham, Boon, Lawrie, Greig, David Lloyd, Benaud, Tommo, Atherton, Boycott, Healey, Ian Chappell......not a bad line up!

Some of it was a bit cringe worthy but with that many current & former stars in one place, it couldn't really go wrong.  David's Lloyd's re-creation of the moment Tommo smacked him in the nuts was a classic.

Well I had better try to get on with some work, but it's proving extremely difficult to concentrate, with thoughts inevitably drifting towards the events of the next 5 days......

Who will win the toss?  Can England stay with the Aussies for the first couple of days?  Is Freddy really fully fit?  Will Monty play?  Can KP dominate again like 2005?  Is Warne going to be better than last time (surely not!)?  Will England's long tail cost them the Ashes? Can Freddy handle the added pressure of captaincy? Can McGrath really perform at his age!? Will I melt for 5 days in the QLD sun?  Can I survive 5 days drinking with the Barmy Army?  Will the Aussie Fanatics give the Barmy Army a run for their money in the singing stakes?

How will I sleep tonight!

COME ON ENGLAND!

To matters on the field first....England finally showed some form on Days 2 & 3 against NSW.  The bowlers polished off the last 5 NSW wickets for about 60 runs, & then after a few early scares, Strauss (50), Cook (59), Flintoff (62) & not least Pietersen (122) all showed good touch with the bat. Bell's waft outside off stump to a Clark delivery however, was worryingly similar to some of his dismissal's last summer against McGrath & co. Let's hope he can put that behind him & get some runs in Adelaide.

Watching Freddy & KP putting on a 100+ partnership whilst carting McGrath, Lee and Clarke to all parts of the SCG was a great sight, & I just hope there's lots more of it to come this summer.

Strangely MacGill didn't bowl & it's not clear whether the Australian team were trying to limit England's practice against legspin before the Gabba, or whether he was injured.  He looked fine to me when I saw him in the bar later.

When England went back out on the field to bowl at NSW in the 2nd innings, we did bowl much better & NSW finished on 194 for 6 at the end of the day's play.  Most impressive was Anderson who took 3-40 & was on a hatrick at one stage.  I think that spell may have sealed his place in the side for Brisbane.

Off the field, after an all too short stint Down Under, Tresco was off to the airport again with a recurrence of his stress related illness. Let's hope he takes a proper break this time & gets himself better.

His departure does leave open the fairy tale scenario of Michael Vaughan coming back early, maybe for the 2nd or 3rd test, into the openers spot where he was so devasting in the last series here.  How good would that be!! Otherwise, Cook has some big shoes to step into, but I think he'll fill them with ease.

Back in the press room Beefy was doing what should have been done weeks ago - giving the Aussies hell & telling them that they are a bunch of geriatrics better suited to starring in a Dad's Army episode than battling England's young and fit Lionhearts.

You can get a whopping 33-1 on England winning the series 3-1 or 3-2, and an unbelievable 80-1 on a 4-1 series win.  Australia to win 5-0 is only 4-1, whereas an England 5-0 series win is 330-1!!!!!  Australia are now an unbackable 5-1 on, to win the series.

I certainly enjoyed the 3 days at the SCG & it was good to get so close to the England set-up.  It's the cheapseats from now on so will have to enjoy life with the Barmy Army.  3 days gone, just 24 to go...

COME ON ENGLAND!

OK...so I am being very optimistic here.  But honestly, after watching NSW smashing us all over the park for 120+ runs for 1 wicket in the first session, I really thought we were in for more of a hammering than we actually got.  If we'd won the toss I am sure we would have scored 350+ against Lee, McGrath, S Clark & McGill...

In the end, 325-5 at stumps on a flat wicket & sunny day was not a great result but one with some positives.....our bowlers got plenty of overs in!  Freddy bowled really well for no wicket (15 overs 52-0); Giles' first stint for many months produced a very respectable 46-2, and Monty got his 1st wicket in Australia.  Worryingly Harmy looked as wayward as ever and Hoggard needs to learn to bowl a consistent line & length when the ball isn't swinging, otherwise the Aussies will murder him at 80mph.

For the Aussies, Phil Jacques got another great 100 putting more pressure on Langer for the openers Test spot; and Clarke got some welcome time at the crease with well worked 50.

...and the barmy army started it's tour in strong voice, albeit after tea & with some lubrication on the vocal chords.

Enjoyed a couple of quiet beers with Rick & Rich, plus met a few fellow tourists in the pub afterwards who we'll be catching up with around the traps later on.

I'll be back to the SCG tomorrow and Tuesday & can only hope that England can dominate as much with the bat as NSW did today. 

Although the forecast is overcast & thundery showers, so McGrath, Bracken & Clark may clean us up for under 200.  I hope NOT!

It's a slightly overcast but warm Sunday morning in Sydney & today marks the beginning of the Ashes tour proper for England.

Eng play a strong NSW team at the SCG, boasting an attack of almost 1000 test wickets, plus a strong batting line up.  The likes of McGrath, McGill, Lee, S Clark, Bracken, M Clarke and Katich will provide a tough test for an England team who still looked a little bit jetlagged against a young fired up Prime Minister's XI on Friday (at least I hope that's why we got walloped!).

Am hoping we'll win the toss, choose to bat & our top order will have a chance to face a decent amount of overs in on the fast & hard Aussie wickets.  Then, after making at least 400 today, we'll have a bowl tomorrow & the likes of Harmy, Freddy, Hoggy & Monty will rip through the Blues.  The SCG usually takes a lot of spin so I'd expect to see a lot of overs from both Monty & Giles.

Let's hope I'm right!

COME ON ENGLAND!!!

Welcome to Chris' Ashes Blog.  Over the next 2 months the most anticipated Test Series in history will take place & let's hope it lives up to it's billing.

I am going to be following the England team around the country & hope this blog will give some of you in the UK & elsewhere a chance to experience a little of the tour from afar.  I'll try to fill it with fun experiences, match reviews & pictures of the cricket action on and off the field.

You can visit the site anytime & post your comments as well.

Hope to see you all on here soon.

Adios

Chris