The tale of Trent Bridge

The dust has settled from the dry Trent Bridge pitch and we've come to realise Ashton Agar isn't the second coming of Christ and we are starting to get Bumbles, Beefy and Nasser withdrawal symptoms. So with Lord's only two days away let's take a look back at the important issues that arose from the most riveting, compelling hour-to-hour test match I've ever seen.

Chris Rogers arm guard
Back at the parents house last Christmas, I pulled out my old cricket bag in a moment of nostalgia. Pads, gloves, thigh guard, bat, balls, helmet and box; they were all there. After ten years locked away they were still all nice and white, with the materials still firmly sown together (could have been the lack of time at the

crease that contributed).

Chris Rogers arm guard on the other hand.... no idea what to say. It inspired visions of Waugh's once red hanky and Ponting's faded baggy green, but Rogers and his arm guard, that's a new level of disrepair. We all know how long it's been  between drinks for the county cricket specialist, but surely after making a fifty in an Ashes match, he could head down to the local sport store and pick one up for a couple of pounds.

Trent Bridge outfield

What do Wimbledon and Trent Bridge have in common? The same curator. By the last day of the test the ground resembled centre court at Wimbledon on the final Sunday. The outfield, much like the service line, was more akin with an Aussie backyard during drought than a cricket field. He had obviously spent too much time on the plethora of other pitches just in case they wanted to change overnight. So many pitches but they still couldn't keep the main deck up to scratch.

DRS - It works

Michael Clarke is probably tracking at the same strike rate with reviews as Roger Federer right now. But for all the controversy the Decision Review System created, the outcome of the game wasn't affected as much as we all want to believe.

Play this match 5 years ago without DRS and this is how 3 key moments of this test would have played out:

1. Ashton Agar's stumping: While on 6 in his first test innings, Agar over stretched coming forward, causing his foot to leave the crease temporarily, before lifting and sliding it back. All the while eagle eye Prior is watching his foot waiting to whip the bails off. After 5 tedious minutes he is given not out. No matter if you think this is out or not, THIS DECISION IS NOT PART OF DRS. As we have seen for 20 years, run outs and stumpings are referred to the third umpire. In this case there wasn't enough conclusive evidence to give him out. It wasn't about overturning a decision, it was just the decision of the third umpire. So let's all get our hands off DRS's throat and move on.

2. Trott LBW to Starc: First ball of his second innings Trott gets a beauty from Starc that pitches in line, swings in, holds its line and takes Trott on the pads right in front. Given not out the Aussie's confidently challenge. Trott, looking as resolute as ever meets with Cook mid pitch. After the obligatory no ball review we see the front on shot, where it is hard to tell if there is an inside edge. Next, the front on hot spot camera shows no sign of an edge, even when the bat turns to face the camera. Then the final step, where we see the ball going nowhere but middle stump. So far the prosecution can rest its case. 

The side on hot spot, the defenses key witness is still getting over the Root dismissal from the ball before is unfortunately unavailable(apparently a camera can't take two pictures in the space of 2 minutes). The jury, in this case the third umpire, therefore has no choice but to give him out as all evidence points to no inside edge. This weight of evidence is proven again with....

3. Haddin edging the last ball: As with the above case, the third umpire had no choice based on the evidence presented but to overturn Alem Dar's original decision.

Two overturned decision, two correct decisions. The Agar stumping fell into the inconclusive evidence basket. Whatever your opinion of it, DRS was designed to increase the already outstanding 92% of decisions being correct by elite umpires into 96% of the decisions being correct. It is not there to eliminate every slightly wrong decision, but to remove the howlers and stinkers. The umpires call is a key part of sport, not just cricket, and taking every decision out of their hands changes the fabric of the game.

Michael Holding's tales

We were privileged to have two Tony Greig features throughout this test. As we reminisced about Greigy and Bill chatting away in the box, it was heartening to hear Beefy Botham and Michael Holding at work. For those of us that enjoyed Michael for many years on ABC's summer of cricket, it was a pleasure to listen to the Jamaican once more. Teamed up with Beefy they were a welcome change from the dullest English opener of the modern era and a former England captain.

