da mrbet： Player reaction from the second day of the second Ashes Test at Edgbaston
da cassino online： Steven Lynch at Edgbaston05-Aug-2005
Giles: “I didn’t think I had anything to prove” © Getty Images
After a week in which he has hardly been out of the newspapers, AshleyGiles strolled into the press conference at Edgbaston this evening with asatisfied smile. After baring his soul in his Guardian column, andcopping it from most of the other papers in some shape or form, had heenjoyed sticking two fingers up at his critics?”Well, I think I’m better than that,” he deadpanned during an impressivelydiplomatic display. “I did point to my wife a couple of times, becauseI’ve had a lot of support from her recently.”Giles admitted that it was comforting to be performing in front of his home crowd atEdgbaston. “After a tricky week, if ever I want to bowl anywhereit’s on my home wicket in front of my home crowd. I didn’t think I hadanything to prove – there’s enough pressure anyway, playing for yourcountry, so you don’t need any extra. I don’t come out saying things tothe press just to wind myself up. I’m just happy that having done mypreparation I’ve come out and done well today.”He started from the Pavilion end, but soon changed roundto the City end, where Shane Warne has been camped all match. “There is abit more at that end – as Warnie’s just shown [by dismissing AndrewStrauss just before the close]. He’s used to bowling amazing balls.” Sowas it a special moment dismissing Warne himself? “Well, he’s got me out afew times, so I was due!”And what might England’s game-plan be? “There are three days to play,there’s a lot of hard cricket to come. But I think it will turn, the roughwill get rougher, and yet this wicket also goes through periods of beinghelpful for the seamers, which should be good for us. But we stuck to ourplans today: to go in 125 ahead, we’ve have taken that. I suppose we coulddo with being 300-350 ahead, but nothing’s been discussed yet. It’s goingto be tricky. I’ve got a big part to play in this match, so I need to keepfocussed.”Justin Langer, Australia’s hero with a gritty 82, also reckoned thatEngland ended the day in the box seat. “They have definitely got theirnose in front,” he said, “but this Australian team is up for challenges,and it will be a sensational Test win from here if we do it. Whateverwe’re set, we’ll back ourselves to get it.”Just like at Lord’s, Langer was hit at the start of his innings, whenSteve Harmison clanged him on the helmet in the first over. “My old coachused to say that he liked it if I got hit early on, as I get a bit sharperafterwards. I’m not sure if it helps, actually, but it certainly sharpensyou up.”Unlike at Lord’s, this time the England close fielders remembered to askthe batsman if he was all right. “Yes, they were very polite. The spirit’sbeen really good so far, and I’m sure it’ll go on like that.”A later blow, when he was hit near the heart by Harmison, was actuallymore of a problem: “It just winded me – it was a bit embarrassing, becauseI could hardly breathe. The bruise doesn’t hurt much now, though.”Langer’s long vigil – 275 minutes and 154 balls – was functional ratherthan flamboyant. “Yes, it’ll hardly enhance my reputation as an elegantstrokemaker, as I’ve been trying to do for two or three years,” he grinnedruefully. “But the team needed an innings like that. Ricky Ponting playedbrilliantly, and I thought Michael Clarke’s footwork was outstanding. Butit’s very hard work batting – trying to score freely out of that rough ishard, as Ashley Giles proved.”Like Giles, Langer has had his moments with the media and the crowd in thepast, famously criticising the Barmy Army during the last Ashes seriesDown Under. He wouldn’t be drawn on that this time, but he did say that herealised what Giles had been through: “I can appreciate how he felt lastweek. He’s probably verbalising what a lot of sportsmen think sometimes.He’s done a great job for England recently.”Indeed, Langer waxed lyrical about the whole England team: “They setin-out fields, so good shots you only to tend to get a single for. That’sthe way they play, and they’ve done it brilliantly for 12 to 18 monthsnow.”So what sort of total would the Aussies ideally like to chase? Langergrinned again. “Well, we’re already 125 behind – about 150? You saw howWarnie was turning it at the end … That ball hopefully will have worriedEngland, not just for this game but the whole of the series. The moreShane Warne demons we can get into the England dressing-room, the better.”
