Ashes to Ashes

What is it about the Ashes series with Australia?  Tell an American that we have a sport where they play each other for over 6 hours a day for 5 days and it ends in a draw with the crowd screaming with excitement and they will think the Brits are mad. They are right of course.  Cricket is stark raving bonkers by anybody’s standards.

 But the strange cricketing goings on last week does bear close analysis.  Why for example was England playing Australia in Wales?  And while we are on the subject – why play a sport that is uniquely vulnerable to the weather in a so wet the natives have webbed feet?  Money in a word.  The only criteria that the ECB count on when deciding Test venues is money, money – and more money.

 And why was it a draw?  England took just 6 Australian wickets – Australia took 19 England wickets – three times more.  Try telling an American why this epic match resulted in a draw.

 Or an Australian for that matter.  For dark deeds were afoot under the darkening Welsh skies.  England was accused of time-wasting tactics to eat into the time available.  They even sent on a twelfth man to lend an extra hand.  Clearly the phrase it simply isn’t cricket needs to be updated.  For years sly cheating has become an integral part of the game.

 So here we are on a Monday morning and I have spent most of the weekend listening to the radio.  There is something timeless and wonderful about the BBC’s Test Match Special.  Many of the old favourites have passed on to that cricket ground in the Sky – but Blowers remains.  And Aggers is heir apparent to Brian Johnson, just as crusty old curmudgeon ‘Sir’ Geoffrey Boycott helps ensure Trevor Bailey’s dour approach to the game will not be missed too much.  Alas John Arlott was utterly irreplaceable.

 Five days sounds a long time to eke out a draw in a match you have been utterly outplayed in every sense of the word.  But before you can say ‘They think it’s all over’ – it isn’t.  Now we are off to Lords to start all over again.