If this summer's Ashes needed building up any further, the action of the past four and a half days will have whetted the appetite of any cricketing fan for the next few weeks. Exactly the start this series needed, with the 1st test, held at Nottingham's Trent Bridge, having a little bit of everything. Fantastic bowling, batting mistakes, controversies, involving both humans and technology, a fantastic debut and finished off with a nail-biting final day. In this post, I will review the key action over the past few days, analysing what it means for this Ashes series, and for the state of cricket moving into the future.
Looking at my Ashes preview post, I noted that people expected England to end this series as comfortable winners. Whilst I do want England to win, I also want a good entertaining game of cricket. Based on the last five days, I am glad to report that both still seem on the cards. A truly enthralling opening test, and if we get four more like it, we can begin talking about the greatest Ashes series ever. Reminiscent of the famous 2005 Ashes test at Edgebaston, where England won by just 2 runs, first test of 2013 will be remembered in the same breath.
Day 1 began as almost all test matches begin: tentatively and nervously. This led to no end of batting mistakes, causing an incredible 14 wickets to fall in the one day. At first, the toss seemed a good one to win, with England coming out the initial victors. The first session was probably honours even, with England putting on an encouraging 98 runs for the loss of only 2 wickets. The second session saw the demise of the dangerous England middle-order. Trott led the batting attack, only to lose his wicket just short of his half century, whilst the dangerous Pietersen, Bell and Prior all went for small scores.This session belonged to the Australians, and particularly Peter Siddle. The experienced Australian swing bowler, of whom much is expected from Down Under, took his 8th career Test 5 wicket haul. As outlined earlier, he will be integral to any Australian success this summer. Starting the final session at 185-6, after a brief fightback by Broad and Bairstow, England's tail collapsed. From 213-6, the final four wickets fell for just 2 runs, in an incredible display of batting incompetance. The primary beneficiary was young Mitchell Starc, who had the opportunity of a hat-trick, after the wickets of Bairstow and Finn in successive balls. England's first innings did little to settle the nerves of the watching fans, who knew they had posted a below-average total. In response, the Australians began even worse, with big-hitters Shane Watson and Ed Cowan going in successive balls to Finn, before James Anderson took the big wicket of captain Michael Clarke. In danger of total collapse, the Aussies dug in, putting on a further 50 runs for the loss of one wicket, leaving them at 75-4 by the close. A scoreline that left both believing they had a chance, but it would be England that would be the happier, as the Aussies failed to convert their chance to jump on England's batting mistakes.
Day 2 will be remembered for the emergence of a potential star: 19-year-old Ashton Agar. Amost single-handedly, he dug his side out of trouble, with records tumbling around him as he went. However, the day started fairly positively for the Aussies, with Steve Smith making the first half-century of the 2013 Ashes. But once again, the pendulum swung, as Smith, Haddin, Siddle, Starc and Pattinson all going in double quick time, with Jimmy Anderson the tormentor-in-chief. These wickets left Australia in disarray at 117-9, and a comfortable victory for England looked on the cards. Step forward Ashton Agar. Little was expected when the young man walked to the crease. After nearly three hours, and 98 valuable runs for Australia, the match was back in the balance. I have to admit, even as an England supporter, I was willing him on to his maiden Test 100, instead of leaving him with a regret. But, as the ball sailed towards Graeme Swann at 280-9, the dreams died. Credit must also go to Agar's hitting partner, Phil Hughes, for an excellent knock of 81, allowing the debutant to make his shots. The batting mistakes showed little sign of abating for England's second innings, as opener Joe Root went cheaply, before the usually reliable Jonathan Trott went for a golden duck. This put England bang in trouble, still trailing by 54. Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen stabilised the innings, taking England to the close without further loss, and setting Day 3 up as the crucial one in this Test.
