The Ashes Are Alive
The next episode of the Kingsgrove Sports Centre Podcast promises to be a great watch/listen!
Regardless which side of the Anglo-Australian divide you sit, you cannot deny that what transpired at Headingley is one of the greatest moments in cricket history; not just Ashes cricket, not just Test cricket, but the sport as a whole has just witnessed something so incredible that the great-grandchildren of those lucky enough to watch it will know about it, and be able to draw inspiration from it.
The biggest criticism of Test cricket is how it can be boring at times; imagine a game that goes for 5 days and can still end up without a winner! That very format is why it is magic. Somewhat inevitably there are comparisons to Headingley 1981, Ian Botham smashing 149 as England followed on at Headingley and Bob Willis bowling like a man possessed to win the game for England not long after bookies had given them odds of 500-1.
Or what about Edgbaston 2005, where Australia got so close to winning only to be denied by 2 runs? Balance the ledger, Australians own amazing last day fight at Adelaide in 2006 to roll England over and chase the runs down on their way to a crushing 5-0 victory? Moments that cricket fans on either side will never forget, and nor should they, because that is why Test cricket is the greatest sporting theatre in the world and the curtain has come down on the latest episode; Ben Stokes at Headingley in 2019.
It is difficult to not have sympathy for the vast majority of the Australian cricket public after missing out on something by such a fine margin, many will have been hurt by it and English fans know all too well how it feels to both get completely thrashed or miss out by the tiniest deficit. I do have sympathy for many of my Australian friends, but the ones I have no sympathy for are the ones who suffer from a magnanimity deficiency and blame the whole result solely on the umpires. The ones who believe their side (whether it is England or Australia) have a divine right to win The Ashes and to hell with how well the opposition played.
Since that amazing finish on Sunday night/Monday morning I have heard and read comments along the lines of it being a joke, a disgrace, and a travesty of justice that Australia didn't win that match. With 2 runs required to win there was a huge LBW appeal against Ben Stokes from the bowling of Nathan Lyon, and the initial reaction was that it was out and Australia had won by 1 run. The umpire, the one whose decision matters, disagreed and gave it "not out". Replays suggested that this was an error and it should have been given.
Make no mistake, I believe that it was the wrong decision. But it was also the right decision. You can talk all you like about how it was clearly hitting the stumps, however the basic rule of umpiring is "If in doubt, its not out." Joel Wilson was clearly not 100% in his mind that it was out (rightly or wrongly), and because of that element of his own doubt, he gave it not out. Rightly. At the end of it all the umpires are human and in the whole world of sport it is human error as much as human skill that makes it compelling viewing, and it isn't this human's error that decided the Test match.
Technology is in place to assist the umpires, and teams get two reviews per innings to challenge an umpiring decision. Australia had one review left when England needed 8 to win and Jack Leach was struck on the pads with absolutely no hope of it being out. The on-field umpire, Chris Gaffaney, correctly called it not out and Tim Paine inexplicably decided to review on the off-chance it might be out. The pressure of the situation led him to call for it, and it was wasted. Subsequently it wasn't available when he needed it 5 minutes later and it will haunt him for a while. To quote Tim Paine in the post match interview: "I certainly have a different appreciation for umpires now because we get them as wrong as they do at times."
Australia had many many chances to win that match, and they missed them; difficult dropped catches from Marcus Harris and David Warner aside, Nathan Lyon had the golden opportunity to win the match and retain the Ashes the ball before the LBW appeal, and uncharacteristically fumbled the chance to run out Jack Leach by several metres. Again, Australia would have won by one run. It is interesting how those fans look to blame someone and focus on a single person, an outsider such as an umpire. Australia should have won, they threw away their chances, which were plentiful.
It isn't all doom and gloom for the visitors, let us not forget that this is the same England team that were bowled out for 67 in the first innings. Australia's batting also underperformed in both innings at Headingley but they will be boosted by the return of Steve Smith at Old Trafford next week and that alone puts England under a lot of pressure. Historically Old Trafford has had pace and bounce and
that will play into the Australian's hands with Cummins, Pattinson and Hazlewood already hitting their straps and Mitchell Starc well rested and waiting in the wings. The Ashes are alive and the advantage is very much with Australia.
For England it is a very different skyline. This will rank as one of, if not THE greatest Test match victory in their history, certainly in the top 3. You can talk about momentum all you like but England HAVE to win at least one of the next two matches and prevent Australia from winning either. Australia will be hurting, and quite rightly. Mentally that will be a tough hurdle to jump, but beware of the wounded animal. You can never write off a champion, and with Steve Smith returning it will be a very different game. All in all, it makes for the most compelling Ashes series as a whole since 2005 and the potential for English cricket to have its greatest summer after winning the World Cup. If that isn't enough motivation for the Australians they should head straight to Heathrow now. The Ashes are alive, and we all love it.
