This is being written at lunch on Day 2 of the first Test of the Ashes series, a story about a loose-limbed 19-year-old Ashton Agar playing, unexpectedly, his first Test and only his 11th first class match.
A story of a new star of Australian cricket.
Showing no nerves, a high back-lift and great timing, the kid made the best debut for a number 11 in the history of Test cricket.
The previous best was Warwick Armstrong’s debut in 1905. Armstrong later went on to captain Australia in 10 Tests, winning eight of them and drawing two.
In 1920-21 Armstrong, no longer a slim youngster but now the bulky ‘Big Ship’ of Australian cricket, captained the Baggy Greens to a 5-0 Ashes triumph.
And as the runs continued to flow, Agar went on to make the highest-ever score for an Australian number 11, passing Glenn McGrath’s 61. McGrath had handed Agar his cap in a ceremony before the Test started.
I had the good fortune to see Sir Garfield Sobers bat in a Test at Wellington when he was a youngster.
Even then Sobers had a high back-lift and a forceful style on both the front and back foot. Agar will never be a Sobers, who was arguably one of the top five batsmen in the history of the game.
But he is going to score lots of runs for Australia batting as high as number five or six, at some stage in his career.
What struck me about his batting was his temperament. He doesn’t fidget before deliveries or at the crease when he is facing up. He stands tall and hits through the ball.
He plays straight. He has a great eye and is a clean hitter of the ball. The shots he plays are valid cricket shots. He doesn’t slog.
His method is sound. And this made it difficult for the England bowlers to deal with him.
Every ball was treated on its merits. When he was peppered with short ball early on in his inning, he pulled them hard to the boundary.
Later on, when the England bowlers pitched up to him, he stroked the ball elegantly through the off-side. Without taking a risk, he scored at a run a ball. His 50 came up in 50 balls.
Nassar Hussein was critical of Phillip Hughes for not farming the strike at the beginning of this historic partnership.
But Hughes played exactly the right game in the situation.
He played out maiden overs from Graeme Swann when the off-spinner was fizzing the ball off the wicket.
He played calmly and showed confidence in Agar, in the same manner as Steve Waugh in his many rear-guard actions with tailenders.
Hughes struggled with his timing early on with his innings. But as Agar started to dominate the England bowling, Hughes relaxed and in the last couple of overs before lunch he played some vintage smashing drives and cuts to the boundary.
I saw Hughes play his first first class inning at the SCG a number of years ago. I wrote a piece for The Roar predicting a great future for him in Test cricket for Australia.
He has had his ups and downs since then. But batting down the order seems to be the right place for him. He could be the Steve Waugh/Michael Hussey type of lower order batsman that Australia could do with right now.
Getting back to Agar, I was also relatively impressed with his bowling. He is tall and gives the ball plenty of loop, starting the ball above the eye-line of the batsman. He gets bounce and plenty of spin.
There is one other aspect to the Agar story that deserves a comment. For a couple of seasons now the Australian selectors have been criticised (and rightly so) for some inexplicable selections.
But in this Test they made the right choices with Steve Smith, Hughes and Agar.
The point here is that these are all young players. Traditionally, Australia has looked to youngsters to take up the battle with the old enemy.
And the youngsters fought back in the Australian way by playing attacking cricket, even when conditions favoured the bowlers.
It is now midnight and Agar has just been dismissed for 98 off a terrific hook expertly caught by Swann.
The statistics of the Agar-Hughes partnership are remarkable.
It was a record Australian 10th-wicket partnership.
It was the highest-ever 10th-wicket partnership in Test cricket against England.
It was the best 10th-wicket partnership in any Test match.
And finally, Agar’s 98 was the highest score ever by a number 11 batsman in the history of Test cricket.
The only thing that can top this is if Agar can take a bag full of wickets in England’s second inning. But do Boy’s Own Stories run to these extravagant delights?
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Most entertaining batting I've seen since Gilchrist put the sword to the English attack earlier this century at Headingly? Can't recall exactly which ground it was to be honest. I remember that it was about 5 wickets for just over a hundred or so runs when he came to the crease. Darren Gough would no doubt remember. He was having a great day until that point.
Simoc
Guest
That would be the Welsh Lions, the same Wales who thrashed the limp English side by 30points so recently. England really need some good news in cricket after being so hopeless against South Africa at home. But the good news so far is with Oz and Agar.
JGK
Roar Guru
Put another way, Rhodes was one of the few players to play with Grace and against Bradman.
sheek
Roar Guru
JohnB, You're being nitpicky! ;-) Okay, Rhodes didn't end his test career opening, but he actually played most innings as an opener - 43 out of 98. Which must surely go close to qualifying him as a specialist bat, especially since 54 out of 98 innings were at 1-6. His test average was 30.19 & as an opener, 36.73, which is pretty good for the times he lived & played in. Interestingly, his brief spell at no.11 was remarkably productive, with the assistance of not outs - 8 innings, 5 no's, 133 runs, 44.33 average!
sheek
Roar Guru
Gidday JohnB, I just thought it was kinda easier to say Rhodes played either side of 100 years ago, than from 1901 to 1930. ;-)
Johnno
Guest
Add Irfan Parthan, too.
