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Having never been a cricket fan I only ask in the interest of logic, but how was it that we technically 'retained' the Ashes after winning the third of four games and what is the point of having an even number of games in a 'test series'? It seems like we could have technically drawn the 'series' but still won/retained the ashes.
Oh and what's the big deal with 'retaining' the ashes rather than just winning them?
It's done like that to make cricket fans think it's special, when it's really just some game you can't play in the rain...
there were five games, greg, keep up
Same as the Ryder Cup innit. At least golfists play their game in the rain. (this year's Welsh monsoon conditions excepted 🙂 )
There are actually 5 ashes tests, England drew 1, lost 1, and won 3. I don't know much about cricket at all but basically if there is a draw at the end of the series whoever won the ashes the previous year retain them! I don't know why this is such a great thing though! Plus retaining them is very different from winning them. I did hear though this is the first time in 20 odd years that England have won in Australia! Let's face it a lot of it is do with rain! If it rains and no-one plays...then it's a draw .... weird system 😉
Australia were all offside and England got a hole in one.
I fail to see how anyone can gt excited about England playing cricket, it seems like they play every other week!
In a game you can draw, it doesn't matter whether you have an even number of tests or not, a drawn series would still be possible.
In a drawn series, the ashes stay where they were, hence retained once defeat in the series no longer possible.
5 matches
They don't 'count' the draws when summing up
Hence won 3, lost 1, drawn match discarded.
Or, if you are a convict, [b]*YOU LOST THREE GAMES ON YOUR OWN SOIL*[/b]
😆
You forgot to mention bad light.
I fail to see how anyone can gt excited about England playing cricket, it seems like they play every other week!
Depends on what you like. Some people can't see the point of watching blokes riding around on bikes in France all summer.
"Depends on what you like. Some people can't see the point of watching blokes riding around on bikes in France all summer."
The crashes are good.
The Ashes: A small terracotta urn was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, a bail.
Not worth flogging round the world to fight a cricket tournament over really!
The crashes are good.
This is very true, especially when down the side of a mountain on a shale-covered drop.
8)
it doesn't matter whether you have an even number of tests or not, a drawn series would still be possible.
So there's no penalty shoot out then?
Or scissors, paper, stone? Best of three?
At professional cricket matches do they have the girls doing PE on the running track round the outside of the pitch like they did at my school?
Cricket was invented in 1981 by Clive Sinclair.
At least the cricket team can win things...... Occasionally, more than the over paid tarts that "have a 'ard week" if they run around a bit more than three times in a week 😈
I like woolly jumpers.
Apparently the only good thing about cricket is being able to sit in the sun and drink beer. But even thats not tempted me to go to a match... I find that beer gardens are perfect for that and they're free.
the TDF lasts several months, how hard is it to follow a game that only lasts several days?
DaveyBoyWonder, I agree entirely.
I used to live next to a cricket ground and whenever England used to play loads of people would descend on the town with those stupid corked hats and that white paint across their noses.
I used to do a rain dance. Or pray for cloud.
I guess a certain level of intelligence is needed to understand the game.
Unless you bat from the pavilion end you'll never understand.
I guess a certain level of intelligence is needed to understand the game
The same 'level' of intelligence that is required to memorise phone books?
not quite...
(and that would be a test of memory, rather than intelligence)
Particularly the last sentence. 🙂
Clearly the Ashes are something that can be swayed by the might of... [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12135402 ]POWER BANDS![/url]
It was the Australian advertising authority that forced the Power Band manufacturers to apologise and change their marketing. Concidence? I think not!
ALL HAIL THE POWER OF RUBBER AND HOLOGRAMS!
Greg - speak to my wife, she'll explain it to you, including why she felt the need to stay up and watch the end of the last test then waking me up at midnight when she finally came to bed!!
ahwiles... and you don't have to memorise the rules to be able to understand them? I think the failure on your part to grasp this point proves me correct. 😀
What's to explain?
5 Tests in each Test you have 2 sides; a team that's in and a team that's out.. two men in the team that's in go out and when one of the men who's in is out; the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out; the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get man still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in; the men who are out are trying to get him out; and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decided when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out; and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game. If you win 3 Tests you win the Ashes, if you each team wins the same amount of Tests then the team that won last time keeps them.
Rain can change everything though
I understand cricket, I just think it's shite
Having never been a cricket fan
Unless you plan to become one, the only possible answer is "because" otherwise you'll get drawn into all the issues about why a draw is such an important result.
