Suddenly Tomorrow’s Grey Ashes Test between the ‘Older enemies’ takes on even greater significance for this English Cricket Summer! Now the Younger men and women sides have failed to reverse the recent trends of Australia either taking their relative ‘Ashes’ home or retaining the little urn.England ‘Grey Ashes’Team are the only ones in the way of a Clean sweep for the Aussies visiting these shores this Ashes Summer!
Currently and after an emphatic and quite epic win at Southport in the third of the five ODI’s England Seniors hold a one match advantage and with only two Tests to play are in a strong position to at least retain their own Version of the Ashes urn.
Indeed the Older enemy have had to put up with the ‘poms’ holding the ‘Grey Ashes’ now since 2015.
It is a biennial series so either way it goes their will be a reverse series in the Next two years down under.
Hasten to add there is growing popularity and support for these ‘Grey Ashes’ Test Matches which are spread around the Country’s County’s and have drawn a lot of local publicity and crowds to watch each game.There has been online footage and in play scoring via the England Seniors In Play Scoring match day site.
Tomorrow’s Fixture is being hosted by Chipping Campden CC and a fine venue it is too.The Club are rightly proud to be hosting such an auspicious game and hopefully this will attract more attention to the already blooming Over 60’s Cricket programme.
All that need to be said now is, we are looking forward to managing to be ‘friendly with our opponents’,after the game of course!
And so the England Seniors 60+ Squad arrived at Burton with a point to prove to both ourselves and our Australian Counterparts. Having Lost the first Test at Thame in the last over we arrived galvanised as a squad to tie up the series at Burton.
After a successful toss Capt Richard elected to put the Aussies in on what looked like a great wicket. The early exchanges seemed to favour the batting side and the blustery conditions probably didn’t help our Opening bowlers from straying a bit in line and length.The Aussie Openers took advantage of these conditions to put on a swift 50 partnership before Captain Higgins was run out after being called for a quick signal and sent back.Other opener Walsh continued to accelerate the scoring but England did create another run out opportunity which was gratefully taken to help knock back the run rate. Another wicket fell and England’s bowlers started exerting more control over the Aussie scoring options. Russell Spiers and Jim Phillips in particular bowled economically on a flat track for batting.However Aussie Pavey joined Walsh at the wicket and their partnership started to flourish. Pavey in particular hit well off the front foot. Opener Walsh finally perished looking for Quick runs bowled off his pads by Phillips for a belligerent 92.
Pavey was joined by Blair who put on a useful 50 run partnership but both fell off the bowling of Butterworth to great catches in the deep to slow down the Aussies momentum towards the back end of their Innings.The 246 the Aussies amassed was slightly below par for the quality of the wicket and despite the long boundaries England felt the total was gettable.
Skipper Merriman and fellow opener Nick Gaywood set about the total positively and played some attractive drives and pulls off the Aussie quicks, Blair and Trafford-Walker.Gaywood fell with the score on 91 but Merriman was joined by Tony Birbeck who also looked to be positive and kept the scored ticking before Merriman was dismissed perhaps unluckily with his score on 67.Hussein fell unfortunately soon after as well with the score on 149-3.Birbeck also fell soon after for 28 whilst Gordon-Lennox was still on nought. Butterworth then joined Lennox needing 84 to win at over 7 an over.However these two started moving the score along with a combination of quick singles and two’s and Lennox hitting the occasional boundary.Butterworth too started to find his range with a couple of swept boundaries of Leg spinner Jackson and a pleasing square cut off of the dangerous Bob McGee.
With 5 overs remaining England still required seven an over but both Gordon-Lennox and Butterworth now looked well set and an over from McGee yielded 12 runs and this turned the tied toward an inevitably successful run chase for England in their quest to tie up the series at 1-1.
Butterworth sadly perished before the total was reached but the writing was now on the wall and Gordon Lennox and the ‘Whippet’ Deakin saw the total passed with 8 balls to spare.
A thoroughly satisfying Win for the English who now have momentum going into the 3rd ODI at Southport on Wednesday the 19th July.
This Grey ashes Series is now well and truly poised for a thrilling 3rd Test and beyond.
You can follow it Live on Youtube and also live score updates here:
John Butterworth England Seniors at The World Cup in Chennai, India 