'Tis true. He's been revelling in the "soooper creekit" on "sooper creekit weekits".

And he takes the mickey out of Tony "we'll make 'em grovel" Grieg.

I'm going to miss Richie Benaud though.

Like most Aussies reading this thread, I'm torn between letting the jibes slide and jumping in with both feet, after all we ARE Australian and generally don't get too excited about anything ... but ... oh bugger it, here goes.
All I can say is, it was a great Ashes series played between two excellent sides and the better team won. However, I doubt whether one series win makes the To and Froms the "best team on the planet", since Australia has basically flogged all comers for the past 15 years, widespread cases of Bombay Belly excluded. Try winning a couple of matches in the southern hemisphere before you get too carried away lads.
Patrick, you deserve credit for your line about the World Series. I think it's a source of great amusement to many international sport watchers that the American baseball championship is called the World Series (yeah, yeah, I know about the Blue Jays) and that the winners of the NFL are called the World Champions. Based on this, I'm looking forward to the Swannies becoming the World Aussie Rules champions in two weeks' time.

I am world champion at running up the stairs in my house.

Pumblechook; I say that we are the best on planet for the following reasons:

Firstly we were ranked second to the tea leaves in the world ranking. We will now be ranked first.

Secondly it should really have been more emphatic, coz we woz robbed by the weather in the first drawn test.

Thirdly: England played as a team. The Aussies looked like they’d just been introduced. Look at who contributed for England – everyone at some stage (apart from Bell). Now do the same with the marsupial botherers. Warne and McGrath aside who can really put their hand up?

Fourthly: We burst your bubble. See Gilchrist for example – most destructive batsman on the planet or Flintoff’s bunny?

Fifthly: Australia are a great team in decline. England are a team that are going to get better. You will be swapping Gillespie for Tait or Watson. We will be swapping Bell for Key or Shah. Remember the first time you beat the Windies – same thing.

Having said all that it was the most staggering series – a two month penalty shoot out tension-wise. The Aussies really deserve credit – they seem to have lost that rather graceless way that they had under Waugh and Border, and seem like decent enough blokes.

Also: Americans: Aren’t you a bit jealous that you don’t anything like this on an international stage. I know you’ve qualified for the World Cup, but you’re not going to win it, so what else do you have? Trust me, it’s bloody great.

England are still ranked 2nd in the world, as the rankings are based on cumalative results over a period of test series. Australia were on 132 points to Englands 111. Now it is 127 to 119.

Well the septics are ranked 6th in the world by FIFA and no one takes that seriously either.

David - ranked number one in his office for throwing balls of paper into the waste paper basket from his desk.(although ranked about 40th for filing)

You've won it David, enjoy it. But Mate, if any of what you've just posted is even slightly serious it goes a long way to explaining why you lot are basically rubbish at sport. You've just won ONE SERIES. The trouble is that on the back of that it sounds like you and the rest of England are going to go out and get pissed for the next 20 years.
Key? Didn't he tour Australia last time? I seem to remember a fat bloke who was more interested in scoffing pies than scoring runs.
It's not the end of an era for Australia but I think it'll be the end of a selection policy that says it's harder to get out of the team than it is to get picked in the first place. Time is up for some of these blokes but there are plenty waiting in the wings: check the scores in your county games.

No Pumblechook your getting a bit confused (must be all those late nights)
It was shane warne who had the KEYS to the pie shop.
Good job he exercised (mainly with women I hear) to rid him of the pie shop image.
Hell I bet he gets RSI in those dainty fingers of hisafter bowling so many overs yesterday. Don't you guys have any other bowlers?

;-)

I’m deadly serious old chap. Here’s why:

The Aussies are going to have to dismantle their team and rebuild – and believe me we’ve been there. It takes time for the new lot to gel as you won’t just be blooding one or two (at least you shouldn’t be – you need an infusion of new blood).

We haven’t just won one series either - we’ve seen off the Sith Effrikans, the Kiwis, the windies etc etc. You can only beat what’s put in front of you, and for the last few years we have.