Follow all of the KSC podcasts at kscpodcast.com and use that hashtag #kscpodcast.
Regardless which side of the Anglo-Australian divide you sit, you cannot deny that what transpired at Headingley is one of the greatest moments in cricket history; not just Ashes cricket, not just Test cricket, but the sport as a whole has just witnessed something so incredible that the great-grandchildren of those lucky enough to watch it will know about it, and be able to draw inspiration from it.
The biggest criticism of Test cricket is how it can be boring at times; imagine a game that goes for 5 days and can still end up without a winner! That very format is why it is magic. Somewhat inevitably there are comparisons to Headingley 1981, Ian Botham smashing 149 as England followed on at Headingley and Bob Willis bowling like a man possessed to win the game for England not long after bookies had given them odds of 500-1.
Or what about Edgbaston 2005, where Australia got so close to winning only to be denied by 2 runs? Balance the ledger, Australians own amazing last day fight at Adelaide in 2006 to roll England over and chase the runs down on their way to a crushing 5-0 victory? Moments that cricket fans on either side will never forget, and nor should they, because that is why Test cricket is the greatest sporting theatre in the world and the curtain has come down on the latest episode; Ben Stokes at Headingley in 2019.
It is difficult to not have sympathy for the vast majority of the Australian cricket public after missing out on something by such a fine margin, many will have been hurt by it and English fans know all too well how it feels to both get completely thrashed or miss out by the tiniest deficit. I do have sympathy for many of my Australian friends, but the ones I have no sympathy for are the ones who suffer from a magnanimity deficiency and blame the whole result solely on the umpires. The ones who believe their side (whether it is England or Australia) have a divine right to win The Ashes and to hell with how well the opposition played.
Since that amazing finish on Sunday night/Monday morning I have heard and read comments along the lines of it being a joke, a disgrace, and a travesty of justice that Australia didn't win that match. With 2 runs required to win there was a huge LBW appeal against Ben Stokes from the bowling of Nathan Lyon, and the initial reaction was that it was out and Australia had won by 1 run. The umpire, the one whose decision matters, disagreed and gave it "not out". Replays suggested that this was an error and it should have been given.
Make no mistake, I believe that it was the wrong decision. But it was also the right decision. You can talk all you like about how it was clearly hitting the stumps, however the basic rule of umpiring is "If in doubt, its not out." Joel Wilson was clearly not 100% in his mind that it was out (rightly or wrongly), and because of that element of his own doubt, he gave it not out. Rightly. At the end of it all the umpires are human and in the whole world of sport it is human error as much as human skill that makes it compelling viewing, and it isn't this human's error that decided the Test match.
Technology is in place to assist the umpires, and teams get two reviews per innings to challenge an umpiring decision. Australia had one review left when England needed 8 to win and Jack Leach was struck on the pads with absolutely no hope of it being out. The on-field umpire, Chris Gaffaney, correctly called it not out and Tim Paine inexplicably decided to review on the off-chance it might be out. The pressure of the situation led him to call for it, and it was wasted. Subsequently it wasn't available when he needed it 5 minutes later and it will haunt him for a while. To quote Tim Paine in the post match interview: "I certainly have a different appreciation for umpires now because we get them as wrong as they do at times."
Australia had many many chances to win that match, and they missed them; difficult dropped catches from Marcus Harris and David Warner aside, Nathan Lyon had the golden opportunity to win the match and retain the Ashes the ball before the LBW appeal, and uncharacteristically fumbled the chance to run out Jack Leach by several metres. Again, Australia would have won by one run. It is interesting how those fans look to blame someone and focus on a single person, an outsider such as an umpire. Australia should have won, they threw away their chances, which were plentiful.
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| Steve Smith will be back |
that will play into the Australian's hands with Cummins, Pattinson and Hazlewood already hitting their straps and Mitchell Starc well rested and waiting in the wings. The Ashes are alive and the advantage is very much with Australia.
For England it is a very different skyline. This will rank as one of, if not THE greatest Test match victory in their history, certainly in the top 3. You can talk about momentum all you like but England HAVE to win at least one of the next two matches and prevent Australia from winning either. Australia will be hurting, and quite rightly. Mentally that will be a tough hurdle to jump, but beware of the wounded animal. You can never write off a champion, and with Steve Smith returning it will be a very different game. All in all, it makes for the most compelling Ashes series as a whole since 2005 and the potential for English cricket to have its greatest summer after winning the World Cup. If that isn't enough motivation for the Australians they should head straight to Heathrow now. The Ashes are alive, and we all love it.
Follow all of the KSC podcasts at kscpodcast.com and use that hashtag #kscpodcast.
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