Ashes, Ashes, we all stand up!

Your Humble Blogger did not post a note about the result of The Ashes, only in part because no Gentle Reader is at all likely to care. However, just in case, I will note that (a) England retained the Ashes, winning three Test Matches and losing only one; (2) England looked good, but Australia looked worse than England looked better, if you know what I mean; (iii) Alistair Cook batted for two thousand one hundred and seventy-one minutes during the five five-day Tests. That’s just ridiculous. 766 runs. He has five thousand Test runs, and he’s only just 26. And not bad looking, either.

All in all, it was a vastly entertaining hundred and twenty hours of sport. Alas, it was in the other hemisphere, and I didn’t stay up late, or at least not very late, more than once or twice. I read about it the next morning in the newspaper, like a wild animal in the wilderness, although I did read it on-line and not printed in ink on pulped tree.

I will say that there didn’t seem to be any real doubt that England would retain the Ashes, at least not after November 29th at lunchtime. There was, of course, the possibility that they would blow it, but the comeback on that first day set the tone for me, and even when they collapsed in the Third Test to even the series, they looked like the better team with the better chance. That said, I didn’t need to sweat the outcome of the series to enjoy the cricket; there was plenty of excitement day to day and hour to hour. Even the fifth match, after Australia could no longer take the Ashes and England only needed a draw to win the series, the absolute crushing that England bestowed was breathtaking. When the team you root for is really good and is playing at their best, it’s just fun to follow them.

This has been a good autumn/winter for my sports fandom, hasn’t it? My Giants won the World Series and England retained the Ashes in Australia. Things aren’t looking so good for my Terriers, though; sixteenth-ranked and dropping. Well, and it’s early yet.

Tolerabimus quod tolerare debemus,
-Vardibidian.