Ashes 2005 | England vs Australia, 1st Test at London.
You take the rough with the smooth if you give your heart to cricket. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, it's a lifelong commitment that demands steadfastness in adversity and a healthy appreciation of the good times, when they deign to make an appearance. On days such as the Sunday of the Lord's Test, it requires a doctorate in psychology to understand the full gamut of emotions that your average fan is subjected to.
In what other sport but cricket could you get 26,000 people splashing around in the puddles of a filthily overcast ground, waiting in vain for a game that might never resume? There was no question of giving up the ghost for the vast majority of the fans huddled beneath the stands, around the bars, under the awnings and in the sponsor's tents, even though - and here's the rub - many of them would have been overjoyed to see no play in the day whatsoever.
That's the tricky trade-off you get when your side has played like mugs and been left needing a miracle to salvage a draw. Years of anticipation, months of queuing, weeks and days of bribery, arm-twisting and finger-crossing to secure your golden ticket for the pivotal fourth day of the Ashes opener, and the contest is already over bar the downpour.
Australia's numerous fans - most of whom had passed the time by paying their respects to the Ashes urn in the Lord's Museum - were left with no such dilemma, but for the remainder of the ground, the choice of denouements was stark. Take your beating or leave empty-handed. In the end, once it became clear that the miracle had blown over, along with the clouds, there was no more appropriate finish to a breathless game than another masterclass from Australia's two champion bowlers.
The day had begun with Shane Warne needing two more scalps to fulfil one of his few remaining ambitions in cricket, to post his name on the dressing-room honours board. He did his damnedest, suckering Steve Harmison with a first-ball flipper and shaving Simon Jones's off stump with his biggest ripper of the match. But the day was ended by his co-legend, Glenn McGrath, a man who has never failed to post his name on that same board.
Three appearances in eight years, three Man of the Match performances, and in this game, two devastating, decisive spells. If McGrath's 5 for 2 in 31 balls in the first innings was an insurmountable display of skill and - in the circumstances - nerve, then his 4 for 3 in 23 balls today was a ruthless purging of England's last vestiges of resistance. Nine wickets in the match, and all of them different batsmen as well. The only notable scalp to escape his wrath was, in fact, England's heroic villain, Kevin Pietersen, who became the eighth England player to record two half-centuries on debut.
#viral #cricketreels #cricketlover #icc #viralvideo #freddy #flintoff #andrewflintoff #england #ecb #british #ashes #ashesseries #ausvseng #engvsauslive #engvsaustest
You take the rough with the smooth if you give your heart to cricket. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, it's a lifelong commitment that demands steadfastness in adversity and a healthy appreciation of the good times, when they deign to make an appearance. On days such as the Sunday of the Lord's Test, it requires a doctorate in psychology to understand the full gamut of emotions that your average fan is subjected to.
In what other sport but cricket could you get 26,000 people splashing around in the puddles of a filthily overcast ground, waiting in vain for a game that might never resume? There was no question of giving up the ghost for the vast majority of the fans huddled beneath the stands, around the bars, under the awnings and in the sponsor's tents, even though - and here's the rub - many of them would have been overjoyed to see no play in the day whatsoever.
That's the tricky trade-off you get when your side has played like mugs and been left needing a miracle to salvage a draw. Years of anticipation, months of queuing, weeks and days of bribery, arm-twisting and finger-crossing to secure your golden ticket for the pivotal fourth day of the Ashes opener, and the contest is already over bar the downpour.
Australia's numerous fans - most of whom had passed the time by paying their respects to the Ashes urn in the Lord's Museum - were left with no such dilemma, but for the remainder of the ground, the choice of denouements was stark. Take your beating or leave empty-handed. In the end, once it became clear that the miracle had blown over, along with the clouds, there was no more appropriate finish to a breathless game than another masterclass from Australia's two champion bowlers.
The day had begun with Shane Warne needing two more scalps to fulfil one of his few remaining ambitions in cricket, to post his name on the dressing-room honours board. He did his damnedest, suckering Steve Harmison with a first-ball flipper and shaving Simon Jones's off stump with his biggest ripper of the match. But the day was ended by his co-legend, Glenn McGrath, a man who has never failed to post his name on that same board.
Three appearances in eight years, three Man of the Match performances, and in this game, two devastating, decisive spells. If McGrath's 5 for 2 in 31 balls in the first innings was an insurmountable display of skill and - in the circumstances - nerve, then his 4 for 3 in 23 balls today was a ruthless purging of England's last vestiges of resistance. Nine wickets in the match, and all of them different batsmen as well. The only notable scalp to escape his wrath was, in fact, England's heroic villain, Kevin Pietersen, who became the eighth England player to record two half-centuries on debut.
#viral #cricketreels #cricketlover #icc #viralvideo #freddy #flintoff #andrewflintoff #england #ecb #british #ashes #ashesseries #ausvseng #engvsauslive #engvsaustest
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