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi Jim, Of course, not every teenager selected, goes onto great things. But occasionally, very special ones are thrown up. In cricket, there was the tragic Archie Jackson (192829) & Douggie Walters (1965/66) who come immediately to mind. I was thrilled by Michael o'Connor in his brief Wallabies career. He only played 12 tests before defecting to league. Thank God rugby picked him for national duty at only 18 in 1979. Then Tim Horan & Jason Little made their test debuts as 19yo's in 1989. In tennis, the "twins", Lew Hoad & Ken Rosewall, won the Davis Cup for Australia at age 19. Both just turned 19. There are of course many other examples across many sports. Sometimes, not knowing what's ahead, can be an advantage! The beauty of youth in sport is an uncluttered mind, no expectations. Just trust your instinct & do it.
smithha
Roar Pro
Very well said sheek. TEST cricket beats all.
sheek
Roar Guru
Amusing exchange on the radio last night between Jonathon Agnew (Aggers) & Glenn McGrath. Aggers accused McGrath that the Aussies had totally misled England regarding Agar, that he was in fact, the next Sobers & would be batting first drop in the second innings. It was quite funny..........
Bearfax
Guest
Absolutely brilliant. Now if he can get his bowling up to par, we just may have our next major all rounder
Paula Warx
Guest
It was astonishing to watch Agar approach the English bowling attack with composure, focus and good humour. Let's just hope the media hype surrounding his time at the crease doesn't result in an equal amount of criticism when he doesn't reach such dizzy heights every time we see him. No doubt, he is an emerging talent and, as such, he needs time to fulfil his potential.
Scott Minto
Guest
I could be wrong, but didnt Katich do this with NSW in a 20/20 Champions League match? He'd send the batsmen in the order that would best suit the current situation?
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
whats this talk about being late at night. Was mid evening here in the west. Cricket on at 6pm same time as Football. Cycling at a resonable time as well
Jim Boyce
Guest
Sheek - It was such a joy to watch. After a while you got used to that little shrug of the head just before the delivery. You were drawn in to the way he approached it. We all yearn to see players in whatever sport approach the game in this way. It is , infortunately , so rare. The other thing that applies to all team sports , is that you need an age mix, with the unlikely event of a kid coming good. It makes you think why rugby cant seem to select anyone younger than 22. Unfortunately O'Connor seems to have cast a pall of gloom over that typpe of consideration. If nothing else Agar's innings is more about the way people have reponded to it rather than the innings itself.
sheek
Roar Guru
Sailosi, I guess shuffling with the batting order can work in ODers & even more so in T20, but because test cricket is played over a much longer span of time, short-term changes don't necessarily work over long-term innings (using the baseball context). Of course, you can always have the situation where you need quick runs either to win the game or for a declaration, in which case you move your big hitters up the order.
sheek
Roar Guru
MadMonk
Guest
I think it needs some Moneyball analysis. All analysis is done by number in batting order. Objectively the age of the ball and weariness of the bowler should be a better guide of likelihood of success. For example, should the best batsman in the team Michael Clarke be moved around so he aims to go in not earlier than over 30. If openers get through 30 overs in goes Clarke, if wickets fall he slides down to 5 or 6. Do you throw a bowler in if you lose an early wicket (in the same way as a nightwatchmen) to try and get through the new ball.
Sailosi
Guest
Sheek, as a mad baseball fan I've often wondered why batting orders have become so structured, for example in baseball orders often change for lh/rh pitching for example. I'm guessing over time cricket captains and coaches haven't seen it as successful. It was dabbled in around the 96 world cup with the idea of the 'floater' i.e Kalu opening (Jayasuriua was another who began batting in the lower order), De Freitas batting 3 for England and Shane Thompson and Chris Harris moving up and down NZ's order, Courtney Browne opening for the Windies, Akram used as a pinch hitter. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Gippy
Guest
You've got Siddle and he's done Victoria proud. I know Agar went to school in Melbourne, but Siddle comes from the often-maligned LaTrobe Valley where you have no inbuilt social advantages. You have to graft, and he's the best. The AFL players aren't too bad, either. Victoria can produce both. (It's a pity that, although he went to school in Kilmore, it's Finley that can claim Crawf, who's just completed the Tour de Crawf in aid of cancer research.) But well done to the young bloke, and to Siddle, whose five-for was a great achievement too.
PCB
Guest
Happy birthday Spiro! Always enjoy your contributions. Your summaries of the recent Wallabies v Lions were both insightful and reflective. Thankyou for the enjoyment you give those of us who love their sport.