I'm looking forward to some match action
I’m getting ready for my first real action of the Ashes series as I’ve been picked to play in the two tour matches over the weekend – against a Chairman’s XI on Friday and Western Australia on Saturday and Sunday.
When all you’re doing is training all the time it gets a bit depressing so it’s going to be nice to get out on the pitch and play a bit of cricket.
playing and he’s in such good form for Australia I think I’ll have to try and injure him to give England a better chance – only joking....!
I fielded a few times in the first two Tests and I loved the atmosphere – although I did get a few hecklers.
During the Tests when England are fielding, Ed Joyce and myself are classed as the better fielders in the squad so we will come on the pitch for a few overs when someone needs to come off for whatever reason.
When England are batting we get stuck into our training. We will warm-up with the Test team and then carry on for a couple of hours ourselves.
Each night we go to the gym so I am definitely feeling strong and fit at the moment.
Regular readers of my blogs will know I am a big swimming fan but the pools in the hotels are quite small so I’ve only been doing a few lengths.
Instead Ed and I have created our own mini triathlons.
We go for a mile run on the treadmill, then straight on to the bike and we do 5km and then on to the rowing machine for 1,000m.
We do three circuits of this and it takes about 50 minutes so it is a very good cardio vascular workout.
The mood in the dressing room was obviously sombre after the Adelaide defeat but because I hadn’t played in the match, I probably didn’t feel the pain as much as they did.
I didn’t want to say something in case it came out all wrong so I decided to keep my mouth shut as they all sat there.
But the lads are over it now and need to go into the next Test 100% right in the head because we need to start winning.
I wanted to be out there getting some runs for the team or taking wickets. It’s easy to talk on the sidelines and say ‘I wouldn’t have played that shot’ or ‘I would have bowled better than that’ but the real match situation is totally different.
It’s a shame for the team that we lost in Adelaide because we dominated most of the match – but that’s Test cricket for you.
I’ve had a little bit of spare time so I’ve done a bit of sunbathing.
There’s a few couples going to see in concert on Thursday night – me and my girlfriend Lisa, Kevin Pietersen and his fiancée and Ian Bell and his other half.
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Kylie’s music but Lisa wanted to go and the reviews have been great - a few of the other England players saw her in Sydney and raved about her.
I’ve got an excuse to leave half way through though as I’m up early for the match at .
I’m actually feeling a bit nervous about the match because it’s been so long since I played in a game.
But it will be a nice feeling when I wake up in the morning to know I’ll be getting a few overs under my belt.
There has been some talk of team changes for the Perth so I’ll be hoping to bowl well to put myself in contention for the third Test.
"There has been some talk of team changes for the Perth so I’ll be hoping to bowl well to put myself in contention for the third Test."
Surprising to hear that.... the way Freddie and Fletcher have been adamant about having selected the team with the right balance..
Still, Mony and you replacing Giles and Anderson should be refreshing.
Complain about this postHmm. Watchin Kylie? Shouldnt you be practising to avoid a 5-0 embarassment?
Complain about this postplunkers hope you have a good couple of games and can force your way in for perth cos im sure you'd do a good job and give it everything. best of luck with it.
Complain about this postGood luck for the warm up game Liam, hopefully yourself and a few of the other lads in the squad will now get a chance to show what you can do!
Complain about this postLooking forward to seeing what the other squad players can do over the weekend. Hopefully we'll see a few changes in the team and a better performance in Perth.
Good luck - backing you for selection.
Complain about this postTell Fletcher the chinless wonder to pull his finger out and let the axe drop, our bowling has been pathetic. Harmison, Giles, Anderson should all be in the frame to be dropped and worryingly the Aussies have the measure of Alastair Cook as well
Complain about this postAny chance of you coming to play for Yorkshire next year???
The committee don't seem to be getting anywhere so the fans are taking a direct action instead!
Thanking you
Goneski
Complain about this postDespite what everyone says I think Engald still have a good chance in this series.
It's just about how you view the Australians. You could see them as world beaters.
Or you could see tham as having one bowler (Warne) and two batsmen (Ponting and Hussey) that can turn a game. The rest are good players but not unbeatable (including The Creaker, McGrath).
