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The Ashes Thread
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Topic Started: Nov 10 2006, 01:56 PM (4,476 Views)
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TC Admin
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Nov 24 2006, 02:35 PM
Post #31
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1st Test :: Day 2 :: Brisbane
Australia: 602-9d England: 53-3

- "BBC Sport"
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England face an uphill struggle to save the first Ashes Test in Brisbane after being reduced to 53-3 at close of play on the second day.
Glenn McGrath dismissed Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook with successive balls and Stuart Clark turned the screw by having Paul Collingwood caught behind.
Australia made a massive 602-9 declared in their innings, the third highest total at the Gabba.
It was built around Ricky Ponting's 196, which included 24 boundaries.
After a good spell in mid-afternoon when Matthew Hoggard dismissed Ponting and Adam Gilchrist in the same over, the effect of five hard sessions in the field took its toll on England.
Although their fielding was generally adequate, two chances were missed, the first when James Anderson could not hold on to a diving attempt early in Warne's innings.
Clark was given a let-off, too, after Alastair Cook failed to get under a top-edge off Harmison.
It could have saved the onslaught that followed as Clark (39) and Brett Lee (43 not out) hit out with unfettered abandon in a ninth-wicket stand of 50 off 44 balls.
Clark hammered two sixes off Anderson before he was yorked by Andrew Flintoff, who had separated the overnight pair of Ponting and Mike Hussey during the morning session by ripping one through Hussey's defence to bowl him for 86.
But by then their partnership was worth 209, a fourth-wicket record for Australia at the ground, beating the 170 by Kim Hughes and Graeme Yallop in 1978.
Flintoff is still feeling his way back following ankle surgery but he was by far England's most threatening bowler and returned figures of 4-99.
One delivery, in particular, indicated Flintoff's strength of purpose as it leapt ferociously off a length and narrowly missed the edge of a startled Ponting's bat.
His demeanour was in marked contrast to that of Steve Harmison (1-123), who again began his work for the day with a wide and looked almost apologetic when he claimed a solitary wicket as Shane Warne gloved a catch to the keeper.
Facing Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath is a daunting task at any time, and doubly so when a total of 403 is needed just to save the follow-on.
Strauss and Cook began cautiously as Lee hurled the ball down at around 95mph and McGrath found some of the nip of yesteryear as the new ball pair strove for a breakthrough.
It was eventually handed to them on a plate when Strauss, on 12, attempted the pull shot which has led to his downfall on a number of occasions in the past year and top edged to backward square leg.
Hussey and Lee both converged on the ball at full tilt and it was Hussey who won the race and held on despite a collision between them which left Lee with a cut knee.
He was back in the dressing room receiving treatment when McGrath ran up for his next delivery, which was on a perfect length, cutting away just enough to take the edge of Cook's bat.
Warne made the slip catch look simple, sending the Essex youngster on his way for 11 in his first innings in an Ashes Test.
Lee's exit from the field also meant a bowling change and replacement Stuart Clark confirmed the good impression he made in taking 20 wickets in South Africa earlier this year.
Although quicker than McGrath, he followed his principles of consistent line and length to keep the pressure on the batsmen.
It proved too much for Collingwood, who played slightly across the line at a superb leg-cutter and was caught behind by Gilchrist for five.
Kevin Pietersen announced his arrival in the middle by pulling McGrath authoritatively for four, but he then settled for playing out time and was six not out at stumps with Bell on 13.
Scorecard
In other news, the Rose Bowl gets test status!
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hugh
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Nov 25 2006, 11:19 AM
Post #32
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two trophies, many runner-ups.
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England now out for 160
Australia lead of 630!
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TC Admin
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Nov 25 2006, 11:48 AM
Post #33
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1st Test :: Day 3 :: Brisbane
Australia: 602-9 and 181-1 England: 157

