Well the First Test of Ashes 09 is down in the history books... England managed to cling on until the match was declared a Draw because there was no longer any time left that Australia could bat in even if they could dismiss the last English batsmen.

As an Australian I'm not happy with the result, and it sorta restores the worries I had at the close of the English First Innings; we had England on the ropes at 5-102 at Lunch and yet we could not finish them off...
I take nothing away from Collingwood's defiant 74 but I think the result had more to do with the fact that for the second time in the test the Australian attack simply could not go through the English tail the way it should have.

While I can see that it might well have related to the fact the pitch was so very placid, especially on the last day, that England was only trying to save the match rather then actually score a target to make Australia chase to win, and Ponting's decision to keep using his spinner and part-time spinners rather then the quicks... All the same our inability to get rid of the English tail concerns me greatly.
That said I guess we'll see if the respective attacks of the Australian and English teams, cause neither attack really seemed to shine, really are as impotent as they seemed at Sophia Gardens once the Ashes returns to the home of Cricket; Lords.
Still I found the match Enthralling, which was most welcome

However I must say I think someone within the English coaching staff certainly took the gloss of England's performance by sending out their Physio and 12th Man twice within a few overs near the end of play. The two men in the middle were doing their job of occupying the crease without needing time wasted!
It was nice to hear that the English crowd seemed to have the same negative feeling towards this tactic as the Australians in the crowd (and those watching on TV) did.

Anyway in other news I've had my eyes checked, due to my attempts to deal with the frequent headaches I get, and Ill be getting glasses due to a slight problem that was detected. Hopefully that will solve the headaches.

See ya next time.