England have two bowlers (Panesar and Flintoff) and two batsmen (Flintoff and Pietersen) that can turn a game. The rest of the team are - in my opinion - as good as, if not better than the majority of the Aussies.
Conclusion. If you view it that way you have as much chance of winning all three of the remaining Tests as they do. The questions are:
1. Do you all believe you're as good as they are?
2. Can you pick a side to win not draw?
3. Can you all apply yourselves professionally all of
the time (and not just in fits and starts)?
Let's hope you can answer YES to these three questions over the next few weeks.
Good luck.
Complain about this postGood luck son, show the aussie's what you're made of and rough them up!!
Complain about this postWhilst I guess a real match is better than a training session, I feel this has been half of the problem.
Complain about this postOur warm-up matches have been mainly ODI's and the emphasis is different. Batsmen are trying to score quickly and bowlers are trying to restrict the run-rate. Taking wickets is of less importance and when they are taken, it is often the batsmen trying to go for runs and making mistakes.
We should have a ODI team and a Test team, with separate managers.
Of course, some players are suited to both, others are not, and therefore I say it was bad preparation.
Either way, I hope you and the others can demonstrate something that might change the stubborn Flintoff and Fletcher to make some minor adjustment to selection and tactics.
ARE WE PUTING TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON MONTY TO COME IN AND PERFORM. HE MUST BE NOW TREMNUDUS PRESSURE. IF HE DOESNT PERFORM THAN SOME WILL SAY THATS WHY HE WAS NOT PICKED.
Complain about this postLiam, great blog. One question I have is whether Monty takes part in these Iron Man triathlons!
Complain about this postGood Stuff Liam. Sounds like you're maintaining a good fitness level, keeping yourself busy and would be raring to go if the call comes.
Can you tell the team from me and from all of england - KEEP YOUR CHINS UP. Bowl some bouncers, scowl at them aussies and believe (because its true) YOU CAN BEAT EM.
Best of British.
Sam
Complain about this post"I fielded a few times in the first two Tests and I loved the atmosphere – although I did get a few hecklers."
maybe if england played better cricket this wouldn't happen??
Complain about this postHi Liam, I think that the decision to play one or two spinners plays a crucial part in the ashes. Another dubias call is to play Monty Panasar insted of Ashley Giles just to get him some experience. Thank You
Complain about this postLiam, great blog. One question I have is whether Monty takes part in these Iron Man triathlons!
Complain about this postYou're not as good as I was. Good luck but remember- YOU ARE NOT AS GOOD AS I WAS. Got it?!
Complain about this postAre you over there for a holiday or to keep the Ashes?
Complain about this postPlease give Fletcher a message from back home; swallow your pride, drop the useless Giles and Jones and pick Monty and Reed. You can even throw yourself into that equation so long as you get him to drop Harmy...why the hell is he still playing??
As an Aussie can I say this? I honestly believe that the Pom batting is more than up to scratch regardless of the Adelaide debacle (I've seen our team fall in similar situations). If you can inject a second seamer to support Flintoft and Hoggard (maybe you Mr Plunkett) and get Mony into the Perth side you are in with a major chance. The contest is far closer than the Adelaide result indicates. Both Hayden and Langer are suspect to agressive, short pace bowling and Gilly is way out of touch. At 2-0 down with 3 to go it's up to you blokes. Yes I want revenge for last year but I believe that this is a far superior team to previous Pom units to visit our shores in the past.
Complain about this postyou are a much more promising bowling than anderson and mahmood in my view, I hope you do well in the practice games even though a test spot is probably unlikely seeing as you been out injured a while. I can't believe the team selections so far in this ahses series, I really hope fletcher and flintoff make the right decisions for the 3rd test ie look at three changes read for jones, mont for gilo and anderson for...?
Complain about this postGood luck with all your warm up games Liam,no-one can doubt your love for the game.
Sorry to say this about your friends Liam but the team selection for this series has been shocking! I am a firm believer of backing your players right till the end (as I captain my county U'14 team) but it gets to a point where you have to draw the line.
