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News from Aussie
The Age
Baggy Green
News from the
Country that holds the Ashes
Cricket on the
www
Cricinfo
Test series
1st Test,
Brisbane
Thur 23-Mon 27 Nov 2006
2nd Test, Adelaide
Fri 1-Tue 5 Dec
3rd Test, Perth
Thurs 14-Mon 18 Dec
4th Test, Melbourne
Tues 26-Sat Dec 30
5th Test, Sydney
Tues 2-Sat 6 Jan 2007
Twenty20
international
Australia Sydney Jan 9
VB Series
Australia v
England
Melbourne Fri Jan 12
Australia v New Zealand
Hobart Sun Jan 14
England v New Zealand Hobart Tue 16 Jan
Australia v England
Brisbane Fri 19 Jan
Australia v New Zealand Sydney Sun 21 Jan
England v New Zealand Adelaide Tue 23 Jan
Australia v England
Adelaide Fri 26 Jan
Australia v New Zealand Perth Sun Jan 28
England v New Zealand Perth Tue 30 Jan
Australia v England
Sydney Fri 2 Feb
Australia v New Zealand Melbourne Sun 4 Feb
England v New Zealand Brisbane Tue 6 Feb
First final, Melbourne
Fri 9 Feb
Second final, Sydney
Sun 11 Feb
Third final (if required) Brisbane Tue 13 Feb
Other matches
Prime
Minister's XI Canberra Fri Nov 10 2006
New South Wales Sydney Sun 12-Tue 14 Nov
South Australia Adelaide Fri 17-Sun 19 Nov
Western Australia Perth Sat 9-Sun 10 Dec
Author
Robert Scott lives
and works in Asia; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong
and Singapore. I now work mainly in Bangkok.
If you want to know
more you only need to ask!
ask.
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6 January 2006
I gave up on the Wagging Tale Blog ! Just like the English team gave up on
playing cricket ! It was simply too depressing. The first series whitewash
for 86 years, when England had a team decimated by World War One.
No such excuse this time.
England were comprehensively thrashed. Not one match was even slightly
close - a 5-0 drubbing.
Too depressing. There wont be many sales of videos or tour books after
this series. And no MBEs handed out either!
14 December
2006

3rd test starts today in Perth.
The less said about the last day of the second test the better. Other
than that England were woeful !
Aussies now talking of a white wash.
3 December 2006
A double century from Mr. Collingwood - who has established himself now as
both an England batsman and as a question of sport. Who was the last
batsman before Collingwood to score a double century for England in
Australia - Walter Hammond in 1936. He was a bit of a childhood hero after
I read his biography. A career that was cut short by the second
world war but by all accounts a batsman of great elegance.
25 November
2006
No point in writing about the test match !!
So here is an apparently true story: Brian Lara named his daughter
Sydney as he made a magnificent 277, his first Test century, at the SCG in
1993. When somebody informed former West Indian quick Michael Holding of
this, he proved just how quick he is by responding with the following
line: "Thank God he wasn't batting at Lahore."
23 November
2006
England lost the toss and the momentum, perhaps for the whole
series, on the first day of the Brisbane test. Aussie captain won the toss
and made an unbeaten century on a very good batting wicket.
And with part time bowler Kevin Pieterson getting some bounce and turn
expect Shane Warne to enjoy bowling later in the match.
22 November
2006
One day to go before the first test in Brisbane.....England's
latest doubt is Ian Bell, who has a badly bruised hand from net practice
yesterday.....
England need to approach this and every game to win - they have to play
Monty to win !
18 November
2006
132 from Ian Bell. That will do nicely. 80 from Collingwood and
32 from Pieterson; a good day's competitive practice.
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What happens to ageing cricketers with a reputation for sculling the
beer: The VB Boony and Beefy talking dolls.
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If you have about 50 fielders the following is really helpful !! But it
is the sort of thing that you might want to give to a girlfriend to
memorise before taking her down the pub to sit her in front of the TV for
8 hours over 5 consecutive days.
This would be the field for a right handed batsmen and the left side is
the OFF side (not connected with football in any way) and the right side
the ON side. Accountants, and there are some who read this (an alarming
thought) could simply think debit and credit.

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17 November
2006
Doubts over Harmison's fitness. Tait bowling fast out to get
Strauss second ball. Monty struggling to make an impact. And in 5 days the
real stuff starts.
14 November
2006
Trescothick is heading home. He has clearly not gotten over his
stress related illnesses. He probably should not have gone on the tour.
Cook will probably now open with Strauss. Bell and Collingwood are both
likely to play in the first test now. Robert Key will probably be called
into the squad.
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Monty watch: A journalist for the Sydney Daily Telegraph heard a fan
shout: "Give us a wave Monty. You can't speak English you stupid Indian.
I'll have to say it in Indian. What are you doing playing in the English
side? You're not English." The newspaper also alleges that Panesar was
abused during England's match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra
last week. There have been no official complaints from the England set-up.
Get used to it, Monty.
12 November
2006
The opening salvoes in Australia were ugly for the English...as
they were rolled over in the one day game in Canberra. And there is little
time to put things right.
On the first day of the three day batting practice against New South
Wales the bowlers toiled again as NSW ended the day at 325-5.
England's cricketers have just five more days of cricket before the
Brisbane Test. As a mark of changing times they had 18 days of play before
the first Test in 1986.
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Meanwhile England coach Duncan Fletcher has said that Geraint Jones
would be Endland wicketkeeper in the first Ashes test against Australia in
Brisbane next week.
So why take Chris Read on the tour?
The belief is that Jones will make more runs at number seven that can
Read.
I bet they go for Giles and not Panesar. Anything to avoid a first test
defeat. They will probably also opt for a fifth bowler to protect
Flintoff this early in the series. But that would mean not having a
genuine class all rounder in the team and that does not work; Flintoff
bowled 15 overs today against NSW; he should play as an all rounder.
Of course the most aggressive approach would be to play their five best
bowlers; which would include Flintoff, Giles and Panesar.
My England X1 for the first test:
Trescothick, Strauss, Cook, Pieterson, Bell, Flintoff, Giles, Hoggard,
Panesar, Harmison, Mahmood.
Not exactly a tail that wags !
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Mind you - England is hardly a sporting nation at the moment. Beaten at
Rugby by Argentina yesterday; struggling on the football pitch; sixth
place at the HKG cricket 6s after losing the 5th/6th place match to Hong
Kong's amateurs......maybe the English sports supporter simply expects too
much.
8 November 2006
Bell or Collingwood for England's No.5. My call: Bell. Bell is a match
winner; Collingwood a match saver. Bell has class; Collingwood can scrap
it out.
7 November 2006
The English team (with a few honorary English) arrived down under at the
start of this week for a three month tour that includes five test matches
for the Ashes and a series of one day internationals that don't matter
much but are good little earners.
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