GO ENGLAND........

[QueenOfQuotes]

Australia 190 all out in their first innings

OH! LOL!

Dh is pleased that it's raining, i'm not sure why though.

lucy5 - it's because if it rains it is much more likely that the match will be a draw, then England win the Ashes. If the weather stays fine then Australia have more chance of winning in which case they would win the Ashes.

AAhh, hes been banging on about the cricket for so long, that ive stopped listening. I got fed up last test with him shouting howzthat and howzhe every 2 minutes but I must admit to watching it out of the corner of my eye. I have to feign diinterest or he goes on and on. I hope England win though and Im quite happy to be watching Flintoff.

Go England - oh yes, oh yes, - oh yes oh yes oh yes!

God im getting so involved I cant believe it.

....and another wicket goes - oh yes.

awesome - 363-9 WOOOHOOO

at the risk of being shot down or completely ignored, i'm jealous of cricket because dh spends every possible moment watching it & i haven't a clue what it all means. it looks boring but obviously isn't. does anyone feel like explaining the basic rules of the game to me?

How long have you got, sanssouci?

not ignoring you - just trying to figure out how to explain it all in simple terms

YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

this might help a little.

Yippeee theyve gone!

i guess now is not the best time to ask for explanations. you're in the thick of it, as it were!

dh says Australia are all out. good thing?

YES YES YES YES YES

blimey

an explanation for Test Cricket (which is what the ashes are).

not entirely, ss - England have to bat now and if the Aussie bowlers can get them all out for a not-very-big total, all they have to do is beat it when they are in (iyswim).

If England can fend them off for the rest of the day - or "take the light" and go off for a bit, or if it rains and they go off for a bit - then they have a chance of getting a draw and winning the series.

HTH (prob won't though)

thanks, qoq. maybe slightly clearer now but definitely not something i can instantly fall in love with.

I learned to understand Cricket while watching with a Cricket obsessed friend back in 1996 - she explained things as we went along - which makes it easier to understand,

I then 'learnt' Rugby the same way in 1998

i read this out to dh, janh & he says you're "dead right". i do understand that it isn't often easy for England to win as a rule, although i think they've been doing quite well recently.

yeah, I rather like rugby. got extremely worked up once while watching world cup rugby.

Ive been with dh for 19 years and he is obsessed by cricket. Ive picked up some of the goings on over the years but it is only really this test that ive become really interested. I think dh enthusiasm is rubbing off or it could just be Flintoff, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

• me too - and I was exactly 39 weeks pg when we won - I was literally jumping around the room............my waters broke the following day