Ashley Giles (One Of My Favourite All Time Players) has done nothing to warrant even his place in the squad, let alone the XI.Monty Panesar should be picked in the next match,if he isn't I don't see much point in carrying on with this tour that quite frankly is a complete shambles.
Also yourself or Sadj Mahmood should be picked instead of Steve Harmison in my opinion. People say Anderson should be dropped but I think that's rediculous.Atleast he's been bowling well but just not picking up wickets,whereas Harmy has been bowling just plain rubbish.
Strong words - yes,maybe .. who knows? But one thing that I'm deffinately right about is how much England miss Michael Vaughan (The greatest technichal batsman of all time in my opinion) and Simon Jones (One of the fastest and best swing bowlers in the world). Their effort and resiliance is something that has been completely lacked on this tour by England apart from the exceptions of Matthew Hoggard and Paul Collingwood.
The players have the backing of the nation but it's time they started to take the games by the scruff of the neck and play with some emotion.The only 4 players I believe to have shown any sign of actually wanting to keep this amazingly precious little urn for our fiercly proud cricketing nation is Andrew Flintoff,Geraint Jones and once again Paul Collingwood and Matthew Hoggard
Having said all this I'm still extremely proud of England but they have to start playing world class cricket ... or they'll be coming home to the back page of the 'Daily Mail saying "5-0, 5-0, 5-0.
Complain about this postLiam, try geting up at 3 or 4 in the morning and watching your team throw everything down the toilet
Complain about this postDepressing is getting up in the middle of the night watching your team mates give up the ghost. Depressing is getting up to a crap job everyday....none of us think spending a few months in Aus having to train a bit, watch Kylie and sunbath is depressing.
Complain about this postDo you reall think it's a got idea to go out the night before a match?
Do you really want to be out there and play cricket when you have the chance or perhaps you would spend your entire time sunbathing and watching Kylie?
Have the ECB got a press officer on tour with them to stop you posting such ridiculous 'depressed with training' post. If they haven't...I'm up for the job to spend a few months in Aus getting 'depressed'
Good luck Liam for the weekend, as a fellow Durham man i wish you all the success bowling and batting, give big Steve a word in his shell like and maybe let him know his little brother may do better!!!!!
Hopefully you will get a chance at the 3rd test along with Monty, and let Colly know he should be in the captains face asking for a bowl and helping with the field placings as he has a brilliant insight into the game, and congrats him on his performance so far.
P.s give Kylie a kiss from me
Complain about this post"When all you’re doing is training all the time it gets a bit depressing so it’s going to be nice to get out on the pitch and play a bit of cricket."
My heart bleeds for you it really does, the lucky ones are us that get up at 4 in the morning to watch you guys play and then we go to work!
Complain about this postHi Liam,
It is probably a good thing that there are fresh faces in the squad, who have not performed as abysmally as those that played. This was the most bizarre performance I have seen from this team, and it must have hurt big time.
Go grab your chance and play well! The team surely needs less of stars who are nervous and cant land two balls in the same spot. So much for trainers, psychologists, head coaches, batting coaches, bowling coaches, masseurs and the whole lot. What about the team actually showing some cricketing nous?
Complain about this postI hope you have a good game and get into the side Liam. Don't listen to the nonsence some people have posted, you can't play cricket 24/7, just keep enjoying yourself and if you get a chance give it 110% like you always do.
Complain about this postEnjoy the Kylie concert and, above all, enjoy your next matches. Hope to see you in the next Test.
Complain about this postMate,
It wouldn't matter if you got all 10 wickets in this game. Your playing a team of has been, youg kids and some country hicks. All in all it is just a social cricket match which will do England no favours if they win it and will do lots of damage if you lose it.
Go out and see Kylie, get drunk and have a good night before the game. You might play better with a hangover and Kylie tunes going through your head when you come into bowl.
God save the Queen because no one can save the English team.
Good luck Liam
Complain about this postHow depressing it must be for you Liam. Stuck in Auz with your missus, off out to kylie, play a bit of second rate cricket....then back to the dark place of having to train. o woe is me. i feel for you fella.
Complain about this postThis just annoys me.
Hi Liam,
Good luck in the warm up game.
