Ashes focus: Aussie reaction to Twenty20 thrashing

Following the hiding in the Twenty20 game against England, the Aussie reaction, among the players and journos, is quite muted, obviously. They emphasize that they dont want to read too much into the result, and its magnitude for that matter.

Chloe Saltau is concerned about the top class batting lineup being dismissed for 79, losing seven wickets for next to nothing and the pounding Brett Lee took when Flintoff bowled to at him.

Robert Craddock reckons that the game offered a glimpse into an English side with a new attitude, and found it promising.

Andrew Ramsey is all praise for England's energizer bunny, Darren Gough.

Glenn McGrath continues from where he left off and points out, while desperately reaching out for that pile of straws, that the result would increase pressure on England, which would ultimately prove detrimental to the hosts. He also pointed out that Michael Clarke had snapped up Pevin Kietersen twice with slow looping deliveries. Sure Glenn, we're desperately waiting for the SOS call to go out to Darren Lehmann.

Speaking of Boof, he writes in his BBC Sport column about how pleasantly surprised he was at England's performance.

Terry Alderman, in an interview with Cricinfo, talks about the 1989 Ashes, Aussie captains and what it'd take for England to effect a coup.

Another ex-Aussie seamer, Rodney Hogg, whose earlier forays into these pages were when he seemed convinced that Lee deliberately beamed Hamish Marshall and earlier wanted Warne to be dropped to include Brett Lee when Pakistan toured Australia last year, feels that Flintoff's lack of exposure to top quality spin would mean that he gets elevated to the status of being Warne's bunny, joining Daryl Cullinan.

While we're on the topic of the man himself, hear it from the horse's mouth about what he felt about the Twenty20 game's result.