Australia win an Ashes thriller at Edgbaston by the barest of margins.
“What a game of cricket.”
You could leave it right there and walk away in consumable reflection: or you might write 800 words, 8,000, or a bloody book if you had the time and inclination.
“What a game of bloody cricket.”
A reader sent a series of WhatsApp message early Wednesday AEST. Checking back, there were three messages:
"This is riveting."
"This is Test cricket, in all its glory," and:
"Please don’t let anyone ever tell you it is dying or is dead. And admonish anyone who suggests four-day Tests are the answer."
I replied to the last message,
"You have Buff Lehmann to thank." Darren Lehmann, when he was coaching Australia, lobbied strongly for four-day Tests.
And, yes, the sender was barracking* for Australia.
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Where to start? I guess the last men standing:
In another Edgbaston Ashes classic, steady-as-you-go Australia sealed a remarkable victory over catch-me-if-you-can England, thanks in the main to a pulsating 55-run partnership piloted by Pat Cummins and ably supported by Nathan Lyon.
Those in attendance were treated to scenes of pure theatre, as has become the norm with Edgbaston Ashes matches; Peter Carey would be challenged to write a more compelling script.
Cummins and Lyon came together at the fall of the eighth wicket—the curse of using an early nightwatchman—with what seemed a mountain to climb given their own first innings contributions and the demise of the last recognised batter, Alex Carey, who fell to an outstanding caught-and-bowled effort by England’s part-time off spinner, Joe Root.
Initially, the 54 runs required were reduced in a hurry, with captain Ben Stokes persisting with Root’s twirlers before being forced to go back to his trump card, Stuart Broad, and the new pantomime villain, Ollie Robinson. Cummins had swung lustily and effectively at Root, forcing Stokes to turn back to his pacers—noticeably, though, not Jimmy Anderson.
Both Broad and Robinson used the short ball excessively, to good effect at times, and then—as is the norm in these situations—too predictably as the partnership grew and the runs required shrank, forcing Stokes to adopt all manner of fields, including a leg side no-man's land position where he himself spilt an extremely difficult overhead chance—one that Stokes is prone to pulling off.
At 7.21pm, after a stop-start day five that was packed with excruciating cricket, Pat Cummins deflected another short ball from Ollie Robinson down to third man. What seemed like an easy double morphed into the match-winning boundary when Harry Brook and Zak Crawley combined, not as required, to deflect the new Dukes across the rope. Victory was secured—Cummins proceeded to hoist Lyon clean off terra firma.
Steady-as-you-go Australia (tortoise) had exacted a two-wicket victory on their ebullient hosts. Fitting in a way that England's chorus leader, Robinson, conceded the winning runs. Cricket karma is not to be messed with!
Australian fans that were present danced euphorically in the aisles while their friendly foes headed for the M6 and beyond.
Pat Cummins was unable to conceal his joy; there’s little doubt this victory meant the world to him on many different levels (which we might get to in a separate post).
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As mentioned previously, Ollie Robinson had a lot to say during this Test Match, spraying the affable Usman Khawaja in the first innings and then maintaining a hard-line position in a later press conference, where he speculated that Australia’s tail was of the furry nature (rabbits), meaning he saw nine, ten, and jack all as No 11s—he must have permanently erased the inglorious images of his own batting in the last Ashes series.
One of the furry backs, Nathan Lyon, no doubt enjoyed his can of Stella Tuesday evening with Robinson’s words close at hand. In fact, Lyon could make a strong argument for owning the shot-of-the-day with a lofted step-drive over mid-on off Stuart Broad; there was no sweeter strike all day.
As for Khawaja, he would have enjoyed something non-alcoholic, and he just batted England and Robinson into submission.
Pick your targets, Mrs. Robinson—and don’t poke the Bear!
From an impartial viewpoint, it’s evident that England has more head-scratching to do over the next seven days than Australia.
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will not double fail again.
Usman Khawaja generally thrives in a series where he starts well—clearly, Root aside, his batting and batting method were the difference between the two teams.
Nathan Lyon will dominate the spinning space in the absence of a worthy adversary. Josh Hazlewood will be better for his overs. Scott Boland accepted a supporting role and a bit of stick with aplomb. Alex Carey lapped Jonny Bairstow in a straight-out matchup.
And captain Pat Cummins was simply outstanding. As was his support staff, headed up by the cenobitic, Andrew McDonald.
Across the aisle, many more issues are present:
Does England persist with Bairstow’s mercurial glovework?
Ben Duckett will be returning to the comforts of Lords; however, his two outs should be causing some concern to him and Marcus Trescothick, England’s batting coach.
Ben Stokes is clearly not fit to bowl.
Moeen Ali seems likely to miss with his injured finger, forcing England to go to the honey jar they initially shunned. Will Jacks looks like a decent replacement.
Jimmy Anderson looked out of sorts, which is indeed the rather large elephant in the room. England clearly needs more ball speed in their attack. Does Anderson and Robinson fit in the same XI?
Brendon McCullum, Paul Collingwood, and Rob Key have some pondering to do—the good news for England is they are just 0-1 down with 70 minutes to play. Roll on, Lords.
Thanks Nick
Great commentary on a brilliant game of Test Cricket - not only a test of cricket skills. Cricket lovers like us were also tested - my sleep deprivation is in need of repair.
The next Test will offer all sorts of problems for the English team. I see 3 or 4 changes for them - but who really cares about them - ?
Go the Ussie Machine
Great stuff again Nick. You had me diving for the Funk and Wagnalls for cenobitic. Brilliant