Unlike I suspect one or two of the people on this forum I've been a fan of test cricket for many years and some of the stick directed at individual players has been very unfair.
Yes as a fan Brisbane was very depressing and Adelaide utterly soul destroying but only because you know this squad (unlike many porevious) is capable of much more.
Believe in yourselves. As the Aussie poster wrote this is the best squad for years to tour Australia and on the plus front we have shown in spells we are more than a match for the best side in world cricket.
Before people rush to dish out highly personal bursts of cheap invective they should just remember where we were when Nasser took over as captain. Back then we used to lose to Zimbabwe! I suspect also if our cricketers hadn't raised their heads above the parapet last year by winning the Ashes disgusted of Tunbridge Wells would still be asleep under his/her Daily Mail.
So keep training hard and good luck.
Lets hope we can get the team and the tactics right for the next one.
Win lose or draw just go out there and play without fear. Because frankly anyone who gives individual players a hard time from the confort of their broadband connection has very little reason to call themselves a "supporter" of English cricket.
Complain about this postyou deserve to be in the starting line up, quality player, plunkett for england!!!
Complain about this post"Dont listen to the nonsense some people are posting"
The squad needs a good kick up the backside if you asked me. The reason why the Aussies are so good is because the nation crucifies them when the lose.
I'm not getting at you Liam, you haven't played so the defeats are not down to you at all, but a true great in any sport prepares his mind the night before, imagining every situation, playing it out in silence before the game. Are you going to be a great, or just another bit part player making up the numbers?
Complain about this postSuccess is your only option, failure is not
Hi Liam,
Please tell all the team that there's an awful lot of us back home supporting you every inch of the way. It's never over till it's over, and despite the disaster at Adelaide, you can all pick yourselves up and still go for it 100%! Keep your cool but put up a fight and who knows what might happen next?
I do wonder if psychologically, obviously not intentionally, there is a bit of a tendency to rely on Freddie to pull the chestnuts out of the fire? If everyone comes to the party it takes a lot of pressure off him and that can only be a good thing.
Please do pass on my message of support- all the very best.
Complain about this postit looks like your down in the pecking order for a test spot.
Complain about this postunfortuanately i dont think the team will change even if we get stuffed at perth!
looks like your chance will come only through injuries to the other seamers.
this is a possibility.
soa few questions liam.
how do you rate your bowling form?
do australian pitches suit your style?
do you consider you are a better bowler now than in the english summer, accounting for the fact you have had very little cricket?
and what are you specifically working on in the nets?
finally, do you think you will get in any cricket for durham in 2007?
cheers.
With two good young bowlers like Liam Plunkett and Stuart Broad who also show promise with the bat, the number 8 & 9 slots look like the could be quite good in the future.
Shame we have to sacrifice Monty in this series though.
Complain about this postLiam, hope you enjoy the games over the weekend and play well.
I know the injury towards the back end of our season has put you behind, but weren't you our No. 8 batsmen last year??
Giles out, Plunkett in. Then they can bat monty wherever they like, providing they take another player out (Anderson).
All the best.
Complain about this postLiam you are definetly better than that jimmy anderson.You got to promise us to show more enthusiasm and hunger to not just bowl at your turn but to look for wickets.Dont just run in and bowl your spells like jimmy ,look for wickets plan and look for it,search for it if you do that you will get it.
Make england proud.Make us fans happy.
Go England!!
Complain about this postHey plunket, m writing u all the way frm Kashmir, Pakistan, mine wishes r with u guys hope u'll b able to atleast drew teh series with aussies , i hope m not hoping against hope, anywasy i think monty n mahmood must play by replacing old gilo n weiard jimmy,Good luck
Complain about this postLiam you are a superb young bowler who is the future of the attack along with stuart broad possibly too. Anderson can't cut it at test level anyway and is okay for one dayers I guess as he has shown before, as for Mahmood second rate in my view really. Play well in the two warm up matches and a chance may come Liam depending on circumstances, anyway well done on progress so far and don't listen to some of the negative comments on here bout having a social life outside of training.
Complain about this postIt's about time You, Monty and Sajid got a game. You should be in the team! All 3 of you.
