The pristine trappings of Test cricket came to the fire on a tricky, wet Tuesday at Edgbaston. As the proper noun/name suggests, it was edge-of-the-seat stuff in the first Ashes Test where world champions Australia pulled off an incredible victory against England.
These days, cricket is consumed in many forms, like food. You get instant food, which is bad for health (T20 cricket), you get slightly better-cooked food (ODIs) and then you have the well-prepared menu spread over the proper course (Tests). What this Test match provided was more than a glimpse into the glorious uncertainties of cricket.
First things first, the men who made this win possible deserve praise, applause, and encomium. For sheer application, longevity, and staying prowess at the crease, Usman Khawaja had done plenty to be in the news on all days. To bat on each of the five days of the Test was incredible, not just in statistical terms. He has always been a batter with immense potential. Khawaja had offered a glimpse of his character and composure even earlier this year in the BGT Series in India, against India.
Yet, to transform the art of batting into a sublime state, like camphor, was lovely. It was like smelling something good: burn, emanate aroma, then blow out. Khawaja may have blown out early, in the sense he did not stay till the end in the second innings. Yet, the gritty Aussies came with the right answers in the end, where captain Pat Cummins showed he was not going to go down without fighting.
For sheer reasons of providing the last moment thrills on a rainy day, Pat Cummins showed why he is rightly the Aussie skipper. With the red cherry, he is lean, mean, and menacing. Yet, to see Pat flourish with the bat, and conquer the Englishmen in their own den was coming. And the partner he had towards the finish was Nathan Lyon. Pat’s essay at the crease was one of conquering adversity, facing bowling of a nature where the leg side was packed.
Bazball came biting for the Englishmen
The English bowlers’ preponderance to pepper the pitch with short-pitched stuff was a reflection of how they had run out of ideas. For, there was hardly any juice in the pitch. In the end, Pat Cummins stripped the Englishmen with his shot execution in the off-side region!
These kinds of contests test, tease, and torment the best batsmen, err batters, which sounds more like a baseball term! Sadly, now, it is accepted by the high priests in the ICC. For fans of cricket who now have a rich variety of choices to pick from, the Ashes smearing has begun. To be sure, the contest spread over five days was riveting. That the Englishmen dared to declare on the first day was bold. However, they could not bowl out the Aussies as expected, despite the presence of fast-bowling romantic relic Stuart Broad.
In their second essay, England were unable to score big. Yet, on Tuesday, the chase was on the cards for the Aussies. The outcome was pregnant with three possibilities: a draw, England winning, and the Aussies winning. That the last outcome happened with two wickets to spare has set social media on fire. There has been this constant chatter of Bazball with England. Twitter quickly changed the narrative to “Cumball,” cheeky that, as “cum” has a slang meaning as well in reference to jerking! It needed research to realize “Cumball” was with reference to Cummins batting!
Come what may, Aussie Twitter users at 4 am local time Down Under had no issues sitting up late and cheering their squad. Of course, Khawaja was the man of the match. There was not an iota of doubt over that. Yet, for sheer effulgence, keeping it alive till the closing stages, and then Pat Cummins, showing he was not just happy with grabbing four wickets, showed his hunger.
For the visitors, England has become home, really! To beat the lousy Indians in the ICC Test Championship final ten days ago and then defeat England is a big deal. Aussie cricket was strong, potent. In the past. When they did not do well in the ICC T20 World Cup last year at home, there was outrage. For a nation that loves sport and its heroes, Pat Cummins has shown he leads like a Field Marshall. Just imagine, with four more Tests to come up, and Steve Smith exploding into form, hopefully, how exciting it will be.
Did we hear someone say Test cricket is boring? No, not unless you were watching some sh*tty T20 league cricket, which happens today in every nook and corner of the world these days, and gets TV coverage. In an era where India versus Pakistan in a Test series is unthinkable, it is the Ashes which is gripping. The hype was always there, now it’s humiliation for England.
Be sure, changing the narrative will be hard for England captain Ben Stokes.
