I have the fondest memories of the Ashes and would like to share some of these with the Roarer community.
The ASHES! Seemingly trivial. Exceedingly precious. The only abiding cricket rivalry.
This may disappoint Indian fans, but the Indo-Australian rivalry is nouveau riche and has its genesis in 2001 when VVS thrillingly stopped the Steve Waugh juggernaut. Appropriately in the city of joy and sorrow.
The Ashes have been a munificent gift to cricket and the cricketers who have been a part of this rich tapestry should be celebrated.
For those Indians born post Independence, their cricketing heroes came mostly from Australia and, to a lesser extent, England. Bradman was part of the local cricket dialect and his struggles against Larwood brought cheer to a country. A nation free from subjugation but still shackled by discrimination and smug with its privileged hypocrisy.
Hobbs and Rhodes were winning a triangular Test series against Australia at the Oval in 1912, the same year that Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Calcutta had long been the fertile ground of the Bengali Renaissance.
An unparalleled time in India’s development. Literature, philosophy and social emancipation were the strong suits of Tagore, Ram Mohan Roy and Swami Vivekananda. More is the pity that they are not widely read by Indian politicians and the BCCI
My Aladdin’s magic lamp was, by today’s standards, a cumbersome and pre-digital Murphy radio. As big as a Victorian chest of drawers. Three short wave and four long wave channels. It was capable of picking up even smoke signals. The broken-glass sonority of John Arlott and the honey-menthol strine of Alan McGilvray.
The Murphy TA160 was a handsome walnut encased piece of furniture. The “T” denoting tropicality and presumably manufactured in Hertfordshire for export. The sound was usually crystal clear and you could hear the rustle of paper in the broadcasting booth.
Johnny Moyes and McGilvray were in my living room for the best part of a decade. It may have been Rex Alston, all the way from Melbourne as Jimmy Burke played his last innings for Australia. Frank Tyson extended that long front leg one last time for England. “Barnacle” Bailey got a golden caught Davidson bowled Lindwall and England never recovered, losing wickets at regular intervals.
Tyson claimed Burke in both innings for his only two wickets in the match. Cricket has this habit of throwing up oddities like these.
England lost despite having, arguably one of the best middle orders in the history of the game. May, Cowdrey, Graveney and Dexter would rival the three “W’s” and the fab four of Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly.
The Chappell’s, Redpath and Walters’s era and the more recent Ponting, Waughs and Gilchrist.
Has there ever been a more glittering array of bowlers than on that February afternoon at the MCG? Davidson, Lindwall, Meckiff, Rorke and Benaud for Australia. Trueman, Tyson, Bailey and Laker for England.
Between them they took 1425 wickets in their career. The averages of the fast bowlers highlight their greatness. Tyson with 18.56 leads this illustrious group with all the other quicks between 20 and 23. Benaud for a legspinner had the very good average of 27 and Laker with his 21.24 rivals Murali.
Alan McGilvray was my shepherd when everyone slept and the cawing of the crows had not yet shattered the dawn with their cries of “Howzat” It was winter in Calcutta and the sun like everyone else usually slept in.
With the volume on low I had my ears pressed against the warm cackle and static of my Murphy.
McGilvray was a purist and technically proficient in the nuances of swing and cut.
He was rigid in his adherence to the details. He gave you the score. You knew the state of play. He rarely embellished his commentary and was concise and precise. The ball was played either backward off point or forward. Not just to point. A pull was not a hook and a ball was only well struck if it hit the middle of the bat. None of this modern “tracer bullet” and “Citibank maximum.
Instead sample this: “Davidson off his sixteen paces bowls to Graveney and the ball cuts back in and hits the top of the bat. They scramble a single as the ball squirts fine of the shortleg, positioned for just such an edge. The score is now 2 for 175 and we are approaching tea on this the second day. The ball is due to be changed …”
If it had been John Arlott it would have been more lyrical than literal: Benaud has decided to come around the wicket. The footmarks are churned and the earthworms have come out to play. Is the sun setting somewhere on the Empire? What on earth is the Umpire doing?
