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Sorry, we can’t take any calls about criminal Australian batting… #Ashes2015 (image by Getty).
many lols
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This is amazing. Could be over by the end of tomorrow!
Test match cricket is pretty dead now though. Everyone is geared to limited over cricket!
post 300/350 and could win by an innings!
Loving it though!
Root goes to his hundred by cutting his _old mate _David Warner for four. 
It gets better and better.
@BBCSport: 04W24W0W04100000W40000110
W020000401000W000000000101000011W001
1200010040040000W1W300000000000004000
00000000001004W: Aus innings in one tweet.
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lol. Just watched the highlights of this. Brilliant. I disagree with sfcsim. Test cricket is proper cricket for me.
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An incredible day.
Only issue for me was being out and about and getting a Tweet saying 34-7, without any indication of which side was batting!
The Australians have chucked away the series and we’ve batted them out of this match already.
Even if we have a little collapse we’ll still get a lead of 300+.
While Australia can’t bat that badly again I can’t see them making more than 250 in their second innings, and their captain and two or three others might as well just keep on walking to the airport as far as the selectors are concerned.
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Could well be the best days cricket since Botham gave them a spanking all those years ago. More of the same today please!
Would be nice to see Root get a double ton and then we declare then bowl them out so we don’t even have to bat again!!
Saying that I don’t think the Aussies could bat that badly again…
Pat Murphy on 5 Live suggesting that it’s overcast and, as a result there is a risk of atmospheric influence.
For balance, he also said that if Buttler, Ali and Stokes get going then Australia could be in again this afternoon facing 400+.
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Don’t get me wrong I love test cricket, it is the art of test cricket that is being lost in the modern game. Most the players runs way above balls faced, not like boycott day!
Come on Boycott was boring 2 days of forward defensive strokes a few quick runs by the lower order and then a draw.
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Amazing what he could do with a stick of celery.
Would we ever want a return to the days of Atherton batting for 2 days to earn a draw against SA (at Bloemfontaine wasn’t it??)
Watching a rearguard innings such as the Atherton one you’ve mentioned can be massively absorbing. Although scoring rates in test cricket have gone up significantly over the past few years, there’s still room for a hard-fought draw. It’s the dull draws that I could live without, but even then they provide a comparison if nothing else. Not every single match can be exciting, in any sport.
And, in fairness to Geoffrey Boycott, he did score a hell of a lot of runs and played a fair number of shots. Nowhere near as many as batsmen play today, but then he wouldn’t have given his wicket away in quite the same manner either.
Ali and Broad turning the screw - lovely! +326 runs at the moment
First-innings lead now 326 and climbing. Only two wickets left, but I can easily see us winning this by an innings now. A lot will depend on how much heart the Aussies have for the fight, and whether they can do something about their appalling techniques against a swinging or seaming ball.
Test cricket should be played over 5 days. It really irritates me that they cant factor in extra days to take into account any poor weather. There have been too many draws because of rain. Every other sport I can think of plays out to time, test cricket needs to do the same.
What am I expected to do with the three extra bottles of gin I will have left over if this ends in 2 days?
Celebrate with them! Nice to see the Aussies batting for their lives…woohoo
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SOG, you’re forgetting that they used to have timeless tests when we were lads. 
The last ever timeless Test was the fifth between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939, which was abandoned as a draw after nine days of play spread over twelve days, otherwise the England team would have missed the boat for home.
I bet the Aussies wish they were on a slow boat home right now.
When the first wicket goes down I can see them tumbling like skittles just the initial breakthrough to get.
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