Would be great if both sides of the debate could admit this...

The European Union’s drug regulator, European Medicines Agency (EMA), has said the booster strategy is not viable long-term...

The EMA official raised concerns that a strategy of giving boosters every four months hypothetically poses the risk of overloading people’s immune systems and leading to fatigue in the population...
---------------------------

So I'm guessing the EMA is now by definition AV...

Community safety announcement!!!...

Due to the violent tsunami approaching Australias shores residents of South western Sydney will not be able to attend Sydney's beaches today... Eastern suburbs residence may continue do as they please...

*Residents (sorry Steve)...

I reckon when both sides dont know, its time to let it rip, until you definitely know....

Nope. They just seem to have arrived to the same conclusion as me (and maybe you).

I dont like the boosters. I dont think they are solution. Especially this current one which was formulated BEFORE the emergence of Omikron.

I think the rollout is not to try to prevent the vast majority of people catching omikron. I think its a strategy to try to reduce onlybabout a 10% waning of original vaccine. In my opinion, a useless strategy for the cost involved.

Education of people about personal responsibility is a far better (albeit difficult) strategy. And of course - acceptance.

Only then can you live with the virus.

Get him Steve....

That was criminal!

Then again, maybe his "agent" typed it for him...
So he is off the hook!

Ok we will pay the ransom, just let her go.

Our batting is surpisingly shaky against the short bsll.

Head and Smith dismisals not smart batting.

Better to just let those balls go.

She's holding me hostage!!!...

Stockholm syndrome!

OUT!!!...

I'm going to rush off and get 5 or 6 jabs straight away... No way I'd have done that if a bljoke played tennis...

This Test has the potential to be better than the last. Would be interesting if Aussies can get 2 or 3 wickets tonight and then see how it all plays out tomorrow

These guys that partake in the Curling event at the Winter Games... i have about 140m2 of porcelain tiles that need scrubbing and these guys need to train, so...... win-win.

I'll be the Mister Miyagi and they can be the chumps that do the work.

Let me find them on Air Tasker.....

Those satellite images of the Tonga volcano are just draw dropping, And terrifying when you see one with the map of Tonga over-layed. I just don’t know how anything could be left.

It concerns me that in all the reporting about it in the last day there’s been none from Tonga. Has anybody heard anything at all from them?

I think an undersea cable was damaged limiting communications.

The island formally known as Tonga?

Joking....

Assies should have declared for 0 in 2nd innings....

I checked nothing recent from Tonga I could find.

The waves are big on the QLD coast here and lasted a few hours.

Tonga is low lying, hopefully there is some high ground and most people escsped to somewhere low lying.

Any buildings and crops that got hit by the waves are odviously gone. A problem with water supplies woukd be likely.

I am still hoping for the best.

That was a bizarre Test Match, the Aussies ground it out well with the bat in patches, Smith/Boland and Green/Carey.

But the was also some ordinary shot selection, great bowling for Wood etc, the Poms steamed back into the match and seemed to have momentum.

Then they got to 0-68  again the Poms had momentum and looked likely winners.

Boland and Green shifted the momentum and both took many vital wickets.

Boland, Green and Carey all very promising.

The ball that bowled Root really sumed up his luck, in a bizzare match, that was the icing on the cake.

All things considered I can't explain why the Pom collapse happened, their confidence must be shot.

No deaths reported so far in Tonga, apparently the place is covered in ash, they have at least talked to some inhabitants.

Goodbye Novak..

Now we can resume the weather discussion.

The December 2021 update on the West Antarctic ice shelf isn't good news.

We have always been strong in our border policies and because of that strong action, we do have very high vaccination rates here in Australia,”  - Minister for home affairs...

Makes perfect sense...

I think Green is going to be the most important cricketer in The Aus team over the next decade. I see him becoming as important and influential to Aus cricket as Flintoff and Kallis were to The Poms and SA respectively.

