I'd love to do a Barmy Army tour, they would be great

Just heard Boof laying into Stuart Broad - claiming he hit it to first slip and didn't walk. Now Broad has admitted he knew he hit it fair enough, but it clearly deflected off the keeper to go to first slip. I have no objection to Boof criticising him for not walking, but get your facts right, and take a look at your own players too. (I suspect the interview was fairly light hearted and banterish, so I'm not really down on Boof that much...)

Big day to win a toss...

Kerrigan and Woakes in big surprise that for England.

Lehmann wants to make Broad cry!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/23778598

Time to get the bets on Aussie for this one? Swanny getting a rest for Kerrigan and Woakes in for Bresnam?

Its Bairstow being replaced by Kerrigan as you need 2 spinners at the Oval. I think thats fair enough. Aussies win the toss.

Great toss for the Convicts to win even their batting line up should make 400 at least on this track.

It is a little odd Matty, happy Kerrigan got the nod and that we went with 2 spinners, but why no extra batsman when we have scored so low??

400+ pitch this but looks to be turning already

I've already got a bad feeling about losing this toss...

Agreed

Kerrigan isn't ready and needs to learn his craft more. Woakes I'm not convinced is good enough full stop (certainly not with the ball)

Saying that, I'm happy they've took the decision to 'rest' Bairstow. I just think they needed to bring in a different replacement. I suspect Root, now under less pressure (Ashes won) will knock a half-century score, after surviving some twitchy moments, and the selectors will tickle each other's todgers and smugly tell everyone how right they were that he's an opener (and he'll then struggle again when we go Down Under)

I would of course have Root in the side - he's a class batsman. Just not as an opener, and we lose too much reliability in the middle order by shifting him from there. He also, as we've seen, has the ability to be a second twirler.

I'd have gone for an attack of Anderson, Broad, Tremlett & Swann

Ideally I'd have brought in a new opener and moved Root back to 6. But apart from Compton (who England seem to have dismissed completely as an option), there's no other opener really anywhere near the England set-up. So, if the England selectors were determined to take a look at Woakes, and aren't ever going to move Root from opening the batting, then Woakes for Bairstow seemed the obvious move. That way, his bowling, which isn't his real forte, wouldn't be under as much pressure as the third seamer; he'd just be back-up behind the three main seamers. With Root as back-up spinner.

I seem to remember Richie Benaud saying that he didnt normally walk. From a recent article in the Telegraph by Boycott

The final word. Richie Benaud is regarded as a great cricketer, great captain and iconic commentator. He did the first reading of the Cowdrey Lecture. He said: “Australians never walk. They are taught not to walk.” That sums it up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/theashes/10178997/Ashes-2013-England-show-they-have-the-bottle-to-cope-with-pressure-in-triumph-over-Australia.html

Maybe Boof will lay into Benaud too?

Best available 11? My arse... I said to a friend that its almost like we are 'giving the a chance to get 3-1" so as to sell tickets in Aussie. Can't see what more Tremlett needs to do. He was a legend in 2011 - is he not regarded as fit?

Always risky of course, could well back fire badly 

Disgraceful. I hope no harm comes to Broad in Australia as a result of this. Broad is a professional cricketer doing a job and he is entitled to wait for the umpire to make a decision. 

A good day for the Aussies one of their better ones this Summer .