Anyway goodluck in the match. Make sure you win! So England salvage some sort of pride even it is a tour game.
I won't ask your opinions on the team selection because you might get in trouble with squad players.
Say Hi to Monty and Monty to Fletcher and in particular Flintoff basically haha.
Goodluck
Complain about this postCome on england we can pull this series back and retain the ashes.
Complain about this postBring in monty and chris read drop giles, and jones.
Keep faith in jimmy aderson hes a quality bowler.
Hi Liam as your close to the England squad can you honestly say that the boys that played in Adelaide can pick themselves up for the test in Perth.
Complain about this postIt must be very depressing to lose matches to the australians with such a good team . I feel off the previous english teams this team has great talent but most of them are carrying drinks .If vaughan is fit I guess collingwood will be on the bench. If GILES plays the next match I'm sure the australians themselves won't turn up to watch.
Complain about this post50 minutes seems like a long time for the training session you mention - is this correct?
Complain about this postWell said ASHOK DATTANI, we are all putting too much pressure on Monty, we are building him up too much, but we need him in the side.
Complain about this postI agree with Adnan, Saj must play, he gives good runs as a tail ender. Surely its Reed for Jones, Monty for Giles, Saj for Harmy and Plunkett for Anderson?? That might sound like panicking but we lost the first two games in terrible circumstances with the team we have in now; if we go down 5-0 I bet Monty, Saj and co will feel like they should have joined in necking pints for the England working man's club (Cricket team)
Tell Dunc to give the drinks rosta to Giles and show us the FULL MONTY!!!!
Complain about this postI really hope you get into the squad for the rest of the series liam, you're wayyyy better than anderson! good luck!
Complain about this postAidan Elliott, your kidding yourself!!! One bowler for the aussies, have you forgotten Stuart Clark. Glenn McGrath is a champion and wouldn;t you love Shane Warne to be English!
Liam, hope you get a run mate. Show a bit of heart, more than your teammates thats for sure!!!
Complain about this postHi, why is arguably the best fast bowler in the form of Saj Mahmood being totally over-looked?
Complain about this postHi Liam
Good luck with the two friendlies at the weekend and hope it leads to a Test place.
Sarah and I will be urging you on as usual. Up the Boro'
Complain about this postid like to see you in perth, swap you for jimmy and monty for gilo and you could take number 8 batting slot who knows ey liam, best of luck, hope to see you at 2.30am at perth on the 14th
all the best
take those aussie wickets!!!
stephen
Complain about this postSo Dunclan Fletcher, Andrew Flintoff please see sense and play Plunkett in 3rd test please and drop anderson,gilo and jones.
my Team for 3rd Test
Strauss
Complain about this postCook
Bell
Collingwood
Pietersen
Flitnoff
Read
Plunkett
Hoggard
Harmison
Panesar
the thing is, all the arguments that fletcher is using about the balance of the side which fine i agree with to some extent, point perfectly to panesar and plunkett, and always have.
if they have been training u up as an allrounder, them let u play. the fact is ur hardly any worse at batting than giles, and ur certainly not much worse (better in my opinion) than anderson at bowling, plus u decent in the field. u are in fact the perfect answer to our problems, and then of course the issue that never should have been would be resolved and we would have monty bowling.....literally the perfect combo...plus its a side of the future. i love gilo but come on, he is a decent bowler, monty is world class.
Complain about this post
Complain about this postKylie Minogue used to bowl off breaks for her primary school. One of her b sides is called 'caught in the slips'. Sometimes I listen to Kylie whilst watching the cricket. Its like she's actually in the room with me.
