Ashes 3rd Test

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Stop deluding yourself, MLCM.

The sooner you face up to the truth, the better....
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And this is exactly why you guys aren't winning - you don't believe you can. ironically perhaps, we Aussies believe you can because we know you've got the talent, and you've done it before. But for some reason you guys just don't get it.

Anyway, after seeing Hayden and Ponting set the foundation, then Hussey and Clarke demolish the new ball, and Gilchrist's astonishing piece of wizardry (and as much as I like Monty, Gilly's 6-6-4-6 off four successive Monty deliveries was unforgettable) - and second only to Viv Richards for the fastest test century - it is a big ask for England to now retain the Ashes.

But unless you believe it's possible, it doesn't matter how much talent you've got, yeah?

Let's face - you only lost day 3 because of your fielding. The bowlers all did well, but you dropped a heap of catches. Had you held those, it's not improbable that you could have had Oz out for around 300. Then you definitely would have won the test. So despite everything, maybe the difference in skill level is not that great. But on the self-belief scales, England just aren't registering.