Cricket goes completely 'over my head'.
However I do enjoy the lovely yummy cricket 'teas' they serve after.
Test Cricket. A game that goes on for three days and never seems to start....
5 days.
🙂
When you are in you go out, and when you are out you come in .... simples 😀
To be fair to the cricket types. In golf you don't have to hit a ball that is approaching at up to 100mph that may be hidden against the background of the crowd.
I know, I was being reasonable. Mines the one with the Wisden in the pocket!
You have two sides one out in the field and one in .
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out .When they are all out the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in out .
Sometimes you get men still in and not out .
When both sides have been in and out including the not outs , THAT'S THE END OF THE GAME !
HOWZAT !!!!
Comedy this - loads of 'tards trying to make light of cricket taht clearly have no idea about it!!
Well our glorious success has made having a broken ankle a lot more palatable. Watching the highlights post-op, lower limb block anaesthesia slowly wearing off and am sure beating the Aussies is helping with pain management!
In golf you don't have to hit a ball that is approaching at up to 100mph
remembering of course that aiming to hit and intimidate the opponent with fast short pitched bowling is actually considered an integral tactic for a seam bowler.
Nowadays of course we are far more refined than actually bowling at people's heads. Because that is too easy to avoid. No, the ideal ball now is the one which would pin the batter somewhere between nipple and chin height. Difficult to avoid, difficult to get a bat up to. You could try gloving it but having your fingers jammed against the bat handle at that speed isn't over pleasurable either.
Anyone fancy coming to an indoor net session - I can crank the bowling machine up to a sedate 80mph and below chest height only ......
😆
The urn symbolises the death of English cricket. Winning and retaining them is the most important objective of an England or australia player. Winning a series in Australia is a big deal because the pitches make such a huge difference to the game and give home teams a big advantage. for example the Australian groundmen seem to have produced pitches to neutralise our top spin bowler -swann . And it mostly worked except our seam bowlers were able to exploit them, suffocating the batting while their bowlers could not.
buzz-lightyear
couldn't agree more 🙂
What I find interesting is the remarks of some commentators that swann had a bad tour because of his modest wicket taking. Yet he is so feared that his presence had the biggest influence on Aussie tactics. He was a good contender for man of the series IMO . No that was deserved by cook for exceptional batting and possible jimmy for leading the bowling. Jimmy reminded me of McGraths ruthless discipline this time. How the tables have turned.
Agree with Buzz about Swann. Also the fact he could tie an end up for 35 overs a day as well meant that Strauss could rotate 3 seamers at will; rarely did they have to bowl under pressure or when tired, as soon as the Aussies got their measure, it was 'well try this then'. I think he still had a large impact overall on the series.
For me the most pleasing aspect was that we now have a 5 or 6 man seam bowling battery that we can pick from to suit conditions. We rolled the Aussies time and again but in the bowling stakes, unlike batting (where we outscored Aus by I think 9 centuries to 3) we only had 3 5-fors in the series. Because everyone was taking wickets.
Jimmy - enough said
Broad - hope he comes back from injury well, that's key. He's young and I'm not sure his frame is suited to out and out strike bowling but he can bowl with great control as he did in T1 and T2, and if he was to come back a yard down in pace but with his height, supreme control and the ability to nip and nibble the ball, could be another Glenn McGrath.
Bresnan - I thought he should have come in when Broad was injured (I was wrong), again to provide that control. He was actually a bigger threat than I'd imagined - 11 wkts in 2 games at less than 20 is a great return
Finn - almost forgotten but when he bowed out through fatigue / risk of injury he was top wicket taker. Can be expensive but also very dangerous. Not quite the finished article but on his day / on the right surface
Tremlett - hugely impressed. Menacing and yet miserly. Stay fit PLEASE!
Shahzad - could easily have been picked in place of Finn, Broad, Tremlett or Bresnan; will get his chance in the summer I think.
I agree about Swann - very much the unsung hero of this tour - a great slipper as well. The best part of it is that it seems he doesn't mind at all not having the figures he "deserved" (being #2 in the world, all the talk beforehand was that he'd top the bowling stats), so long as he's done his part to help the team.
the TDF lasts several months,
wtf?
well, the race itself goes on for a couple of weeks or so, and then the lawyers and blood/wee laboratory boffins take over and tell us who didn't get caught using epo.
the whole process usually takes months.