Photos: Australian Men’s cricket team facebook page
THE build up to the Test Match Cricket Ashes series this year has been like that of State of Origin in Rugby League. A few twists and turns here and there, a dodgy hammy thrown in, a golfing injury the day before the test started…it was the melting pot of mystique in the lead up to the first test in Perth. And what a test it was! It had statisticians reaching for their data and they came up with some extraordinary facts!
At 1:05pm local time on day 2, England led by 105 runs with 9 second innings wickets still in hand. At 5:41pm local time on day 2 Australia won the Test Match by 8 wickets!
It was the first 2 day Ashes test since 1890, and it was the 3rd quickest Ashes test in terms of balls bowled, having to go all the way back to 1888 to find a quicker won Ashes test! Only 847 balls were bowled in the first test.
Mitchell Starc had his best ever test match figures, while Scott Boland obliterated Brett Lee’s record of the fastest quick bowler to nab 50 wickets here in Oz. Brett Lee took 2026 deliveries, Boland 1638! Meanwhile, Travis Head’s 2nd innings at bat had to be seen to be believed. Notching up a 69 ball century with Gilchrist-like dominance. For the English, the drought continues for their supposed best batter Joe Root, who has now played 14 Ashes Tests in Australia for no centuries and no wins!
The way in which the English threw away their wickets in the 2nd innings was dumbfounding. The ‘Bazball’ type of play they have adopted failed miserably, and if the same style of play is taken with them to Brisbane they’ll fail miserably again. The Australian Cricket board have revealed they are out of pocket around $3 million after 3 days of action was lost. And the broadcasters of the cricket, Fox Sports and Channel 7 would have also been fuming over lost eyes on the screens, given England’s second rate batting performance.
Records may have tumbled in Perth for the opening of the summer of cricket, but if they continue to, you get the feeling it’s going to be a long hot summer for Ben Stokes and his fellow team members.
MG (random Westie) OAM