This England team is on the up and can achieve greater things. They are young, play well together, don’t have the defeated air of previous England teams (because they haven’t lost) and really can only get better.

As you say Australia do have some people ready to make the step up (hopefully at least), but remember the reason why these lads are in County cricket is that our best players aren’t!

Maybe it’s too early to say there’s been a changing of the guard, but the cricketing world is a different place from the one that Glen “5-0” McGrath came to in May.

It is a joy to be English in SW London today.

Well, I have absolutely no idea what all this jabbering is about, but I for one enjoy seeing a thread dominated by someone besides "us" Americans. :)

Here's a guide to what we're jabbering on about on the website of the American Cricket Association.

You might as well get uswed to it as after all it is played in the rest of the ex-British empire. Why should you lot be any different?

http://www.americancricket.net/cricket/index.asp

Hi David, It's even more of a joy to be Welsh in North Cardiff today

Muck

And it's not often you can say that is it muck?

Just wait till the mighty Hampshire get their claws into you this evening. Then things may seem different.

I'm still spluttering from flanner's last foray.

I CHEERED for the England team. It fits what my husband calls the underdog exception

Visitor "who do you support" I am the Scot who supports Scotland, and whoever's playing England, but cricket is the exception.

we're allowed to support you at Cricket because you're the underdog,

And if you think you bailed us out in 1707 you need to have a look at some of the reasons we were in Panama in the first place; what you did to us in puntive taxes within the first decade of the Union, leading directly tothe '15 and the '45.

And even if you did (which I refute), you've had it back with brass knobs on through most of the 19th century and by nicking our oil in the 20th.

I say it everyday...lol and it's true.
Hampshire all out for 69..lol Glamorgan beat them by 151 runs.You were saying Mr Lee? oops sorry I mean West..lol

Muck

OK - Let's compare the huge, not to say bloated, fuss made about England's cricket victory with Northern Ireland's 1-0 defeat of England last week in the football (that's soccer) World Cup qualifier.

This was NI's first win over England since 1972 and the first over them in Belfast for 78 (that's SEVENTY EIGHT) years. In fact, just the previous Saturday, NI finally managed to win their first home competitive game in 4 years when they beat Azerbaijan.

England are officially ranked 109 places above NI by FIFA so by any reasonable standards this was a far greater achievement than England beating Australia at cricket by the massive margin of 2 games to 1 (the other 2 were drawn, although the definition of a "draw" in cricket seems to be at odds with that in any other sport).

So, did the national news media make a song and dance about NI's remarkable triumph? Well, only to the extent that they crucified the England manager & players for their performance. Any positive comments from NI's perspective were only to be found at "continued on Page 73" if at all.

As usual, when it comes to sports reporting in the UK what's good (or bad) for England is good (or bad) for Britain - the rest of us don't even register.

Now - how do I get down off this high horse?

Jim

If it's any consolation to Americans reading this (assuming any have stayed the distance), cricketese may as well be Hungarian for all the sense it makes to this Australian. But judging by the celebrations in London, which seem to be on a par with VE Day, I'm happy for the English: obviously it means a lot to them.

omigod, this has been such fun to read. I have not understood a word, or maybe A word, but it all sounds fun and happy and waaay beyond my ken :D
congrats to the winners and I will buy the drinks for the losers ((B))


~whenever I get to be there for the next matches ~

Flanneruk

CONVICTS!!!!!!!!! Treading on dangerous ground there.

And at a time of national tragedy, too! How unkind you are!

At least I can get to bed at some sort of reasonable time - a full day's play (not that there were many with that bloody light!) finished at 3am here - makes for a weary worker in the am!

Enjoy your win!

Margo, just imagine how we felt about the Rugby World Cup. You were playing the games in the middle of the night. We kept having to get up at 5am to watch them:(

Thats right sheila, and 6 pints taste really strange for breakfast... ;-)

Hey Jim, EVERYONE in Wales is ecstatic about NI Beating England at footie, its just unfortunate that the press live in England.

Muck