- "BBC Sport"
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Australia turned the screw in the first Ashes Test by building a lead of 626 after Glenn McGrath took 6-50 to dismiss England for 157 in Brisbane.
The home side opted not to enforce the the follow-on despite England trailing by 445 on first innings.
And Justin Langer (88) and Ricky Ponting (51) shared an unbroken stand of 113 to see them to 181-1 at stumps.
McGrath bowled superbly earlier in the day with only Ian Bell (50) offering prolonged resistance for England.
He hung on grimly for almost four hours before falling to Stuart Clark, who supported McGrath well for figures of 3-21.
Ashley Giles was the only other England batsman to pass 20 and when he was the last man out most people in the ground thought the follow-on decision was a formality.
Not so Ponting, who was clearly intent on grinding England into the turf.
Initially, it looked like Australia were in a hurry to put the tourists in again before the close as Hayden smashed three successive balls from Jimmy Anderson to the boundary.
But the big left-hander gave his wicket away on 38 when he attempted a risky second run to Anderson at fine leg and was beaten by his throw to keeper Geraint Jones.
After that the game meandered along, prompting many spectators to head home early, as Langer coasted to his second half century of the match and Ponting knocked off a couple of personal milestones - 1,000 runs in the calendar year and 9,000 in Test cricket.
England's attack looked toothless but at least Steve Harmison's radar was more reliable than in the first innings, although he had to wait until the 13th over of the innings to be handed the ball.
Australia produced a typically ruthless performance in the field earlier in the day after McGrath and Brett Lee set the tone by bowling unchanged through the first hour and conceding only 30 runs from 13 high quality overs.
Pietersen was dropped by Stuart Clark at long-on when he top edged an attempted pull but McGrath's frustration soon turned to celebration when he won an lbw decision to send him on his way for 16.
The England batsman did himself no favours by shouldering arms but TV replays suggested he was unlucky with the ball apparently going on to miss off-stump.
Flintoff poked uncertainly at his first ball without making contact, but there was no doubt about the edge from the third he faced which gave Adam Gilchrist a straightforward catch behind the stumps and Brett Lee his only wicket.
There was a moment of hilarity for some members of the crowd as a sweep from Geraint Jones felled umpire Bowden at square leg, striking him on the hip as he tried to turn his back on the ball.
England were 118-5 at lunch but were soon in the mire again as McGrath pinned Jones (19) on the back foot and won another lbw decision.
Bell reached his half century off 155 balls with a nudged single but then sliced the first delivery of a new spell from Clark to Ponting at slip.
Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison were both caught behind without troubling the scorer and England's innings came to an end when Giles (24) skied McGrath to Hayden at gully.
Scorecard
Two days left... can England save the test?
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Tealey
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Nov 25 2006, 01:05 PM
Post #34
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Mali 'Till I Die (Or Become Inactive)
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Argh, awful. For the second test, I would ring the changes:
Strauss Cook Bell Pietersen Collingwood Flintoff Read Hoggard Broad Panesar Anderson
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Tealey 
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TC Admin
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Nov 26 2006, 11:23 AM
Post #35
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Broad isn't in the Ashes squad, but other than that, I agree with your team. Maybe Mahmood could come in instead of Harmison?
1st Test :: Day 4 :: Brisbane
Australia: 602-9d and 202-1d England: 157 and 293-5

- "BBC Sport"
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Spinner Shane Warne took four wickets to put Australia on course for victory in the Brisbane Test.
But England restored pride through the efforts of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen to end day four on 293-5.
Collingwood missed out on a century when he was stumped off Warne for 96, ending a stand of 153, but Pietersen was still there at the close on 92.
Australia declared during the morning session with a lead of 647 after Justin Langer completed his 23rd Test century.
Skipper Ricky Ponting called a halt when Langer dabbed away a single to reach three figures, his 146-ball innings including eight fours.
Ponting's own share of their 134-run partnership was 60 not out, but he hurt his back during the brief spell in the middle and was unable to field.
There was a further concern for the home side as Glenn McGrath, who took 6-50 in England's first innings, had to operate at a slightly reduced pace because of a sore heel.
Warne, meanwhile, was not at his best despite his wickets, which cost 108 runs.
He was shown little respect by Collingwood and Pietersen, who produced a flurry of boundaries after tea, and showed his frustration by hurling the ball back towards Pietersen after fielding off his own bowling at the end of an over in which he was twice hit through mid-on for four.
Pietersen had to hurriedly fend it away from his chest before marching down the pitch to vent his feelings towards his Hampshire team-mate.
Warne finally broke the partnership by luring Collingwood down the pitch, leaving Adam Gilchrist an easy stumping, and then added the wicket of Andrew Flintoff, who picked out Langer at long-on with an ugly back-foot heave and was out for just 16.
It was the second injudicious stroke by an England batsman, with Andrew Strauss departing for 11 at the start of the innings when he hit a rising ball from Stuart Clark straight to substitute fielder Ryan Broad at fine leg.
It was the second time in the match that he had succumbed attempting the hook shot, a major error of judgment with his side needing to bat for the best part of two days to save the game.
After failing to take a wicket in England's first innings, Warne soon made his mark when Ian Bell mis-read the slider, a front-of-the-hand delivery which goes straight on, and umpire Steve Bucknor adjudged him lbw for a duck.
Bell was replaced by Collingwood, who was all at sea at the start of his innings as Clark found a consistent line on or just outside off stump.
But he gradually grew in confidence and even managed to upper-cut a Brett Lee bouncer over the keeper's head for six during a stand off 55 for the third wicket with Alastair Cook.
Warne struck again with a leg-break into the rough bowled from round the wicket which Cook, on 43, could not counter and Mike Hussey took the chance at short leg.
Australia had to wait 34 overs for their next breakthrough as Collingwood and Pietersen finally gave the Barmy Army fans in the crowd something to cheer.
Scorecard
One more day to go... come on England!
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Tealey
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Nov 26 2006, 12:21 PM
Post #36
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Mali 'Till I Die (Or Become Inactive)
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Broad's at the Academy, they can call up players from the Academy whenever they want. Which is why Vaughan went there.
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TC Admin
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Nov 26 2006, 12:24 PM
Post #37
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Good point :eek2:, but surely Mahmood and Plunkett would be first choices, seeing as they are in the proper Ashes squad?
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Tealey
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Nov 26 2006, 12:31 PM
Post #38
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Mali 'Till I Die (Or Become Inactive)
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Yeah, but Mahmood's inconsistent and Plunkett's been injured for a while.
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Nov 27 2006, 06:43 PM
Post #39
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1st Test :: Day 5 :: Brisbane
Australia: 602-9d and 202-1d England: 157 and 370 Australia win by 277 runs