Could you let the lads know that a test match goes for 5 days, not 3 or 4 days but FIVE.
please try to remember that
Complain about this postI think Flintoff's declaration was what lost the 2nd test match for England. With the aussies scoring over 600 in the first test, it was clear that on a flat track they were going to get near to England's score. With Flintoff batting well and Giles likewise, the aussies nackered after 160+ overs in the field, another 50 runs would have come easily! I appreciate freddy wanted a few overs at the end of the day, but the second test should have been viewed as a time of consolodation! get a bit of confidence, get harmison bowling again, give gilo some more match practice. The second test match at Edgbaston was a different affair. There were no expectations on England! A winning draw in the second test match would have left England in a far more comprehensive position. Remember this time around, England only need to draw the series to win. Flintoffs declaration cost England big time
Complain about this postI LIKE THE WAY U EXPREES U R FEELINGS !!!!!!!!! I THINK U AND MONTY BOTH DESERVE TO PLAY IN PERTH . GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Complain about this post"It's a shame for the team that we lost in Adelaide....but that's Test cricket for you."
No offence but what happened in Adelaide was not test cricket as we all know, it was inept cricket. We have to stop talking media jargon, win a test and come back home with at least some pride intact. Otherwise what we all know and fear will happen. 5-0. But hey that's test cricket for..... stupid people.
Complain about this postSo Fletcher says Vaughn iis not considered for
Complain about this postthe 3rdfarce, Vaughn is no fool he dosn't want to be
assosiated with the load of rubbish that goes to
make up the England team.If i was Vaughn I'd
go into hiding and submerge after the 5 0 drubbing
It dos'nt give me any pleasure to give vent to my
feelings in this way, and i would be so happy to eat everything i have said over the last week with a great relief.
So come on guys, where is that good old English spirit.let's come home with at least a little pride,
I mean you are supposed to be the best we have.so
as Prince Philip said " get your fingers ouy"
This mornings Perth papers have a few articles that are mind boggling if they are true.
Complain about this postAll the comments about Panesar playing look to be in vain as an article states monty as confirming he has been told he didnt get a game in the first 2 tests because he cant bat. He has been told by Fletcher and Flintoff that the team needs to be able to bat until No 8. A second article has Fletcher bleating that hes not soley responsible for the team selection. While this is bad enough David Graveny, the chairman of selectors has said he had no input in team selection for the adelaide debacle. Guess hes here for the holiday then. The subtle jist of the article is that Flintoff is calling all shots in the team, with Fletcher wanting Sajid Mahmood in the team but being over ruled by Flintoff who wanted his Lanc. mate Anderson. Maybe hes not the English messiah, just a very silly boy!
All the talk here (australia) is that fletcher wanted to pick monty but was over ruled by jones and flintoff who wanted Anderson. this has caused a huge rift between coach and players.
Complain about this postLiam, if the pool is smaller, you need to increase the number of lengths!
Complain about this postWhat a farce, the Englan team are crying out for getting more cricket out of this tour before the next test. And we are playing a game filled with Retirees and nearly rans, bar Monty and Saj. This tour continues to descend into a complete shambles. Fletcher and the ECB are to blame for this miserable failure. They picked the wrong captain, team and poor tour make up. No wonder we are playing dismal cricket.
Complain about this postWe keep reading from british press how England dominated the second test for about 80% of the match, how do they work this out? you made 550 after 2 days batting then we made 510, sure Collingwoods double ton was excellent and Hoggards 7 wickets fine stuff and we down under were very pleased to see some players showing true grit but never did we think that England had the better of us, it's a 5 day game not 2. Good luck in Perth. For all the critical comments that have been posted about the English side, look closer it's only missing Vaughn.trescothic and Jones then back to number 2 in the world status, lift your games brits nothing is won yet......
Complain about this posthoway liam, what are you doing man, running yourself oot for a duck?!
Complain about this postAll the newspaper talk in Australia is designed to do is to cause rift in the English dressing room. Aussies are the masters of the mind games, and the English fall for it.
Complain about this postDont buckle over, give it to them!
I hope the scan you had was just a precaution, good luck on gettin back to fitness asap, England needs a good young bowler like you.
Complain about this postpeople people people ! lets read what he says before leaping on headlines - he's in aus to play test cricket, so of course only training will get you down when no matter how hard you work or try to impress you dont get chosen. Plunkett's done alright in other series so should be good enough. couldnt be any worse than the fare the other bowlers (hoggy and flintoff aside) have offered.
