Live Sport 3: Freddie
Although I've watched a fair bit of live sport, I've not often felt I was watching something truly important and magical in the context of the wider world. You mainly need to pay the bigger bucks for that or get lucky. I'm not complaining, I've watched plenty of great stuff, as I hope I'll come to, but what I'm going to write about now stands out in my experience as being a sporting occasion people will talk about for years to come.
I almost didn't get to see it. My friend Alexander had acquired a couple of sets of tickets for the Lord's Ashes test of 2009 in the ballot, and he offered me one for the 5th day. I recognised the danger in this (the 5th day might well see no cricket) but knew it could be the big winner.
You may recall - England had barely held on to draw the first test in Cardiff, but then unexpectedly dominated the 2nd test at Lord's. They set Australia 500odd with a couple of days to go and victory seemed inevitable. And Oz seemed to crumble. Less than halfway through Day 4, they were 100odd for 5 and heading for quick, premature, defeat. Which put me in an awkward position.
What did I want to happen? Did I want England to wrap up victory as quickly as possible or did I want it to drag out so that I had some play to watch the next day? Well, I suppose I wanted it to drag out, but then as Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin built their partnership, it became trickier.. 130 for 5 became 200 then 250 for 5, and, sure, no team had ever scored over 500 to win a test match before, but it wasn't impossible. Shit, just break this partnership, come on England, I don't care if I don't get to see any, just finish them off. But they didn't. The partnership went on and on til the end of Day 4 - 313 for 5. OK, well, I'm definitely going to get some cricket.
It was a balmy (yes, balmy!) July day. I met Alexander at St John's Wood, nervously excited. How awful to be there if Australia made cricket history. This was England's big chance, Somehow we knew that if they won the day they'd win the series.
Andrew Flintoff's career was dying. Indeed, he'd announced on the ever of the match he'd be retiring from tests at the series' end. Some suspected that was nothing but a ploy to keep himself in the side til then. His body was clearly finished and his contributions a far cry from the heady days of 2005.
However, there were signs of a last hurrah - a quick fire 30 not out, and then dismissing both Aussie openers. So, as we waited for play to start, sentiment allowed to us to see Freddie in the mythical terms England fans have often fooled themselves into. As a great, a legend, a hero.
What's the truth of Andrew Flintoff the England cricketer? 79 tests, just 5 centuries, just 3 5 fors. How many matches had he really won for England? A period of solid consistency as part of a strong unit but hardly Botham, come on ... but that doesn't tell the full story. A top class all rounder is more than that. From 2003 to 2006, when Flintoff averaged 40 odd with the bat, with so many momentum-changing 60s, and 25ish with the ball, with so many stifling, relentless 3 for 60s, it was as if England had an extra player. He did push them to being a world class side. And, especially with the bat, he really was fun. Yes, it was the last hurrah of a national sporting hero we were watching that morning. We hoped.
When to start drinking, we asked ourselves? How long would the play last? If we started immediately, and it went on and on, this could turn disastrous ... we started. as if to hasten the play's end. And our endeavours were rewarded. Haddin, the still-destructive Haddin, caught at slip within the first couple of overs. Right from that moment, we knew our cares were over. They still needed 200ish and there were just not enough batters left.
Who's next, Mitchell Johnson? Hmm, he can whack, and he did. The worry was still on, as Johnson and Clarke put on a rapid 40odd. Then Clarke inexplicably missed a straight one from Swann, and our cares really were over.
Our speed of drinking increased, as Freddie's spell continued. He knew this was his big moment and he did not want it to end. He snared Hauritz and Siddle and he had 5, and it was his day. Swann wrapped up the innings but it was Freddie's name we were all chanting.
Sport then was delirious, tipsy bliss. The bottle of wine was gone and we still had a day in NW London to fill. We idled our way across Regent's Park bumping into a few fellow revellers [sadly, with the cricket, it's not like the football World Cup, where you know that everyone you see on the street has been watching, and is feeling, the same thing as you]. Most folk who saw Alex and I that day probably had no idea why we were drunk and boisterous at 1pm on a Monday.
We found a pub and kept drinking. I only remember feeling uncommonly happy. I was watching The Hangover that evening so I knew I had to hold on to some kind of sanity. The Hangover was a bit too highbrow for me that day, but I got through it.
The 2009 Ashes are better than the 2013 Ashes but, of course, nowhere near as good as the 2005 Ashes. They were weird ones, really. England won by hanging in there. I was with Alex again when England came through in very similar fashion to win the 5th test. This time, we couldn't have been much further from the action, carrying my digital radio around Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons, holding signs up for those fellow folky revellers who might share our love for cricket. There were a few quizzical looks, but a lot of cheers.
Again Flintoff had one last moment in that game, which we just about heard on the radio - a run out of Ricky Ponting, just when the Australian captain was threatening the England total.
