[Rob]

What a relief! All the critics had nearly convinced me that Ashes 2005 was a fluke and that England’s series against Sri Lanka showed what the English were all about. Thank God for Cook & Collingwood. Great to see that the run-rate in the morning session didn’t fall below four-an-over and five boundaries came in the first two overs after lunch. One could be forgiven for thinking the Aussies were batting!

 

[Jeremy]

Steady on, Rob. Pakistan are without Shoaib and Rana, and just look at the five chances they missed. Given that, England would have to be really useless not to capitalize. Looks like Jonty Rhodes as Pakistan fielding coach didn’t have much effect, eh?

 

[Mike]

Well, England have been known to be really useless in the past, LOL!

 

[Tina]

I’m sorry if I sound naïve, but I really think England’s useless days are history. This is no longer a team that will collapse in the face of an aggressive opposition. In most cases, they can give as good as they get.

 

[stillbatting]

But they are still the same whiners they used to be. That at least hasn’t changed. When they perform badly, they still manage to blame everything – from the weather to the food – but yes, I have to admit they are getting better at the PR stakes.

 

[bouncer]

Rob, I would also like to point out that Cook was really lucky that Steve Bucknor didn’t detect the edge off Kaneria when he was on 43.

 

[Rob]

Guys, guys, missed catches and umpiring errors are part of every match. That doesn’t take away any credit whatsoever from the batting side.