The headingley crowd was not deterred by bad weather. Photo: Action Images via Reuters/LEE SMITH
It is truly outrageous that there will be no Test matches at Headingley or Old Trafford in the next Ashes series in England in 2027.
England won on Sunday victory on the wave of passion of all Headingley. If it had been the Ageas Bowl, which next received the Ashes Test award from the ECB, there would have been polite applause.
Of the English team that suddenly cheered up after a lukewarm performance at Lord's – with the exception of Ben Stokes, of course – three were Yorkshiremen (Joe Root, Johnny Bairstow and Harry Brook) and two were from Durham (Stokes and Mark Wood). Where will the communities that have nurtured these role models see them and their successors next in this historic series? Edgbaston or Trent Bridge if they're rich.
There is something in the water, or rather in the soil of Headingley. It featured both of Don Bradman's triple centuries; 149 Ian Botham, cutthroat of all cutthroats, in 1981; 154 Graham Gooch against the West Indies, than I can swear, only one better inning was played for England; and that inning itself, Stokes' 135 in England's one-wicket victory in 2019.
It's really a kick in the teeth by officials and proof that “northern powerhouse” and “leveling up” These are just political words. .
It was Saturday afternoon during the third test. It blew all day long. The spectators were given passes and went to eat and drink in all the bars and cafes around Headingley and had a good time until the game started at 4:45 pm. Only 25 overs were played, but the hall was still full as everyone reassembled for a late game; and, moreover, England was electrified when Wood made a wind, or rather a hurricane, in Australia's second chance, and razed her to the ground. drowned rats.
The ECB lawsuits that award test matches have long had nothing to do with the game, only with money: before, matches were awarded simply to the highest bidder, without regard to other criteria. The ash trial could have been awarded to Wormsley and staged at the Getty estate by the letter of their laws.
It was a mistake that was officially, albeit grudgingly, acknowledged that Cardiff and Chester-le-Street by no means could not be turned into test sites: yes, for international 50-over and 20-over tournaments, but not for Tests.
Tests should only be conducted in cities, not out of town. The population of the south coast is growing so fast that the Ageas Bowl will one day become part of the one expanded Southampton metropolitan area, but not now. Should Rod Brunsgrove, Hampshire County Board Chairman, want to take the tests, the calendar has plenty to choose from, but not the Ashes test until the crowd ignites the passion that inspires England.
Who knows, but Alex Carey, who has been a pantomime villain from the start due to his Bairstow tripping at Lord's, could have caught up with the top skier when, in the climax of England's Headingley chase, he raced to the third-man boundary, had his didn't get chased by the hellhounds on West Terrace.
Carey dropped Mark Wood in the third test credit denouement: AFP/PAUL ELLIS
Those final scenes, after Brook was thrown out and the English tails left alone, couldn't have been more dramatic, due in large part to the setting. Do you think a theater packed with 20,000 spectators was once fascinated by a great Greek tragedy? Yes, but even at the premiere, the actors knew what was going to happen. When Chris Wakes and Mark Wood went deep into their resolve, no one in the universe knew what the outcome would be.
And Headingley wasn't completely one-eyed. Yes, Carey, Pat Cummins and Steve Smith made a lot of money from the West Terrace (although a generation ago in Australia they were not bottled with various liquids like English players). But when Todd Murphy hit the stunning shot – when Woakes seemed to split the field at the midwicket boundary with his throw – there was a lot of spontaneous applause for this Aussie. not George, the Yorkshireman who played the Ash Trial at Headingley in 1926, but Lord).
No ash trials in the north next time. Pathetic. Some people just don't understand the game and its main supporters.
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