Comments on: Ashes 2005 5th Test at The Oval

By: Ged Ladd

Ged Ladd — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:38:06 +0000

In a fit of the most absurd optimism (or so it seemed at the time), I had bought 6 tickets for Day 5 at the Oval on application “just in case”. They were £10 a pop and I told myself when I bought them that I would never be able to live with myself if, by some strange twist of fortune, the series went down to the last day of the last match.

So Daisy, myself and 4 friends who will owe me one for ever were there on that last day. I had already been there on Day 2 with some other folks, btw.

Zambesi Jeff, one of our number, was too nervous to eat. But not too nervous to drink. So he got quietly (and subsequently noisily) blotto.

Mat, the Aussie in our party, made his excuses and left before the end. He admitted afterwards that he really can’t stand losing but blamed his Aussie ethnicity for this failing which I suppose required me to be understanding.

Daisy had her ticket framed and has it on the wall of her bedroom, which is quite a transformation for a lass who told me she couldn’t stand cricket when I first met her all those years ago.

By: thesaurusrus

thesaurusrus — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:38:47 +0000

As an ex-pat living in Cal I have no idea why Cricinfo is here, it is no more American than chicken tikka masala with loads of popadums.

What the heck is Flintoff doing, opening the bowling with Anderson? They have aleady leaked 14 runs in only 6 overs! Lee has just joined Hussey and I forecast about 250 for the 8th wicket stand.

By: Bert

Bert — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:51:12 +0000

…and Cricinfo, which for all its American-corporate-ness remains a wonderful way to “watch” cricket.

2.6 Flintoff to Ponting, OUT. Big wicket there as Flintoff hits Ponting full on in the bollocks, causing him to fall over onto his stumps. Australia in trouble here at 14 for eight.

By: Jo Fitz

Jo Fitz — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:13:54 +0000

We have TMS on long wave

By: sam

sam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:54:14 +0000

i would be interested to find out what people who have daytime jobs and no sky sports are planning to do during this series.

are the channel 5 highlights going to be enough?

By: Jo Fitz

Jo Fitz — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +0000

I was back in the operating theatre (with TMS on in the background) on the Monday that it all ended. Helen (one of the Queens of Spain) had somehow wangled a ticket to the Oval and was sending me texts through the day to say how brilliant it all was.
When the operating list finished, I knew that if I went home I would miss the end of the match. I had to see it as it happened rather than on the highlights programme later. So I stayed at work watching the rather dodgy TV in the theatre common room. It was the same TV that we had all crowded round watching the events of 9/11 as they unfolded.
This time there was just me defending my right to watch history being made, while the other staff wanted to watch Countdown or what ever passes for entertainment on early evening television.

By: alex

alex — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:52:56 +0000

It would be nice to think that there was some status in between the extremes of ‘butt of mindless jokes’ and ‘MBE’ which could be afforded to the England cricket team. But there doesn’t seem to be.