The way Ponting handled Mike Atherton's crass, insensitive questions live on TV and in front of 20,000 people at The Oval after England had just won the Ashes was fabulous. He showed honesty, realism, good grace and humour in a very tough situation. Nice one.

Well done England, by the way: fantastic performance! Let's hope we can hold on to the Ashes Down Under next winter.

Mushtaq Ahmed

Andrew Strauss: England's man of the series, and proving himself an excellent captain. It shows that it pays to go for people with a bit of inner steel rather than just the best player at the time (ok it worked when it was Vaughan, but not Freddie or KP).

And all these Australians we love to hate during matches invariably turn out to be really nice balanced guys when you actually hear them speak- e.g. Matt Hayden's excellent commentary on TMS, and indeed Punter himself.

the press and general reception that awaits him when he ventures back Down Under I thought Ponting handled himself superbly this summer.
Australia had the rough end of a few umpiring decisions but the demeanour of the team and captain belied that fact.
The booing of Punter earlier in the summer by the crass Barmy Armyites was bad form and it was good to see the reception he got today at the Oval.
Be interesting to see whether he is still in harness as skipper to try and get the Urn back next time.

Under immense pressure, a century on his debut. Brilliant.

For winning the Ashes in Cardiff with that incredible last wicket stand.

Who wasn't at the Ashes but did play on after breaking the middle finger of his right hand while at bat in the annual Fairporters v Cropredy cricket match following the festival. He's had to cancel imminent gigs of course, but the prognosis is good and he should be playing again in a few weeks.
http://www.richardthompson-music.com/catch_of_the_day.asp?id=1100

mbe's cbe's

knighthood's, visit to number ten, being pissed up in public, open top bus ride's etc etc

and then a couple of years later...

australia 5 england 0

Anyone else noticed how much Nick Lowe looks like David Gower in the bottom album cover that appears in the banner alongside the blog?

...surely goes to TMS for getting Lily Allen to pontificate on the joys of cricket.

Brilliant result (and Spurs are top of the league!). Although for us Essex fans, our international players haven't covered themselves in glory this summer.

He's by far the worst commentator on TMS, today and yesterday he was simply babbling random nonsense about Disney films etc it was pure Ron Manager.

I did't think he had such incisive cricket wit.
I'm also with those who voted for Monty and Jimmy Anderson. If they hadn't done the job they did at Cardiff, under the pressure there was, the series, we now know, was lost. Bowlers doing a batsman's job. The converse rarely applies.

Stuart Broad has done both. Well done. Is he now forgiven for that last over in the World 20/20 against Holland?

Shout out for Harmy, thundering towards the crease, man-boobs quivering in the breeze...
He's taken a lot of (often warranted) flak in the past, so nice to see him produce a telling cameo.

By the way, I was quite taken by the young lady on the England balcony, I presume she was part of the backroom staff......anybody know who she is?

What am I going to think about?

Jim Maxwell was consistently suave, insightful, and wryly amusing; always getting the best out of his co-commentators and, above all, while remaining rightly partisan, never less than entirely gracious.
Also, Matt Prior - immeasurably improved behind the timbers and always England's most enterprising bat.

I mean, there were a few........

I'll go for Trott.....at least the Efrikahner accent is still very much Jo'burg!

... of the series had to be Graeme Swann's 60 odd off 55 balls in the last test.

for being Word's best Token Aussie across the summer.

He's been a bit quiet about the cricket today, mind.

as Word's best Token Spurs and Cricket fan.

We won the Ashes and Spurs top of the league. He must be pinching himself. The world has gone quite mad.

Is it me or is Freddie Flintoff overrated?

* If he was born in the same year as Ian Botham, he wouldn't have played in more than 10 test matches (see Derek Pringle).
* I heard on TMS yesterday that Flintoff's stats at the same point in his career as Broad's were poor by comparison.
* A career batting average of 33 isn't much to shout about, is it? Not sure of his bowling stats but they cannot be earth-shattering. In a game dominated by statistics, his don't stand great scrutiny.
* Bar Lords, and that run-out, it was a pretty ordinary series for him wasn't it?
* Is his standing just because there were no competitors for the all-rounder slot during his career?

I accept the following. Teams need their totemic figures and dressing room leaders and 'Sir Fred' fits the bill there. And he can wear a team down with his bowling so that those at the other end pick up wickets, yes. And his batting fills a stadium, yes.

The first pick for a IPL 20-20, yes. A all-time test great, no.

Or am I harsh?

How has Stuart Broad's name not come up yet?

OK so he had a slow start, but he was man of the match for the last test and England's highest wicket taker of the series...

AND he's alright with a bat!

Freddie who?

possibly the biggest difference between the two sides. Papered over the gaping cracks appearing in mubers 2-5, saved us spectacularly in one test, scored more runs than most of the established batsmen and scored them at a decent lick wresting the advantage from the aussies on more than one occassion. A few of them can bowl a bit too and the wicketkeeper has even learned to wicketkeep during this series. Numbers 2-5 however, don't get me started...

That is he's more highly rated by the opposition fans than his local ones. Flintoff would be one English player that is universally admired in Australia. You judge a sportsman by their peak and his spell at Lords is the Fred I will remember.

Lee on the other hand is flipping useless, of the five quicks we took on tour he was very much the fifth best of them yet I read time and again in the UK press, "Considering Australia's best bowler is out injured." He's the worst bowler bar none to ever get 300 Test wickets it's an injustice he's taken more wickets than Shane Bond and Jeff Thompson combined. He should not have been taken on tour let alone picked in the side, give an award to the Aussie selectors who took THREE injured players in a squad of sixteen that had ZERO back up batsmen.

If I'm handing out awards I'd give one to Shane Warne. The "Get your hand off it" award. He said he retired from International cricket to "Spend more time with his family" yet he missed commentating in the first test because he was playing poker in Las Vegas! That was after his stint in the IPL.

Australia will win the Ashes back in 2010/2011, anyone who bets against that has no respect for their money, bowlers like Broad and Anderson will be smashed from pillar to post. Okay I'm venting but losing to England is the one sporting event that actually changes my mood for the worst.

Must go to Shane Warne!