Unfortunately, the third day produced the biggest controversy of the Ashes so far, which overshadowed the majority of the play. Involving Stuart Broad, it came after an initial England revival from captain Cook and Pietersen which saw them reach 121-2. Both then lost their wickets in quick succession, bringing Ian Bell to the crease. His innings would be pivotal, putting England in a commanding position. His partnership with Broad in particular set England up for the final couple of days. However, here is where the controversy lies. At 297-6, Broad clearly edged an Ashton Agar delivery through to Michael Clarke at 2nd slip. Out all day long. Unfortunately, Aleem Dar remained unmoved, perhaps because the ball flicked clearly off the gloves of Australian wicket keeper Brad Haddin. The more disappointing sight, however, was the fact that Broad refused to walk off, despite such a obvious nick. To me this smacks of 'Roy Carroll syndrome', where a player knowingly decieves the officials to gain an advantage. To those supporting Broad's decision, the phrase 'not cricket' was devised for exactly these situations, as the game of cricket was seen as the pinnacle of sporting fair play, and the phrase was used to arbitrate other moral decisions. To see Broad clearly disregard this high moral standing was disappointing, and it shows that not even the sport that created the phrase, and which prides itself on its morality, is immune from cheating. Thanks to this, England were able to get to the close with a healthy lead of 261, keeping the critical partnership of Bell and Broad at the crease.
Day 4 saw Ian Bell make a fantastic hundred, in an innings that he described as one of his best. This allowed the English to set an imposing target of 311, after another back innings collapse of the English tail. A strong opening partnership for the Aussies was crucial in order to chase down the 311, and Watson and Rodgers started in fantastic form, making it to 84-0 by the drinks break. Watson, who has often been criticised for his inability to convert his medium scores into large ones, then went next ball. Joe Root's maiden Test wicket of Ed Cowan just before tea gave England the lift they needed going into the final session, but still left Australia in with a chance. That chance was seemingly extinguished in the remaining session. The wickets of firstly in form Rodgers, Clarke, Smith and Hughes put England on the brink of a superb opening Test victory. Unfortunately for Australia, it was here where their poor decision-making told, as captain Clarke has been accused of being a touch too trigger-happy with the review system. This led to 'Broad-gate' on day 3, and to derision over his own dismissal on day 4, as the Australian captain seemingly wasted all of his reviews on each day. In contrast, Alastair Cook has been seen as a wise decision-maker in terms of reviews, snaring the wicket of Hughes against the decision of the umpire, and taking his time before using the DRS. A good example to many captains, as technology can only benefit sport, but must be used properly so as not to be frustrating.
The final day began with the odds stacked heavily in the hosts' favour. With England needing just the 4 wickets of the tail-enders, and Australia needing another 137 runs, it looked a case of when and not if. And with wickets falling in clumps, sooner rather than later appeared the mindset. However, with first-innings hero Ashton Agar at the crease, anything was possible. The first few overs passed without incident, with Australia putting valuable runs onto their total, and putting the pressure on the English bowlers. Then came the breakthrough. Agar was caught at slip from the bowling of Anderson to give England the relief they needed. Starc and Siddle came and went quickly, again to the bowling of Anderson, leaving England requiring just one wicket for that priceless victory. However, the curse of the number 11 struck once again. Brad Haddin, who had been at the crease overnight, continued to a battling 50, inviting Pattinson to trust him. As Australia got closer and closer to their target, memories of Edgebaston 2005 came flooding back. At 291-9 at lunch, you could have forgiven England for being decidedly nervous, as Australia threatened to snatch the test match away from them. Then another moment of controversy decided the match. A big appeal went up from Anderson and the English fielders after they believed Haddin nicked one through to Prior. Given not out, Cook made the decision to review. After a lengthy delay, in which HotSpot seemed to reveal a mark on the bat, the decision was reversed, leaving Haddin disraught and thrust the majority of Trent Bridge into raptures.
A first Test victory of 14 runs did little to calm the nerves of the England players or fans, in a topsy-turvy game in Nottingham. However, I for one hope for more of the same, as we saw one of the most memorable Ashes tests of all time. In youngsters like Ashton Agar, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, the sport of cricket, and the Ashes, is safe. I only hope we can say the same for the morality and fair play that should be instilled from the grassroots.
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