"Australia cruise to Brisbane victory with day to spare"

Just look at that backdrop!

A "tester" episode in beautiful Ironbridge but some ducks swam on by at the beginning and although not a great angle, I'll find a better one in future as, well, just look at that backdrop!

This brief episode will be part of a continuing series of videos from my second self-published book "Ashes to Ashes" which is linked below together with a brief extract from the chapter being read here as well as other ways and means of supporting me, if you're able, to thumb the eye of the traditional publishers who refused to read my original manuscript!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5Z3FVYC

https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.paypal.me/TheBlackfordBookClub
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/steveblackford

"They say it’s the hope that kills you, and this morning was full of hope for England, for Dawid Malan, for captain Joe Root, and for a possible exciting Test Match ahead that could extend well into Day 5.

But it’s the hope that kills you.

Yesterday I half jokingly stated that England would be skittled by Tea. This morning I hoped the skipper would still be batting at Tea and his team 100 runs ahead and possibly setting up an exciting first Session tomorrow morning.

After losing 8 wickets for just 77 runs and yet another of those vaunted England batting collapses, they barely made it as a team to the lunch break, let alone enjoying an afternoon tea in the bowels of The Gabba.

Alas, it’s the hope that kills you.

Australia had but a handful of overs to bowl this morning before they could enjoy the luxury of unwrapping a brand new red cherry and really taking the attack to England, but their visitors only made 26 runs against the softer older ball and lost Malan, Root and Pope in the process. England went from a commanding overnight position of 220–2 to 234–5 in the blink of an off spinner’s eye, that off spinner being Nathan Lyon (or Gary, Gaz, Gazza or indeed Goat) as he took his 400th Test Match wicket and finished the innings with figures of 4–91.

Before the innings and indeed another batting collapse had ended, Ben Stokes received yet another unplayable delivery and fell for just 14, Buttler wafted at one from Hazlewood and gave Carey another catch behind the stumps and the England batting “tail” was gently blown away with a minimum of fuss.

England had to be batting and with wickets in hand come the Tea Break. Instead, Australia will knock off the 20 runs required for victory in a matter of minutes after the Lunch Break and take a 1–0 lead in this 5 Test Series.

In happier news(!) it’s been a fun morning here in the UK as first the main worldwide Fox Sports feed went down (power outage apparently), then came and went again, then resumed with just one camera from each end (evoking memories of Botham’s Ashes in 1981 and their rudimentary and limited camera angles at that time) before there was a total blackout again and I had to resort to the beautifully traditional “Test Match Special” (or TMS for short) who because of virus restrictions have to take their radio “feed” from ABC Grandstand Australia, another throwback to early mornings of old back in the late 1980’s and listening to a grainy feed on a transistor radio (ask your Grandad kids!) and just about connecting to a signal.

Strangely, writing this particular paragraph has pleased the inner 14 year old in me, and one of the many and varied reasons why I adore watching Ashes cricket at 2am half a world away.

But alas, England are heading for a heavy defeat.

It’s the hope that kills you".

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