Geoff Wellsteed is in Australia for the Ashes and sends his reflections after the fourth Test at Melbourne.
The National Lottery is quite a simple game really. Strictly regulated, you buy a ticket and hope your numbers come up.
The Melbourne Test was rather a more complex lottery where the playing conditions were uncertain, and low numbers were particularly prominent. A post-match inquest will inevitably investigate how such a surface, which heavily favoured the bowlers, could have been deemed as satisfactory for such a showpiece event. Don’t be surprised if the curator is in the dole queue before too long.
England love a run chase, (so why did they decide to bat first on two occasions earlier in the series?), and eventually got over the winning line but not without a few scares. Set to score 175 batting last after twenty wickets fell on Day 1, (Aus 152, Eng 110) and then Australia were dismissed in less than two sessions on Day 2 for 132, was a steep climb.
Duckett batted like a drunkard but squeezed out 34 vital runs, Crawley the Tonbridgian with 37 runs, along with 40 from Bethell who was born in Barbados but educated at Rugby School, both looked rather more assured. The latter, only 22 years, without a first-class century and in front of 90k+ spectators contributed a very well made 40 when under huge pressure. How proud would his late grandfather, who played first-class for Barbados between 1964 -70, have been of his achievement? Very.
Root (15), Carse (6) and Stokes (2) all made minor scores before perishing, but in came Brook and with a few outrageous hits won the match for the visitors. The Barmies, waved their flags, and went through their repertoire of songs while the Aussies sat glumly, barely believing what had unfolded before them.
Expect to see a lot more of Jacob Bethell over the next decade. Had he got 50 (no one did in the entire match) and been there at the conclusion of the contest he might have got the Man of the Match award, but that rightly went to Josh Tongue for his seven wickets. He finished the first Aussie innings with consecutive ball dismissals but was denied the new ball by Stokes at the start of the second innings. Given that Boland, out for a golden duck, was the last Australian wicket to fall in their first knock and then opened as nightwatchman in the second, Tongue could possibly have achieved a hat-trick and have had the same batter out twice in consecutive balls! The mean England captain denied him that chance and the statto’s the opportunity to record a unique hat-trick. Shame!
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Test was the fact that Mitchell Starc was not the influence he had been in the first three matches. Like Boxer in Animal Farm, he had worked so hard but, perhaps, was spent? Not quite like Orwell told it but on this occasion, the lions beat the kangaroos. Lovely jubbly!
Finally, a quiz question. Five England cricketers have been born on Christmas Day. Name them! PS…from my last blog…..the nine England Test players with only three letters in their surname are:- Kabir Ali, Moeen Ali, CB Fry, Leslie Gay (double International) Rob Key, Harry Lee, Peter May, Chris Old, and Jason Roy.