dAVe80

Stern John equaliser anyone? The most celebrated equaliser in history. Fair enough, i'd have hit the roof under those circumstances. Infact, IIRC, I did hit the roof, and the door, and the cat. Really? Our 2 late winners at St Andrews weren't even celebrated like that goal was. I dunno about that. I can't recall ever seeing an away end going much wilder, than when Gabby scored that late winner in the 2-1 game (cup finals etc aside). It was absolute carnge!

You have to laugh. According to some of my yam yam and bluenose acquaintances (not that I pay any attention to it), they're more passionate than us, and we never sing etc etc blah blah yawn. Well now I've heard that we should be embarrassed, by the way we celebrated the equaliser, and coming back from 2-0 down... So bitter, it's not true.

Oh yeah, you'd normally find it was the weedy little shit on the opposition side who'd give it the most. I'd very rarely get involved. I used to bowl off spin, so it was hard to be intimidating when you're floating down arm balls! I'd always let a batsman know how pleased I was, if I took their wicket though. I've had a fair few stare downs with bowlers too, when batting.

All to do with money I assume? Alienates a lot of Warwickshire fans, who aren't Brummies. Stupid move if you ask me. If rolls were reversed, and they became, say Coventry Bears, I'd find it difficult to support them in the T20 format of the game.

I've got no issue with sledging at all. In my playing days I've been on the receiving end of some very funny verbals, as well as some pretty nasty stuff. I treated it all the same, and you'd normally just end up having a beer and a laugh about it after the match. A mate of mine played in the same youth leagues as Steve Harmison, and having tried to bounce Harmison, got told "You're too slow to bowl that short". A few balls later, and he got Harmison caught trying to hook him away, the response from my mate was, "You're too sh*t to play that shot!" Harmison had the last laugh of course, as he went on to be the best bowler in the world for a while.

You didn't see the interview that was played on SSN yesterday then. The Aussie press asked him about it and although he admitted he may have overstepped the mark a bit, he didn't apologise and reiterated that Trott had played shit. He comes across as a right bellend. I'm down for a bit of friendly rivalry and ribbing, but the Aussie team really do seem to be pretty classless. Like Clarke and his 'broken f******* arm' comment to Cook. Clearing in the woods. I made that statement before Warner had been asked his views. I figured he may have a shred of decency, but it appears not. I've not seen the footage, but if what you say is true, then that's pretty crass. Sledging is part of the game, but I think the issue is keeping it on the pitch. In the heat of the game, it's all well and good, but when you start calling people out in the press, it just reflects very badly on you.

Agree with Paul, asking someone like Ballance to come in and replace Trott (when healthy and in form) is a massive ask. I'd love to see him come in and score big runs straight away, but in the pressure environment of the Ashes, it seems unlikely.

I'm just looking forward to the inevitable Capaldi, Dr Who / Thick of It mash ups that will no doubt get made.

To be fair to Warner, he'd have had no idea as to the state of Trott's mental health. It was a silly comment, and I'm sure he feels bad about it now, given what's come to light. Getting back to how we'll line up without him, I think we have a few options. Bell moving to 3 seems like the most obvious move. Then it's between Ballance & Bairstow for 6, with Root moving to 5. Although I think I'd like to see Stokes given a go, as he'd beef up the bowling too.

The Trott thing is interesting, and draws obvious comparisons to Marcus Trescothick. Having read Trescothick's book, if Trott is suffering with mental health problems, then it's for the best he's left the tour. Although I question what he was doing there in the first place? Hope he gets well again, and comes back the same player he was 12 months or so ago.

No it was temp work.

Sylvester Stallone.The only man to be heavyweight champ, and save a penalty against Germany.

Did three days working in a factory, putting boxes of frozen beefburgers into a bigger box, one summer while at uni. Soul destroying.

Hmmm. Don't get me wrong, I do love our Olof, but I really struggle to see what so many other do in him. He was a very very good defender, and passionate, but I just struggle a little with putting him in the legend bracket. More of a cult hero for me. Laursen in his pomp however, was possibly the best centre half in the league. Just a pity we only saw a glimpse of what could have been, due to his injuries.

I hope the Bresnan will make an impact, if he comes back at some point. He's usually pretty tight, and takes wickets. Plus he adds to the tail, with the bat.

I agree, but I think that's the least of our worries. We can take wickets, with or without Finn. It's scoring runs at the top of the order which has become the major concern. You'd not want anyone other than Cook and Trott at 1 & 3, 12 months ago, now they look woeful. Hopefully we'll see a similar second innings to 3 years ago at Brisbane, but I'll not hold my breath.

Looked great before lunch, then like he'd never held a cricket bat in his life, after. I think Trott getting out, with the last ball before lunch, set the tone really. They looked like they'd cruse to over 400 before that.

Cool Britannia to me, is Northern Uproar playing to 5 people, at in store gig at Pretty Green in Manchester, 15 years after they has a couple of minor hits on the back of it. File under Meh.

Ah an old school England batting collapse! How many runs did Tuffers get?

I'll not judge, till both teams have batted, but you've got to say that was an almost perfect start for England.

Is 'with your mom' an acceptable answer in context? Only if you're American Or some uneducated Northerner... just to keep the peace. Oh, not this again. "Mom" is NOT northern - it's midlands/Brummie. Yep, a lot of people call their mom, mam up here.

I never used to go to the pub on Christmas Day, but in the last 4 years (since my parents have moved to a different town to me) it's become a bit of a tradition for a few regulars to go to the local on the night, and have a bit of a lock in. There's usually some free quaff on the go, and a buffet of left overs from everyone's lunches. The guitars come out and we have a bit of a sing song. It's bloody great.

Dwight York Martin O'Neil