MrDuck

You wouldn't be saying that if you were an Englishman living in Australia! England to bat first. Fingers crossed we're no more than 1 or 2 down by lunch....

I thought we did quite well overall - if Trezeguet had put away his very score-able chances we could have gone in 3 up at halftime. We won't get many harder tests than that one this season. Disappointed, but plenty of positives for me, especially Heaton, Mings and Engels.

This. One of the best things I have ever experienced in this life was the Greendale tour in 2003. After they'd finished playing the Greendale album with accompanying stage show featuring about 20 actors, they came back out for an encore. Jacked the volume up to 11, and played 5 more songs. Those 5 songs went for 90 minutes. Absolute Crazy Horse heaven!

El Ghazi

As high as possible is first. Still, I would probably accept a CL place to be honest.

Lyon was a "decent" off spinner for the first half of his test career. Since his debut in 2011 he's taken 352 wickets - more than any other bowler in the world in that same period. Only two off-spinners have ever taken more test wickets than Lyon - Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh. In the last few years he has become one of the all time great off-spinners. "Decent" doesn't even begin to describe him!

I don't think there's any point in wholesale changes, there are no obvious batsmen to bring in and improve the team. We lost badly, but most of that is down to Jimmy's injury and Moeen looking totally broken as a bowler now, as well as a batsman. Not forgetting the freak of nature that is Steve Smith. Australia's batting is not in much better shape than ours, and a fit Anderson would have made for a very different game. But I think there's a stat that world cup winners always lose the first test series following the cup! I'd bring in Archer for Anderson, and either Leach or Curran for Moeen, depending on the wicket. Denly perhaps another chance as his bowling is handy. We're desperately short of top order batsmen - Stokes, Buttler, Bairstow and arguably Woakes and Denly are all natural number 6 players really. Tim Paine's keeping also shows us what we're missing, Buttler (in the WC) and Bairstow in the 1st test both lack the technique of a really top class keeper and seem to cost us a wicket every innings.

Pangea, with current international borders.

I understand the booing entirely - and remember, this was Smith's first Test match since the ban. No doubt it will die down in time. And I think the crowd clearly appreciated his incredible innings yesterday. I think it's the cumulative effect of everything - firstly for a long time, Australian cricket has been arrogant to the point of offensiveness. Secondly, they've been word removes on the pitch for some time too. Three, the treatment Australia dished out to Broad a few years back for his perceived unsporting behaviour, very much publicly encouraged by Smith. Four, Smith, like Warner, is not really a very likeable guy. Five, it wasn't just the cheating itself - it was the fact that as captain he knew about it, chose to turn a blind eye, then lied about it to the press. And then later profited from it with a string of cringe-worthy tv ads here in Oz.

Anderson should have been made to play a full game before classing him as fit for the first test. Predictable breakdown, and now he'll probably miss the series. Should have gone with Stone or Curran and brought Jimmy in for test 2 or 3.

He won't. He's banned from taking a leadership role for another year. Which is a good thing for the Aussies - he's a phenomenal batsman, but a distinctly average captain.

Bancroft has never looked a test cricketer when I've seen him. We're sanding down the Aussie batting order quite nicely here.

I can't see a 3-2, surely rain will wash out at least one test! I think the Aussies have the edge with the batting on paper, but they're pretty fragile too. I've seen this side collapse an awful lot in the last few years. Only Warner, Smith and Khawaja have any sort of decent international record over a period of time, and Mitchell Marsh as an all-rounder isn't fit to lace Stokes's boots. Whatever happens I think it will be a very close series.

Root's test averages: 2016 - 49.2 2017 - 50.8 2018 - 41.2 I wish we had a few other batsmen who were that poor!

Will drop him for James Vince

Jack Leach with one of the best innings from an England opener in years

Let's not forget that this is all the fault of that word removed Cameron.

Is Tennis really more physically demanding than football? I know it's high intensity and really tough on the body, but the fact that you're not getting clattered by another player every few minutes must be a real plus for fitness and longevity.

Cant be that many bigger Newcastle heroes than Ginola, surely? He was one of the best wingers in the world when he was with them, in what was by far the best Newcastle side of the modern era.

I really hope he can. I like Moeen - he's a very likeable bloke, and on his day he's a wonderfully graceful batsman that I love to watch. But I worry that he's never recovered from that last Ashes tour, I think that pretty much broke him. He's not looked the same player since - his bowling has improved and I think he's now a very decent spinner, but he doesn't seem to have much self-belief with the bat anymore. Another poor Ashes series might just destroy him completely.

Ruined by the curse of managing Villa!

Out batting always looks weak! This is just a last chance to claim a spot alongside Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Buttler. I think they need to tell Roy he's got a spot for the whole Ashes series, take the immediate pressure off him. He's good enough to deserve a proper chance. So there's really only one or two spots up for grabs, and Burns and Denly are in pole position, do we have many decent contenders in county cricket behind those guys?

No, Berger's last season with us was the one when Liverpool were all over Barry. MON refused the deal and stripped Barry of captaincy, and he left to City a year later.

They played in it last night. Presumably they can get away with wearing it in a pre-season friendly?