To give you an idea of his prose, the following is from the BBC archives: “Old Trafford has redeemed itself with a last hour of flawless sunshine … Laker has taken all 10 wickets. All 10 wickets for 53 … the first man to congratulate him is Ian Johnson… Here’s the avenue for Laker, as May pushes him forward.”
One could imagine John Arlott commentating on a rained out day: “God is out in his gumboots and it is time for me to sample some Chateau Lafite.”
Brian Johnston, personable and chummy and prone to the odd gaffe. “There’s Neil Harvey standing at leg slip with his legs wide apart, waiting for a tickle.”
Again, courtesy of the BBC archives, the following just after Richie Benaud had bowled Australia to a victory at Old Trafford: “You must be feeling chuffed, Richie” “Yes, as a matter of fact I am. I bowled unchanged most of the afternoon.”
BJ (not Brendon Julian of Fox) asked Richie: “Was the last wicket batting of Davidson and McKenzie the turning point?”
Benaud replied: “It was never about individual innings. Lawry got a hundred but Harvey’s 35 was just as crucial. It was all about the team”
I was impressionable then and am still easily swayed by bravado and guts on the cricket field. Alan McGilvray satisfied the purist in me and Arlott reinforced the romantic.
Not Keats not Milton.
But two passionate men behind a mike. On John Arlott’s gravestone is the following engraving: “So clear you see those timeless things, That, like a bird, the vision sings.”
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
betty b, thank you. With my writing I have a philosophy that once I write it and put it in the public domain it has a life of its own and in many ways does not belong to me any more. I try to dress it well, teach it manners and respect for others and hope it finds a good home. . When people like you appreciate it it means I have succeeded in a small way. Once again,thanks for your kind words.
betty b
Guest
nicely written and well researched article Vinay. Congratulations. For me, the intellectual aspects have always made cricket the 'stand-out' of sporting competitions. And yes, modern commercial broadcasts have allowed some slippage but still, test cricket sets the standard. I rate the ashes series as the world's greatest sporting contest, and the ashes trophy as Australia's most important sporting prize. A moment I remember well in Benaud's career was fairly recent - when he received a standing ovation at Lords at his last test in England as a commentator.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Sheek,The nineties and noughties have not been too bad either,apart from the scourge of match-fixing. Australia under Mark Taylor,Steve Waugh and now Ponting have given us some thrilling moments. Winning back the Worrell Trophy and Waugh v Ambrose. Continued domination of the Poms till 2005. Winning in India after ages. The emergence of Warne,McGrath and Gilchrist. The batting of Ponting,Martyn,Hayden and clarke. Gilchrists dismantling of Monty in Perth. Plenty to cheer about. The emergence of India's Fab Five batsman. Pietersen in full flight. Kallis and Steyn Jayawardne,Jayasuriya and Sangakkara. Lots of good 'uns there
sheek
Guest
Okay, where was I? It's now 1972, the 2nd Ashes series I ever followed & first I followed in far away England. What a wonderful series, squared off 2-2. Australia totally out of it in the 1st. Then came the 2nd test at Lords. Greg Chappell "only" scored 131, but probably his best innings technically. Then Bob Massie befuddled the Englishmen, taking 16 wickets on debut with his mesmerising swing bowling. Man, you had to be there! 3rd test drawn, & Australia wiped away by some fungerium in the soil, turning the 4th test pitch into a wasteland??? Then came the classic 5th test, won by Australia to level the series. For those who came in late, to Ashes cricket history that is, the 5th test was the very first to be telecast in full back to Australia - all 5 days of it, or was it 6? Both Chappell brothers scored centuries & Lillee took 10 wickets. Then came 1974/75. It was a very special time for me - end of high school. A summer of total irresponsibility. My dreams, hopes, successes & failures all lay in the future. For now it was socialising, sun, sand, surf & sex. And Ashes cricket. The Poms reckoned Lillee was "finished" & Jeff Thomson was a "one-test wonder", but no-one told them. They took 56 wickets in 11 tests between them, almost single-handledly winning the series themselves. But it was a very good team led by Ian Chappell. And the Poms were a decent opposition themselves, no pushovers. Ahh, those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing & dance forever & a day, we'd fight & never lose, for we were young & sure to have our way..........(thanks Mary Hopkin)..........