The pinnacle of their new found partnership came when we had a Masterchef and 1980's shield cricket special. As the camera panned across the Australian Sports Tours group, Michael mentioned a team mate of his he played with in Launceston (pronounced in a very Jamaican accent). It turns out the team mate was a butcher who didn't stock pigs tails (who knew butchers in Tassie in the 80's didn't stock pig tails). So as Beefy inquired inquisitively, Michael proceeded to explain how he got them, taught this fellow how to brine them, before finishing off with a simple recipe of pigs tail, rice and beans. When Beefy tried to predict the next step in the recipe, by suggesting spices were added, Michael simply responded, 'No Beefy. Just pigs tail, rice and beans. Simple'. Well said Mr Holding.

The law of averages: (innings in parenthesis)

Shane Watson       35.18 (77)            Alastair Cook        48.94 (165)
Chris Rogers          21.75 (4)               Joe Root                  38.25 (13)
Ed Cowan               31.28 (32)             Jonathan Trott    49.28 (77)
Michael Clarke     51.75 (156)           Kevin Pieterson   48.88 (163)
Steve Smith           32.66 (16)             Ian Bell                  45.90 (152)
Phil Hughes           34.06 (47)            Jonny Bairstow   30.23 (15)
Brad Haddin          35.52 (75)             Matt Prior             43.67 (103)

Enough said!

Boof Lehmann - Coach, Mentor & Play-dough master

I don't know what I liked more. First we had Lehmann sitting contently on the balcony, watching the game and getting some sun with the radio in his ear. As the commentators got around to talking about him and what a great effort he has done as coach he just smiled and gave the thumbs up (don't think Mickey Arthur is doing the same right now). This could have been topped by Lehmann pacing the change rooms with what looked like Play-Doh in his hands for the final two hours, nervously squeezing, making shapes for Michael Clarke to admire. At times the Play-Doh looked like it was about to be hurled at the wall like an almost cooked piece of spaghetti, but he resisted, as this new Lehmann would. We can only hope it makes its way to Lord's, unlike Ed Cowan.

Ladies and gentleman, your Wanker of the Year

I couldn't wrap this up without handing out this year's Wanker of the Year award. It may only be mid July, but the race is over, stop the polling. I am confident I have this right, despite the fact NRL players are capable of anything, B grade celebrities will got to anything length to embarrass themselves, and of course we have Kevin 07, Bob Katter and Clive Palmer to keep us going through September. But Stuart Broad is without doubt the fanfare's inaugural Wanker of the Year.

Take a bow Stuart and please make sure you sign for the trophy when it arrives. Now I'm the first to admit that if I edge it to the keeper I don't walk, I wait for the finger to be raised, it's the law of the game. (It's the same as bowler’s decision in backyard cricket). But he may as well have hit it straight to Lehmann on the balcony as the contact between bat and ball couldn't have been much better. He will regret it no doubt, maybe not publicly, but that split second decision will haunt him. Maybe the same way that the 28 runs he scored after that point will haunt an Australian public that saw their country lose by just 14 runs.

Couple that with the amateur hour performance of taking his insole out of his shoe in a futile effort to get to lunch and the top spot on the dais is all his.

#agar #ashtag #howgooddoestwitterworkwithcricket

Ashton Agar's 98 is likely to be one of the most memorable cricket innings I will remember. It will take it's place beside Waugh's SCG 100 in the pantheon of innings I've seen. It wasn't about the score, it wasn't about the Ashes, it was about enjoying cricket. This was the most enjoyable innings of cricket I can remember. From his own enjoyment, beamed to the world with his smile, to his family’s excitement, then horror (brother’s shirt not included), to the way in which even the Pom’s were cheering him along.

Moments like this are what makes test cricket. From the depths of 9-117 to all out for 280, Ashton Agar, his unlikely accomplice Phil Hughes and fans all over Twitter and the world simply enjoyed the ride. Adam Scott's twin brother reminded us all why we love cricket, and why the Ashes is the pinnacle of this sport.