Complain about this postLiam,
Hope you enjoyed Kylie, cause the reailty is that it is unlikely that you will get a Test Match. Fletcher has the team balance incorrect, Freddie should be batting at 7 (an ave of 32 is not good enough to bat in the top 6), and bring in another specialist batter, possibly Joyce? This gives more batting depth so you can drop Giles for Monty, and possibly...............wait for it.........drop Harmy or Anderson for YOU!!!
This is Englands only hope of winning a Test Match!! Good Luck Guvnor!!
Complain about this postGald to see you're not bothered with hecklers - evryone else seems to blow it out of proportion. Heckling can't hurt you it's the beer cans that hurt!
Complain about this postAlso if you fancy a real iron man challenge try the tough guy challenge - it's the last weekend in january and is a killer. Would be great for team building although i dare say you might be busy around that time.
Hope you get a run out soon - i actually think your line, length and pace could be valuable to us on these wickets.
Hi Liam. In the 'hit n' giggle' game you played today down at lilac park, you would have witnessed first hand the wrath of Luke Ronchi who hit 89 from 49, what was he like to watch? Were you impressed?
Complain about this post"During the Tests when England are fielding, Ed Joyce and myself are classed as the better fielders in the squad so we will come on the pitch for a few overs when someone needs to come off for whatever reason."
So I guess you're not interested in what the Laws of Cricket say about substitutes - or is this just a wind-up of your Australian readers?
I can't understand how you can complain about the small size of the swimming pools in the luxury hotels you are staying in. Australian cities have the biggest, the best and the most in number (indoor and outdoor) full-size pools of any country in the world. Surely the England team limo could drop you off at one if you really wanted a proper swim!
I can't understand you believing your own team's hype about the Adelaide game - "we dominated most of the match". That's possibly true during the KP/Collingwood partnersip, but how can you say England dominated during Australia's march to 500, anything but the first hour of England's second innings or any of Australia's second innings is beyond me.
At a pinch England actually dominated for 5-6 hours out of the five days. Being in a position where you looked unlikely to lose - that happened for most of the match - is NOT the same as DOMINATING the match.
England have to look at what happened - not what your sports psychiatrists, PR men, ECB officials and Fletcher tell you.
Complain about this postgod, some people don't have much support for Liam and the england team do they, 3 tests still to play, at least be positive which I know is hard for us Brits, it's dead in the water quite yet. interesting blog as always,keep up the fitness Liam.
Complain about this postJon Worden seems not to have noticed that Fletcher did pick Monty. Flintoff overruled him.
There's nothing wrong with the England squad -- or coach -- that can't be fixed by a change of Captain. They are certainly capable of beating Australia with good tactical leadership, and doing it two of three times.
Remember this: with a team that could take wickets just a little faster, Australia would have been looking at the follow-on, and England would never have been playing for a draw in the first place. I am convinced that with Freddie free to play instead of captain, and a captain who is better at managing his bowlers (Strauss), the exact same line-up could have won.
But that doesn't mean the lineup was ideal. Especially given the captaincy isn't going to change, a lineup shift is a good thing. We need to take 20 wickets no matter what.
Good luck, Liam! Give them heck in Perth!
Complain about this postSorry until I read this I had not realised you were in the squad!
All the comment on the last game seems based on Monty or Mahmood playing but no one mentions you which surprises me...what have you done wrong...or right to be more accurate???
I also think given your fitness regime you should go and see Kylie and not do more "practice"...if your cricket skills are not there now they are not going to change overnight!!! Ravyn is such a killjoy...does he not remember Boths pre match or even during match routine??
Complain about this postliam, i weigh 225 pounds, 5`6, 33 years old,receding hairline .....and i completed ur triathlon in 36mins 12.23 seconds. u lot should be ashamed of urselves!
Complain about this postPoint taken Martyn Wheeler. but what sources do you have for that ever happening re: Fletcher being overulled?
Complain about this postI think we need to get behind the lads like we did last year.If we can get a positive result out of the next test its game on again.
We have a good enough team to pull through and keep the ashes.
C'mon england
Complain about this postLiam, good luck, bowl on a length, in the corridor, nothing short or wasted on the pads and you should do well. Bowl tight and Monty will do something the other end. Sajid needs to bowl tighter.