- "BBC Sport"
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Australia seized the initiative in the Ashes series with a 277-run win over England in the first Test at Brisbane.
They needed just 20.1 overs to finish things off on the final day after England resumed on 293-5.
Kevin Pietersen failed to add to his overnight score of 92 as he chipped Brett Lee straight to mid-wicket.
Glenn McGrath then bowled Geraint Jones off the inside edge for 33 before Stuart Clark cleaned up the tail to finish with figures of 4-72.
Despite the defiant batting of Paul Collingwood and Pietersen in their second innings, England could have no complaints about the result after being comprehensively outplayed on the first three days.
Any realistic chances of an incredible escape disappeared in the opening over as Australia took the second new ball.
In truth, there was nothing special about Lee's fourth delivery but Pietersen failed to keep it down and Damien Martyn held onto an easy catch.
After the shock of seeing the team's main hope dismissed so early, Jones and Ashley Giles resolved that England would not go down meekly.
The pair, controversially chosen ahead of Chris Read and Monty Panesar, justified coach Duncan Fletcher's faith in their batting ability with a series of boundaries.
Jones hammered Lee through extra cover for four and added another by clipping the next delivery off his toes through mid-wicket with perfect timing.
Giles joined in by flashing McGrath wide of point for his first boundary and when the veteran seamer responded by digging in a short one, he calmly lifted it over the slip cordon to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The positive approach led to Jones's undoing on 33, however, when he tried to force McGrath away through the off-side and was bowled off the inside edge.
Lee was replaced after five overs and replacement Clark did not waste any time in making the next breakthrough.
Having been carved away for four by Giles (23), he produced a good one which took the outside edge and Shane Warne took the catch at first slip.
The same combination then accounted for Matthew Hoggard for nine.
Warne, who picked up four wickets on the previous day, was given a chance to take five in an innings for the 37th time in Tests when he replaced McGrath.
But he was shown little respect by England's last-wicket pair as Steve Harmison hoisted the ball over long-on for four and then swiped another boundary before Jimmy Anderson lofted Warne (4-124) through the covers to open his account.
That was the end of the scoring, however, as Harmison (13) pulled the first ball of Clark's next over to McGrath at fine leg and Australia were able to begin their celebrations with two sessions to spare.
Scorecard
England's next match is the 2nd Test in Adelaide, which starts on the 1st December.
Australia lead the 5 match series 1-0.
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Tealey
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Nov 27 2006, 06:44 PM
Post #40
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Mali 'Till I Die (Or Become Inactive)
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I was tempted to stay up and listen to the final day. I'm glad I chose not to.
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Tealey 
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Nov 27 2006, 07:42 PM
Post #41
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When I got up this morning the score was 330-7 and I thought - that's strange, they have only scored 40 runs overnight in around 80 overs. My suspicions were right - I checked Ceefax and Australia had already won - Sky were showing highlights of the final session
Bring in Monty Panesar!
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Nov 28 2006, 06:40 PM
Post #42
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Michael Vaughan will make his long-awaited comeback from his knee injury on Wednesday when he plays for England's Academy side in a one-day match in Perth.
The recovering England captain has been selected to feature for the ECB Academy side against Western Australia’s 2nd XI in what will be his first competitive appearance since suffering a recurrence of his knee problems playing for Yorkshire at the start of last summer.
Wednesday’s match is the first in a series of games England have pencilled in for the Yorkshire batsman to prove his fitness before they consider him for an international recall.
His selection is almost sure to increase the speculation that England may recall Vaughan to boost their selection options before the end of the Ashes series.
But coach Duncan Fletcher has insisted they will not rush Vaughan’s return and are still hoping he can recover in time to feature in the one-day series starting in January.
“He seems to be pretty positive,” confirmed Fletcher.
“He’s working very hard at his game and we had a couple of sessions when he came out here.
“We’re still planning that he might be ready for the one-dayers and if anything comes earlier than that then all well and good, but from my point of view I don't think he can play in the Test series at this stage.
"I'm not going to say when he can play again until he has played a few games and come out of it and feels 100% because I know that's what Michael Vaughan wants."
England National Academy v Western Australia 2nds, South Perth CC, Richardson Park, Perth
Matthew Prior Rob Key (Capt) Owais Shah Michael Vaughan Rikki Clarke Jamie Dalrymple Michael Yardy Ravi Bopara Steve Davies (Wk) Stuart Broad Jon Lewis Chris Tremlett
10.45am start; 50 overs per side; any 11 to bat from 12; first 10 overs fielding restrictions; two powerplays.
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Tealey
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Nov 28 2006, 06:45 PM
Post #43
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Mali 'Till I Die (Or Become Inactive)
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That's a pretty useful team we've got there.
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Tealey 
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TC Admin
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Nov 28 2006, 07:08 PM
Post #44
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Yeah I was thinking that - that team could do well if they played the proper England team!
Australia name squad