Brett McKay
Expert
absolutely!!
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Brett, that beer is looking good in the New Year.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Sheek,your posts are turning into something that Charles Dickens was so good at..instalments keeping the reader hooked for the next one..The series you talk about Sir Donald actually asked Ray Illingworth to play the extra Test gratis and he said "bugger that" I think they settled for some meagre sum.
sheek
Guest
Just back from a Mexican meal, & it's pouring down rain outside.....now where was I? Ah yes, the 1970/71 Ashes series. An incredible one day game to kick off limited overs international cricket. The next test in Sydney saw England take a 1-0 lead, Snow picking up 7-40 in the 1st innings. The rescheduled Melbourne test & the following Adelaide test were both dull draws, but not without incident or notewothiness. In Melbourne, keeper Rod Marsh was on the verge of becoming the first Aussie keeper to score a test century when skipper Bill Lawry inexplicably declared, stranding Marsh on 92 no. Marsh had to wait another 2 seasons to achieve that honour. In Adelaide a young tearaway named Dennis Lillee made his test debut, taking 5-84. By the time the last test kicked off in Sydney I was back at boarding school. What a drama filled test! New skipper Ian Chappell immediately infused a new, aggressive attitude in his team. Although Australia lost, they pushed England hard. I was there the day England walked off, sitting no more than 25 metres from the boundary fence on the Paddington entrance, where a drunk Aussie grabbed Snow's shirt, precipitating a beer can throwing avalanche & the walk-off. Daughter requires computer for homework - to be continued.....
Brett McKay
Expert
Vinay, I didn't get around to your piece today, but I'm glad I made the effort tonight. Of course, TV was the norm as I grew up and into cricket, though I can recall the brief time where ABC did TV too. So while I never had the privilege of listening to McGilvray and co, I still love tales like this one of yours...
sheek
Guest
Yep, no courage shooting tigers with guns, a one-sided contest!
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Sheek,you are giving John Arlott a run for his money. Not related to the Ashes but we had a commentator in India called Vizzy..actually the Maharaja of Vizianagram. He made the Indian team more on name than talent The cricket Historian Mihir Bose wrote of Vizzy: "If Vizzy had been content with being such a cricket sponsor", writes Mihir Bose in A History of Indian Cricket, [2] "like Sir Horatio Mann in the eighteenth century, or Sir Julien Cahn in the twentieth, his name would be one of the most revered in Indian cricket. But he was consumed with the ambition to be a great cricketer". I found him tedious in his commentary and later discovered he boasted about "bagging" 300 tigers. That took away my respect for him. So too, the Nawab of Pataudi,who was alleged to have been caught tiger hunting in a game reserve. All these big game hunters with automatic rifles should go bare handed with a tiger to prove themselves.
Marvellous
Guest
Ahh, lovely article. Cannot wait for the Ashes to begin. Cricket needs a great series.
sheek
Guest
Vinay, What a beautiful piece. Reading the memory of others & how they first became acquainted with a sport is part of the magic of why we follow our various sports, heroes & dreams. I just missed the 1968 Ashes. I was aware of it, but cricket didn't penetrate my consciousness significantly until the following series against the Windies in Australia in 1968/69. After that, I was hooked. So my first Ashes series live was in 1970/71, filled with bittersweet memories. My second year of boarding school was just winding down as the first test kicked off in Brisbane. Stackpole hit 207 but should have been run out around 24. Walters also hit a century, Snow showed what was to come with 6 wickets, & the enduring memory of my first Ashes test, which was drawn, was Australia losing 7 for 15, crashing from 3-418 to 433 all out in their first dig! By the time the 2nd test kicked off in Perth I was back in my then home of Port Moresby for Xmas hols. We lived on the side of a hill with sweeping, panoramic views of the harbour. As Greg Chappell approached his maiden test century, in a massive partnership with Ian Redpath, the sun was setting, casting beautiful rays of light against the scattered clouds. I listened to the cricket via Radio Australia on my family's AWA Zenith radio. I think it was supposed to be an impressive & strong radio for its time! The crisp, dulcet tones of Alan McGilvray dominated the airwaves. The 3rd test in Melbourne was washed out, then rescheduled. In its place was a hastily arranged 40 overs (8 ball) a side one day match, which would change the face of cricket forever. To be continued.....
