the mitch is back!

[Ken Gargett]

one of the great things in sport is truly hostile fast bowling (especially if it is from someone on your side).

after so many setbacks, wonderful to see mitch johnson in such form. i was a long term johnson fan but even i had lost faith. great to see him back.

great win by the aussies but a very long way to go. worth noting that is england's first loss for the year and only our second test win same period, so anyone thinking this is done and dusted is way off.

i feared a dreary series, england slowly strangling the life out if us. if nothing else, it has breathed life into the series. and it did seem to get a bit willing towards the end.

can't wait for the next test. heading to adelaide for day one.

[Wil]

Great result. Just what the series needed.

[Coolio]

I was at work the last 3 days but after getting to the gabba on thursday, i was lucky to be able to watch the rest of it on the big screen in the office! I managed to convince the powers that be to put the V8's on one of the smaller screens! It will cost me no doubt, but it was worth it.

There was no sound, but i could see a few confrontations in the last 30 minutes. I dont know what they were on about, but i can only imagine. I fail to understand why we would need to make a chest beating exercise and engage in sledging and pointing fingers 'meet me out back after the game' style, when you've got Johnson waiting at the top of his run with the ball in hand. The fear of facing a fired up 150km bowler is surely enough?

The winning team will generally come off looking like sore winners when you do that. The english press will no doubt now have a field day. After they've torn apart cook and trott first!

[Coolio]

Ps. I can now see that on the top left screen they were showing vision of something about a nuclear agreement with iran. Well woop dee doo! Cricket comes first, world peace second for the next couple of months!

[westg]

He scored over 100 runs and took 9 wickets great effort ..Johnson always tries very hard, I like him for this ,sometimes he is a bit wayward and does take punishment with the ball but not through lack of trying. Was at the WACA a few years back when he tore through South Africa in an afternoon . Really hope he can continue with bat and ball. Good on you Mitch loved it.

[Ken Gargett]

There was no sound, but i could see a few confrontations in the last 30 minutes. I dont know what they were on about, but i can only imagine. I fail to understand why we would need to make a chest beating exercise and engage in sledging and pointing fingers 'meet me out back after the game' style, when you've got Johnson waiting at the top of his run with the ball in hand. The fear of facing a fired up 150km bowler is surely enough?

The winning team will generally come off looking like sore winners when you do that. The english press will no doubt now have a field day. After they've torn apart cook and trott first!

we'll probably never know what exactly happened but definitely some unpleasantness. one commentator suggested that the aussies hate those who give it but can't take it and were letting fly because of it. who knows.

another, very correctly, said that clarke is captain and should not be getting into those arguments.

i suspect that a lot of it was that these guys have copped a heap in recent years and they were a smidge over-exuberant in taking their chance to respond. unnecessary.

the odd thing was that it appeared that anderson complained to the umps about something before things really got started. it appeared that he might be complaining that the bowling might injure him. clarke's response was basically, 'prepare for a broken thumb or arm??'. can't imagine a test player, especially a quick, whinging about the opposition bowling, to the umps. bizarre.

as for warner, for christ's sake, shut up. you have one ashes ton. trott has a massively better record than you. he says he learnt his lesson then makes bogans look like nobel prize winners. davey, you keep telling us you want to be captain. if that ever happens, then this country will have hit rock bottom. i would prefer to live elsewhere.

and i agree with the english reporter who pointed out it is a bit rich for george bailey to be sledging pommy shortcomings given hiss record.

problem with this crap is that one side gives it to the other and when the worm turns, the other side gives it straight back. never ending circle. both as bad as each other.

[westg]

I actually heard what Clarke said we will leave expletives ...I thought to my self that's more like it. No silly laughing and smiling like everything is ok when it is clearly not. He got in face and gave it to him . I am sure men being men all was forgotten after the game. Michael Clarke is a great batsmen but I have always thought is somewhat of a *****, but not today.

[Ken Gargett]

I actually heard what Clarke said we will leave expletives ...I thought to my self that's more like it. No silly laughing and smiling like everything is ok when it is clearly not. He got in face and gave it to him . I am sure men being men all was forgotten after the game. Michael Clarke is a great batsmen but I have always thought is somewhat of a *****, but not today.

would 'get ready to have your f'ing arm/thumb (i couldn't pick which) broken' go close?

it was clearly said in response to something. love to know what (of course that could have been, in turn, in response to something an aussie said.... ).

[Ken Gargett]

a little more has emerged.

seems anderson complained to the umps about the sledging he was copping. the aussies thought this really rich given that they see him as by far the worst sledger in the english team (which surprised me a bit but you never know what goes on sometimes).

so the aussies took great exception to this and it was on.

this would tie in with what one commentator was saying about the aussies hating blokes who give it but can't cop it.

afterwards both cook and clarke basically said they had seen and heard lots worse.

i suspect all that it has done is guarantee anderson is a major target for the rest of the series.

[Bill Hayes]

I'm glad we got rid of the Sth African coach. From the outside he seemed far too process driven. Under Leeman, Clarke seems to have more freedom to go with his gut and captain positively. His support of Johnson to bowl in shorter spurts and bowl flat-out instead of trying to make him change his action has come off well in Brisbane with a bit of bounce. Hopefully, in Adelaide (with a flatter track) he's done enough damage to the English batting confidence that the momentum can keep rolling on. He still won't swing the ball much because of his action but we may find that Harris and Siddle may benefit in Adelaide and get more wickets. Great to be looking forward to a test though and hopefully Cook doesn't bore us to death with his negative captaincy. Game on!

[Isotonic]

Could just be me but I loved the fact the Clarke gave it to Anderson. Probably could have tried to avoid the stump mic. Sportsman-like handouts to tailenders died years ago (thanks to the Aussies mind you) after teams started putting time and effort into the bunnies batting. I am a big believer in tearing each other to pieces on the field and then shake hands and have a beer with those same players as a mark of respect. Respect is lost quickly for those who squeal and I think the Aussies have found a mark. Anderson will quickly find out how lonely it is.