- "BBC Sport"
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Australia have named an unchanged squad to face England in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide this weekend. With all-rounder Shane Watson ruled out through injury there was no place for second spinner Stuart MacGill or spin all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
Stuart Clark looks set to retain his spot ahead of fellow pacemen Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait.
"We have picked a squad of 13 to suit the conditions in Adelaide," said selector Andrew Hilditch.
"The possibility of using two specialist spinners continues to be discussed.
"That decision is made more difficult while Shane Watson is unfit but it will be reviewed depending on the particular conditions we will face at each venue."
Following his first innings 56 in the first Test, batsman Michael Clarke is likely to retain his spot in the absence of Watson, who has not recovered from his hamstring injury.
The announcement will come as a surprise to England, who had talked about the possibility of playing two spinners in Ashley Giles and Monty Panesar.
England flew to Adelaide from Brisbane on Tuesday, with the second Test beginning on Friday.
Australia squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist (wkt), Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne.
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Nov 29 2006, 06:47 PM
Post #45
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Vaughan's return...

- "BBC Sport"
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Michael Vaughan was satisfied with his return to competitive action despite being dismissed for a seven-ball duck. Vaughan, who has not played for England for a year and had knee surgery in June, was caught behind for the England Academy against a Western Australia XI.
He hopes to be fit for the fourth Ashes Test on 26 December and said: "It's a huge positive that I am back playing.
"It is slightly disappointing I didn't get any runs but today was all about getting back to playing cricket."
The 32-year-old batsman added: "It is the early stages of the comeback, but six months ago I never thought I would get back to the stage of playing cricket again.
"It was a really tough time. Thankfully I've got to this stage and next week I hope to get a few runs and spend a little bit more time in the middle."
Vaughan, who led England to Ashes glory last year, fielded in two one-hour spells as the Western Australia XI scored 218-8 in their innings, placing an ice pack on his knee while he took some time out.
And when he came in to bat, with his young team-mates toiling on 2-4, he edged a Darren Wates outswinger as he pushed forward tentatively.
But although he admitted to feeling pain, he insisted his recovery was going to plan and will be stepped up in another game for the Academy next week.
"It's my first game back - that's why I only fielded for 35 overs," Vaughan explained.
"Over the next few days I will be having plenty of practice and I hope to play a full part in next Wednesday's game."
Although the Boxing Day Melbourne Test has been mooted as a possible international comeback date, there have even been suggestions that he could be drafted in for the third Test.
That takes place in Perth, where Vaughan made his return in Wednesday's one-dayer.
But the Yorkshire star refused to make any predictions, saying: "I honestly don't know, this is the first day of what has been a long rehab programme.
"I just have to look to train hard over the next week, play the game next Wednesday and look to play a few more games and see where it takes us.
"The real test will be when I have to spend the whole day in the field or bat for five hours - to see how the knee responds to that."
McGrath misses bowling practice

- "BBC Sport"
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Veteran Australia paceman Glenn McGrath did not bowl in the nets during practice in Adelaide on Wednesday. The 36-year-old spent some time batting in the nets and took part in fielding practice at the Adelaide Oval.
McGrath has been suffering from a sore heel and was able to bowl only 12 overs in the second innings of the first Test, which Australia won by 277 runs.
A decision on his participation in the second Ashes Test, which starts on Friday, will be made on Thursday.
Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, captain Ricky Ponting and physio Alex Kountouris are expected to watch him bowl.
Australia opener Matthew Hayden put a positive spin on McGrath, who took 6-50 in the first innings in Brisbane.
He said in a news conference: "He's in good spirits, Glenn has got a few days to recover as well.
"We're certain of the fact he's going to be playing a huge part in this Test match."
Selectors, however, have chosen two pacemen for the squad in Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson instead of a second spinner.
Remember the last Ashes when McGrath didn't play? I wonder who won those matches...
Also, look here
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