On a wet and tricky Tuesday, the pristine trappings that are Test cricket were put to the test at Edgbaston. As the name/proper noun suggests, the first Ashes Test was a thrilling experience. World champions Australia won an amazing victory over England.
Cricket is now consumed in many different forms, just like food. T20 cricket is instant food that’s bad for your health. ODIs are slightly better, and Tests have a well-prepared menu. This Test match was more than just a glimpse of the wonderful uncertainties that are cricket.
The men who helped make this victory possible deserve applause and praise. Usman Khawaja has done a lot to make the headlines on every day. Not just statistically, but also in terms of his ability to bat each day of the Test match was remarkable. He’s always been a batsman with enormous potential. Khawaja showed his composure and character in the BGT Series against India earlier this year.
It was a beautiful thing to see the art of batting transformed into something sublime, like camphor. It was a bit like smelling good things: you burn, emit aroma and then blow out. Khawaja might have blown early in that he didn’t stay until the end of the second innings. The gritty Aussies, led by Pat Cummins, came up with the right answers at the end.
Pat Cummins proved that he was the rightful skipper of Australia by providing last-minute thrills during a rainy afternoon. He is a lean, menacing, and mean man with the red cherry. Pat was going to be able to dominate the Englishmen at their own game. Nathan Lyon was his partner towards the end. Pat’s essay on the crease was a story of triumphing over adversity. He faced bowling that was of a nature in which the leg side of the ball was packed.
The Englishmen were bitten by the Bazball
The English bowlers were out of ideas, as they were adamant about sprinkling the pitch with short pitches. There was very little juice on the pitch. Pat Cummins, with his off-side shot execution, finally stripped the Englishmen!
These contests are designed to test, tease and torture the best batters, or batsmen as it is more commonly called in baseball. Sadly, the ICC high priests have accepted it. The Ashes have begun for cricket fans who now have many options to choose from. The five-day contest was certainly exciting. It was brave of the Englishmen to declare the match on the first day. They could not beat the Aussies, as was expected, even though Stuart Broad , the fast-bowling romantic, was present.
In their second essay England failed to score a big goal. On Tuesday, however, Australia was in the hunt. There were three possible outcomes: a draw; England winning and the Aussies prevailing. Social media was ablaze with excitement when the final result came in with just two wickets remaining. The constant talk of bazball has been going on with England. Twitter changed the narrative quickly to “Cumball,” clever that, since “cum” also has a slang definition in reference to jerking. Research was required to discover that “Cumball’s” reference was to Cummins batting!
Aussies on Twitter were up and cheering for their team at 4am local time Down Under. Khawaja, of course, was the star of the show. It was a certainty. Pat Cummins’ hunger was evident in his sheer effulgence and keeping the game alive until the final stages.
England is home for the visitors. It’s a huge deal to beat the Indians ten days earlier in the ICC Test Championship Final and then defeat England. Aussie cricket was strong, potent. In the past. There was outrage when they didn’t do well at the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia last year. Pat Cummins is a Field Marshall for a country that loves sports and its heroes. Imagine how exciting it would be if Steve Smith were to explode into form and play well in the remaining four Tests.
Were we told that Test cricket was boring? You wouldn’t be able to tell unless you watched some shitty T20 League cricket. This is played in all corners of the globe and gets TV coverage. The Ashes are gripping in an age where India and Pakistan playing a Test Series is unthinkable. The hype has always been there, but now England is humiliated.
