the important thing about failures the foundation it creates for success to spring brilliantly from. the joy is obscene. crickets pace allows time for rumination on failure, and there is time for celebration too. having become a god dealing out death warrants a carnival
cricketers know about failure – they know it constantly. it is conceivable that it could become too much. that a cricketer could lose interest or become distracted. there is no problem – there is nothing unusual – here. cricketers also know how things progress, change, modulate. at times it is surprising change or a modulation has effects that could never have been predicted. a chance remark can inspire a new dream and what was previously important well mister it vanishes into the air. it is also known that vanished forms can always return. the mythology of the ashes is steeped in this. english cricket dies at the hands of australian cricket and is cremated. the ashes henceforth played every 2 years. teams lose form teams gain form from time to time the urn changes hands. before today cricket was off the radar. but the ashes brought it! brought it big time. diddle had been out due to injury for some time. a selection panel watching his progress closely – a bug implanted in his head. the indications were favourable. he had been working concertedly on developing his butt, altering his body shape to better fit it to the rigours of test fast bowling. the power he was feeling within himself was transmitted to the panel and the call was made to include the reformed diddle in the team. the new form happened to have a birthday today. it was not by chance. today diddle initiated his birth 26 years ago. 26 years ago today he was born for today. sometimes time works like that. diddle conceived himself today. as he grew and roared into heroic god form upon dismissing broad for his hat trick diddle created the conditions for his birth 26 years ago today. sometimes time works that way.
nothing interesting was happening after lunch. hilfenhaus and watson were bowling wide of offstump and swinging it further away. bell and cook were playing brilliantly off their toes to anything straighter. they were patient, waiting for it. they had no idea. diddle came on and started similarly wide. there was nothing to indicate the approaching rupture. it happened while the viewers were fetching cups of tea or on the toilet or had popped down to the workshop to do some routine bicycle maintenance or change a sprocket. things were in the balance. cricket v the distractions. next thing …
the bell form also reached for the chance to be born 4eva today but failed at the last. theres always another chance until there isn’t anymore.
after an extended genesis a moment at last recognisable as the ashes – we ahab v the white whale.
all 15 days to this pointve held a sense of preliminarity – they were a setting up. figures were introduced developments vaguely sketched out erased reversioned alliances n rivalries suggested. but largely all remained unfamiliar. it is not 05. who knew what marcus north even looked like or recognised the work of hughess feet? warno did not appear his usual self. things were occuring in a strange land and the techniques of combat were not what we ahabve been accustomed to. ahab himself was sorely questioned. we too would be defined by this – that is were up for grabs.
we ahab pulled ferociously at harmisons length. prior to that clark proved a team is able to function without warno – a breakthrough in science. the pitchd pace n bounce. an australian all seam attack used this pace n bounce off a full length destroying the english top n middle orders siddle then tore the tail from the demon with short heroic savagery … tore off grendels arm
it was striking. it made an impression on the english bowlers suddenly they wanted to be siddle – to repeat his feats but the image they attempted to replicate consisted of only the heroic moment and not the considered movement toward that moment. drunk on pace n bounce they bowled short katich fed their delirium sacrificing himself early to a delivery sharply rising toward his throat. the bowlers arms thus spirited away from any bowlers rational control we ahab feasted. at least 2 of our ahabs pulls will remain as two of the greatest hits ever made in any form of combat. our ahabs innings had the platform of a masterpiece. in the background was everything that had gone before between him (us) and the whale. an epic rivalry renewed we ahab let our obsession run. earlier claras catching at 1st was exquisite. once nostalgia kicks in its immediately feeding the future callin it on.
headingleys a site of nostalgia flintoff the new bothams absent thingsre being reworked it is not 81 hughess feetre absent or belong now to someone else