Then that was pretty much it for him, and his spell was broken and he has been consigned to history as a good-but-not-great player, but that July morning, as the uncommon buzz of morning booze kicked in, he certainly felt like a great player.
I almost didn't get to see it. My friend Alexander had acquired a couple of sets of tickets for the Lord's Ashes test of 2009 in the ballot, and he offered me one for the 5th day. I recognised the danger in this (the 5th day might well see no cricket) but knew it could be the big winner.
You may recall - England had barely held on to draw the first test in Cardiff, but then unexpectedly dominated the 2nd test at Lord's. They set Australia 500odd with a couple of days to go and victory seemed inevitable. And Oz seemed to crumble. Less than halfway through Day 4, they were 100odd for 5 and heading for quick, premature, defeat. Which put me in an awkward position.
What did I want to happen? Did I want England to wrap up victory as quickly as possible or did I want it to drag out so that I had some play to watch the next day? Well, I suppose I wanted it to drag out, but then as Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin built their partnership, it became trickier.. 130 for 5 became 200 then 250 for 5, and, sure, no team had ever scored over 500 to win a test match before, but it wasn't impossible. Shit, just break this partnership, come on England, I don't care if I don't get to see any, just finish them off. But they didn't. The partnership went on and on til the end of Day 4 - 313 for 5. OK, well, I'm definitely going to get some cricket.
It was a balmy (yes, balmy!) July day. I met Alexander at St John's Wood, nervously excited. How awful to be there if Australia made cricket history. This was England's big chance, Somehow we knew that if they won the day they'd win the series.
Andrew Flintoff's career was dying. Indeed, he'd announced on the ever of the match he'd be retiring from tests at the series' end. Some suspected that was nothing but a ploy to keep himself in the side til then. His body was clearly finished and his contributions a far cry from the heady days of 2005.
However, there were signs of a last hurrah - a quick fire 30 not out, and then dismissing both Aussie openers. So, as we waited for play to start, sentiment allowed to us to see Freddie in the mythical terms England fans have often fooled themselves into. As a great, a legend, a hero.
What's the truth of Andrew Flintoff the England cricketer? 79 tests, just 5 centuries, just 3 5 fors. How many matches had he really won for England? A period of solid consistency as part of a strong unit but hardly Botham, come on ... but that doesn't tell the full story. A top class all rounder is more than that. From 2003 to 2006, when Flintoff averaged 40 odd with the bat, with so many momentum-changing 60s, and 25ish with the ball, with so many stifling, relentless 3 for 60s, it was as if England had an extra player. He did push them to being a world class side. And, especially with the bat, he really was fun. Yes, it was the last hurrah of a national sporting hero we were watching that morning. We hoped.
When to start drinking, we asked ourselves? How long would the play last? If we started immediately, and it went on and on, this could turn disastrous ... we started. as if to hasten the play's end. And our endeavours were rewarded. Haddin, the still-destructive Haddin, caught at slip within the first couple of overs. Right from that moment, we knew our cares were over. They still needed 200ish and there were just not enough batters left.
Who's next, Mitchell Johnson? Hmm, he can whack, and he did. The worry was still on, as Johnson and Clarke put on a rapid 40odd. Then Clarke inexplicably missed a straight one from Swann, and our cares really were over.
Our speed of drinking increased, as Freddie's spell continued. He knew this was his big moment and he did not want it to end. He snared Hauritz and Siddle and he had 5, and it was his day. Swann wrapped up the innings but it was Freddie's name we were all chanting.
Sport then was delirious, tipsy bliss. The bottle of wine was gone and we still had a day in NW London to fill. We idled our way across Regent's Park bumping into a few fellow revellers [sadly, with the cricket, it's not like the football World Cup, where you know that everyone you see on the street has been watching, and is feeling, the same thing as you]. Most folk who saw Alex and I that day probably had no idea why we were drunk and boisterous at 1pm on a Monday.
We found a pub and kept drinking. I only remember feeling uncommonly happy. I was watching The Hangover that evening so I knew I had to hold on to some kind of sanity. The Hangover was a bit too highbrow for me that day, but I got through it.
The 2009 Ashes are better than the 2013 Ashes but, of course, nowhere near as good as the 2005 Ashes. They were weird ones, really. England won by hanging in there. I was with Alex again when England came through in very similar fashion to win the 5th test. This time, we couldn't have been much further from the action, carrying my digital radio around Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons, holding signs up for those fellow folky revellers who might share our love for cricket. There were a few quizzical looks, but a lot of cheers.
Again Flintoff had one last moment in that game, which we just about heard on the radio - a run out of Ricky Ponting, just when the Australian captain was threatening the England total.
Then that was pretty much it for him, and his spell was broken and he has been consigned to history as a good-but-not-great player, but that July morning, as the uncommon buzz of morning booze kicked in, he certainly felt like a great player.
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