First Ashes Test, Cardiff, day four:
England v Australia

LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times BST)

By Ben Dirs

606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the action

e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk (with ‘For Ben Dirs’ in the subject), text 81111 (with "CRICKET" as the first word) or use 606. (Not all contributions can be used)

AUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS

"Poor Michael! If he sends his bank details and $500.00 administration and bank fees then we will gladly help. Paul in Lancs, good to see you are about, Sarahs, where are you"
Miss Ruby, Perth, in the TMS inbox1119 – 498-5 Broad is called for a wide… tennis ball bounce, the ball looped about two feet above Haddin’s lid. Over-pitched from Broad and Haddin laces him through the covers for four. Haddin picks up a single with a carve to point, before Broad goes round the wicket to North. North clips to mid-wicket for one, Australia disappearing serenely into the distance like a ruddy great ocean liner… "Sorry to disappoint you folks, but Freddie isn’t fit to polish Beefy’s boots. Lord Botham could sink 20 pints, steer a pedalo through Sydney Harbour in peak hour and still rip into any of our finest 11 with results. That’s why we respect Beefy, he’s a proper cricketer, a sneering laughable rogue, worthy of an Aussie passport."
Johnny Rocket in the TMS inboxBBC Sport’s Tom Fordyce on Twitter:"Is that Richie Benaud in the Cardiff press box There’s no mistaking that tanned visage – all hail the greatest commentator of all time."1115 – 490-5 Short from Anderson and North rocks backs and tugs him away for a single, before Haddin drops into the off-side for one.

BBC Sport’s Tom Fordyce in Cardiff: "The best-selling item outside the ground this morning Ponchos – plastic ones, not the Peruvian alpaca sort. It might not be raining now, but the locals know a downpour when it’s brewing."

"With the money involved in sport nowadays, I wonder if it would be feasible to use ‘rain-prevention technology’, as in, firing those rockets up to disperse the rainclouds. Even if it’s only for big matches such as these."
Sir_Blitzo on 606
Join the debate on 606

1110 – 488-5 Broad to bowl from the Cathedral Road End… come on Broady, got to be better than yesterday… leg-side delivery flicked away for four by Haddin… bouncer top-edged for four by Haddin… Broad’s frustration gets the better of him, as he shies for the stumps with Haddin rooted in his crease. Haddin snaps his gum and narrows his eyes… "little boys," you can almost hear him thinking, "little boys…"1104 – 480-5 England skipper Strauss has a big grin on his face as he bounds down the pavilion steps, and it’s Jimmy Anderson to bowl first. Too straight, and Haddin flicks his first ball away for a single. North may be a new name to many, but he’s been around for some time now – 130 first-class matches, 9,247 runs, averages 44.67. Tidy opening over, North playing it cool.1057: Broad could do with a couple more wickets today, he really hasn’t dazzled so far. A yard or two short, he’s been well and truly sorted out by the Aussie batsmen, and we could well see Harmison and Onions coming in at Lord’s. It’s Haddin and North at the crease this morning, and here they come, as Blowers struggles to make himself heard over an ear-quivering Jerusalem.TMS’s Alison Mitchell on Twitter:"Aaaah, watching a touching embrace between TMS’s Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee on the outfield (well, a manly sort of hug)"1048: The early Pub Pontification chat in my office centres on whether Andrew Flintoff is overrated or not. The man next to me thinks he’s a marvellous cricketer, but that the hubbub surrounding him whenever he’s thrown the ball or he comes out to bat seems a bit out of proportion. The man opposite reckons he’s not fit to light Botham’s panatella. Obviously, I have no opinion on the matter.

"If and when England learn to pitch the ball up and only use the short one as a surprise they might get somewhere. It isn’t rocket science – look what happened to Katich and Hussey when Anderson pitched it up."
rhiannan05 on 606
Join the debate on 6061037: Michael… have you been fibbing If you email in and can prove to me what these "other valuable things" were, then I’ll wire you the money. As for the cricket, it’s pretty difficult to know what to talk about to be honest – if we were going to get a full day’s play in, then we’d surely be chatting about how long the Aussies should bat for, but the weather forecast is so dirty, I’m not sure how relevant that chat’s going to be. "Interestingly, Michael, who needs a loan, was at a seminar here in Holland yesterday, according to an email I received. Poor lad lost his wallet two days on the trot"

Alex, hoping the rain stays away from his home ground in Leiden, the Netherlands, in the TMS inbox1031: The video scorecard has just been inserted at the top of the page, but you’ll have to manually refresh the page to see it…1028:The weather forecast from Cardiff couldn’t really be much worse:the BBC reckon it’s going to be an out and out wash-out, although they’ve already got it wrong to be fair – they were predicting drizzle from 1000 BST, and we haven’t seen any yet. Anyone got $2,500 they can lend Michael I’ve got his email address in case you’re worried about him not paying it back. "Hello. How are you doing I am sorry that i didn’t inform you about my traveling to England for a Seminar. I need a favor from you as soon as you recieve this e-mail because i misplaced my wallet on my way to the hotel where my money,and other valuable things were kept, i will like you to assist me with a loan urgently. I will be needing the sum of $2,500 to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home. Your reply will be greatly appreciated."
Michael in the TMS inbox1014: Hello. It looks as if we’ll be starting on time, which might be a surprise to many of you. However, after lunch Fish and his mob reckon it’s going to rain and rain and rain..

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