Now before anyone bights my head off I’m not comparing his somewhat modest achievements so far to what Flintoff and Kallis did, the former turning a good cricket team into an Ashes winning team, the latter turning SA into one of the hardest teams in cricket - but I will say I can see Green having a similar effect on the Aus team going forward.

Even with the run of outs and 1000 overs before he got his first wicket, I always thought the selectors would back him until and if he gave them absolutely no other choice, and I agreed with. Not claiming any better opinion or anything like that because the argument to drop him and give him a chance to find his feet in Shield was a good one, but I sorta thought the selectors (and me) were confident with what he was bringing to the Aust attack, as a whole, regardless of the wicket draught.

This bloke bowls over 140k from a height that’s good enough, more than good enough, to have him opening the attack in a lot of Test teams - including ours if needs be. But what it means for the attack as a whole is with the big three or even the next couple in line (we got good pace depth) we got a relentless four pronged pace attack that gives no easy overs AND room for a spinner.

That was and still is a mouth watering prospect that I reckon was behind the selectors giving Green more than the average chances, especially once he found his mojo with his bowling which he’s had for a while now, certainly this whole series.

And so now his batting, which despite some recent good scores, still needs some work at Test level. BUT… what a prospect. When he’s in, the way he stands up and drives off the back foot through the off side are as good as you see and I doubt you’ll see anything hit more powerful - he jumps all over them. He’s old school in a lot of ways, he’ll hit a hundred fours before he’ll hit a six, just the way he pounds them into the ground.

And what an imposing sight he is to any fast bowler when he’s on, you’re running in to bowl to this six and a half foot monster. I remember a quote from a cricketer, can’t remember which one but he played against Matty Hayden, and he related how just Matty’s physical presence defeated a lot of bowlers when he was on - just too big and strong and intimidating. I think Green could do that in the middle order.

Anyway, last thing I’ll say is remember I said I wasn’t comparing Cam Green to Flintoff and Kallis, and I’m still not… sorta.

But there was a reason their names stuck in my mind. After the previous Test where he got that 70 odd, I seen a tweet from a cricket writer who noted that after that inns, at the same stages of their careers (what was it? 6 or 7 Tests or so) Cam Green had a better bowling AND batting average than Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kalliis.

…. not that I’m comparing him.

A problem we have is two 35yo openers in this match. This is not sustainable. We need to get some depth in this position. Someone that values his wicket even if he bores the sh*t out of you for a session would be nice. An expanded test squad to take account of this would have been good. Just taking their eyes off T20 and focussing on red ball cricket would help in this regard

Renno!!!...

Travis Head

I think what you're saying is that you love the idea of an allrounder and would give the best prospect as many chances as he can get because your are infatuated with the team having one.

Not saying you are wrong, i love allrounders also. My favourite player was Steve Waugh.

But i think this Ashes demolition has worked in favour of Green as he has more or less cemented his spot and its the poor display from England that has afforded him that grace.
Had we been on the back foot this series or playing in subcontintent and he was performing as expected, questions would have been asked and he would probably be dropped.

The best thing to come out of this series is Boland. I love watching him. He is relentless with his aim and bowls wicket taking deliveries.

The funny thing about Greens wickets last night is that he bowled some good ones that werent rewarded and then picked up wickets with deliveries that were.. lets say.... not the best.

In general we need to work on strengthening the batting.

But opener is particularly problematic.

Normally Warner has one position nailed down. But his 2 ducks in Hobart reminded me that he can have a lean run against quality swing and  seam bowling.

Izzy will be fine on the subcontinentm unless India prepare green-top wickets.

Against the new ball on a green wicket we need a traditional opener. Solid defence, good leave, good judge of a single, able to stay composed in trying conditions.

Get through the  new ball, Smithy, Labs, Head, Green, Carey, Stark and Cummo can all score fast.

IMO Warner justs needs to tame a bit of his natural aggression until he has a good feel for the conditions.

His new long term partner should be solid, a traditional opener in every respect, fast scoring not essential.