Complain about this postHi Liam,
Complain about this postHave you dyed your hair?
Could you please put a receant picture on the next blog?
Good luck
Bill Bond is full of crap - love to seem him do 3 circuits of 1 mile run/5km cycle/1km row in 36 minutes!!! An elite athlete would take at least 4 minutes for the mile, 5 minutes for the cycle and several minutes for the rowing - multiply that by 3 and Bill must be an elite athlete, think not!
Complain about this postThe only changes for Perth should be Panesar for Giles, Read for Jones and possibly Mahmood for either Anderson or Harmison depending on which is least effective in the warm up games.
These warm up games really should have been held before the first test in order to determine which bowlers were in form. If England had played 3 or 4 two day games and forced Harmison, Anderson, Plunkett, Broad, Mahmood, Panesar and Giles to fight over who would join Flintoff for the 4 bowling spots, England may not be in this crisis. The fact that England are now trying to tinker with their bowling lineup having lost the first two tests is a shocking endictment of the lack of careful preparation anfd analysis that went into this series.
Complain about this postNice to see Giles respond so well to promotion to No.6 in the order at the Waca. Ditto Jones! Times up gents....
Complain about this postI must admit I was really looking forward to a close Ashes series, but so far it hasn't turned out that way. Chin up my British cousins, all is not lost. It's the Ashes for pete's sake, and anything can happen! :)
Complain about this postIt's a sobering thought that had Lee & Kasper eeked out a few more runs at Edgabaston last year, we'd have been 2-0 down. We won that thriller, the Aussies took revenge at Adelaide. With regard to selection based on batting strength rather than specialist skill - why doesn't Fletch go for Prior & Yardy, both of whom have averages well in excess of their competitors & in the case of Yardy, flat slow bowling that turns as least as much as Giles (not a gr8 feat, I know)? This would, of course, involve breaking an unwritten rule of England selection - picking Sussex, players regardless of how many trophies they win!! Not that I'm bitter or anything....
Complain about this postDo you think hitting Flintoff on the head in the nets, has improved your chances of getting a call up to the team?
Complain about this postyea well...datz lyfe m8...u lose some u win some..i'm in nationalz for india...under 15...yea...and i rarely got oppurtunities to play...cos of my studies clashing wif my cricket...so now im in singapore ...im a permanent resident...and yea...i am in nationalz and now it doesnt collide wif my studies...next year im cancelling my pr and goin back to india..lookin forward to dat...because from next year a lot of players will be retiring after the world cup...so youngsters like me can get a chance...youngsters talents can only be developed if they are given the chance...to perform on the global stage...
Complain about this postTo Alan Orpin - The whole point is that he is a schoolboy, were any of us, at 19/20, capable of writing anything else - there's plenty of stuff you can dip into to exercise your mind - try some proust, or the guardian or maybe prospect magazine - i find it more utterly moronic that you would expect such an article to contain artistic credibility and erudite insights...did i already call you a moron - oh yes I did.
Take no notice Liam and enjoy your writing and the tour
Complain about this postHi Liam,
Complain about this postI suspect your chance is going to come very soon.
I'm curious about the apparent little use of Colly as a bowler in this series , any particular reason?
Good luck when you get in the team!
Liam How close to fitness are you now? surely you deserve a chance in 5th test maybe? seeing as we've go and lost ashes people like yourself and Read deserve a go in the team.
Complain about this postI hope you have enjoyed your holiday in Australia. A whole month in the sun doing nothing........
Complain about this postdont worry liam you will difinitely create a stir in the match i wish u luck
Complain about this postI think it has been proven that u r a BIG LOSER. Quite cricket and get some education. will help you going forward.
Complain about this posthi liam. just wanted to know why you havnt been playing this tour? You made a great leap forward this summer against the sri lankans. Your bowling was more economical but more importantly you took wickets and moved the ball in the air and off the pitch. To me you are an automatic pick for the one day suad and a strong contender for the text team. Has Duncan Fletcher or the captain spoken to you about playing or where you are at the moment? I know that Fletcher and Vaughan sat down with you all individually so was that discussed in this meeting? Thanks. Hope you get a game soon!
Complain about this post