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Bayman,I can't really understand people paying a fortune for memorabilia. As if that somehow imparts a touch of greatness to the collector. I had Gary Sobers sign a bat one day when I met him at the Bank in Milsons Point. I had my cricket gear in the boot and he signed it with a smile. It broke the very next game and I turfed it in the bin with a few choice words directed at Sir Gary!
Bayman
Guest
Vinay, it's interesting in this modern age how all the commentators, radio and television, are closeted away in secure, fan free premises with guards at the door and on the floor. I guess money has infiltrated not only the players but the media as well. By comparison, back in the dark old days of the amateur everything, I vividly recall visiting the ABC Radio "box" at the back of the Cresswell Stand - where the Bradman Stand is now - at the Adelaide Oval during the 1960/61 Test against the West Indies. It turned out that the "box" was really just the back row of the stand, with a couple of seating spots pinched from the row in front for desk space. No glass, no door, no security. There sat A.G. "Johnnie" Moyes and Victor York Richardson, happily commentating in the open air and not much to keep out the crowd noise. During the tea break I took my bat and autograph book and paid a visit. Both were more than happy to sign and, indeed, were happy to be asked. Mind you, they both commented on the fact that not too many of my bat's "red marks" were in the middle! As far as I know, that bat is still under a house I had, and sold, in Adelaide many years ago. I'm still kicking myself I didn't retrieve it first (also signed by the 60/61 West Indians and Les Favell from whom I bought it earlier that summer). Bugger!
mds1970
Roar Guru
My first day of going to an Ashes Test was the last day in Melbourne in 1982-83, when they opened the gates for free with Australia 9 out and needing about 50 to win. I'd just turned 12, and had been to a one-dayer a couple of years earlier (the famous underarm game). Dad took me along, not expecting we'd be there for long. But Allan Border and Jeff Thompson got Australia only a few runs away before Thompson edged the ball to slips where the catch nearly went down but Botham (I think) somehow held it. But my favourite Ashes moment was in 2003, going to the second day at the SCG. Australia finally finished off the England tail and after losing a couple of early wickets an out-of-form Steve Waugh strode to the centre. And the runs began to flow. Fortunately the half hour cap on overtime hadn't yet been brought in, as the over rate slowed to a walk and it was touch and go whether he'd make it to the century that evening. In the concourse in front of the O'Reilly, and having realised after I entered the ground that I'd left my sunscreen in the car, I'd burned to a crisp and my face was glowing red. But it went down to the last ball of the day, which Steve Waugh majestically drove through the covers to bring up his hundred and book himself a place in cricket immortality. I'll be going to two days in Melbourne and a day in Sydney this time round. Looking forward to it - cricket may have its problems, but the Ashes is something special.
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
fos,my abiding memory is the broadcast of the Old Trafford Test when Richie went around the wicket with England well poised at 150 for 2 and Dexter at his majestic "planets aligned" best. Just the crackle on the radio and my imagination. The best cricket I have ever "watched"
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Thanks,Kersi, The ABC could do with less banter and more insight. Familiarity can sometimes lead to contempt.
formeropenside
Guest
I fell in love with cricket (although I was always aware of it) at the age of 10, watching the 1982-83 Centenary of Ashes series. I can still recall Thommo taking wickets, putting on a last wicket partnership with AB, Hookes swinging wildly, and Greg Chappell, always perfectly poised and yet crisply excellent. And of course, Norman Cowans, Bob Willis, Botham and Gower. In those last years before the retirements of Chappell, Marsh and Lillee and the rebel tour of SA, that summer, and the following against Pakistan, were golden in my memories.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Beautifully written, Vinay. And nostalgic. I can't imagine Kerry O'Keeffe doing his dozen laughs on air during those serious days!