A Series of Unfortunate Events

Like most other Australians on Sunday evening, I sat down in front of the television to watch the last rites of the 2nd Test from Edgbaston (unlike my father, who had flown out for Bali that morning for three weeks, no doubt in some annoyance at the Australians' plight).
Despite the theoretically impossible task that faced Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz in chasing down the 107 runs required to win the match, there was a faint glimmer of hope in the heart.
My wife, Helen, boldly predicted an Australian victory. Unlike many wives, mine has a sense of what is happening on the cricket field, and is not adverse to coming up with correct predictions. My thoughts, however, were not so confident. I thought I'd be seeing the second half of Star Trek: The Next Generation on TV1.

The overs passed, and the runs required kept shrinking. There was tension – nervous laughter and chatter after each scoring shot. I traded SMS messages with Josh Jones down in Tasmania to keep occupied between deliveries. When Warne trod on his (expletive deleted) stumps, the match surely had to be over. The Poms thought so.
But the runs kept ticking over. And almost before we knew it, the runs required was in single figures. Incredible!! Now, perhaps Australia were a chance. They couldn't fall short again.....could they?....

Sunday December 30, 1982. I sat glued to my television, a faint glimmer of hope in my heart, as Allan Border and Jeff Thomson chased down 37 runs to win the 4th Test against England, and regain the Ashes.
The pair had already put on 37 runs the previous evening, and defied the England attack to fight it out on the final morning. Over 20 000 people took up the offer of free entry to watch what, in all probability, would be a very short session. One ball would finish it.
Border, who had been out of touch all summer, found himself with a single whenever he wanted it early in the over, before being crowded towards the end. He took most of the strike, looking for two's and four's, with singles towards the end of the over. Some came simplistically, others suicidally, but they survived.
As the score crept closer, England began to panic. Fieldsmen collided, misfields appeared, five senior players convening conferences almost every delivery...you almost believed that Australia could win the unwinnable Test...
WIN TV returned from an ad break, for viewers to see a ball from Ian Botham fly from the edge of Thomson's bat to 2nd slip...who dropped it! For a brief second the dream was still alive...until 1st slip came behind him and caught the rebound. Thomson was out, and Australia had lost the Test by a measly (expletive deleted) 3 runs.
As a 13 year old, that was bloody painful. Even when the 5th Test was drawn, and Australia had regained the Ashes that were lost in 1981, the closeness of that defeat still left a bitter after-taste.

Tuesday January 26, 1993. I sat glued to my television, a faint glimmer of hope in my heart, as Justin Langer, Tim May and Craig McDermott chased 84 runs to win the 4th Test against the West Indies, and win a series against them for the first time in 17 years.
Chasing a rather modest target of 186 in the final innings, the Australians had collapsed to 8/102. Langer was on debut, and showing the guts and nerve that has now brought him over 6000 Test runs. Tim May was holding up his end with aplomb. When Langer was finally dismissed for 54, Australia still required 42 more runs to pull off what now looked a most unlikely victory.
Ans yet, the two tail enders fought to the end. May played some immaculate drives, McDermott some nudges and surprising pulls. The score crept closer and closer, and by late afternoon, they had drawn to within one run of the combined West Indian total....you almost believed that Australia could win the unwinnable Test...
WIN TV returned from an ad break, for viewers to see a Courtney Walsh bouncer graze the grill of McDermott's helmet, and fly to the keeper. The West Indians went up, and Darrell Hair (to his eternal damnation) raised his finger. (And YES, it DID hit his grill NOT his glove!!).
The West Indians were ecstatic, Allan Border threw a cricket ball into the ceiling via the floor, and Australia had lost by the narrowest margin in Test history – by a measly (expletive deleted) 1 run.
As a 23 year old, that was bloody painful. The West Indies went on to win inside three days in Perth, and win the series – and the closeness of that defeat still left a bitter after-taste.

Monday January 6, 1994. I sat glued to my seat, a faint glimmer of hope in my heart, as Damien Martyn, Craig McDermott and Glenn McGrath chased 42 runs to win the 2nd Test against South Africa.
As with the previous four days of the Test, I was sitting in the concourse fronting the M.A.Noble Stand at the S.C.G. It was the first time I had watched every ball of a Test match live at the ground.
The previous afternoon, Australia had appeared a shoo-in, before Jonty Rhoads and Allan Donald put together a most unexpected partnership of 36, and left the home team 117 runs to win.
Even that appeared a formality, but a late collapse left the score at 4/63 at stumps. Wickets continued to fall on Day 5, until it appeared left for McDermott and Martyn to finish the job.
McDermott took it upon himself, and began to hit the ball hard through the line. Runs began to come at a flow that hadn't occurred throughout the innings...you almost believed that Australia could win the unwinnable Test...
Martyn saw the winning of the match, played the only forcing shot of his innings, and was caught at cover. The media cried out in anguish and anger. A very dodgy McGrath drove poorly straight back to Fanie DeVilliers, and Australia had lost by a measly (expletive deleted) 5 runs.
As a 24 year old, that was bloody painful. For some reason though, the media and the selectors decreed that Damien Martyn carried the can for the loss, sending his career spiralling. He would not play another Test for almost six years.
And even when Australia won in Adelaide to square the first series between the two countries in 23 years, the closeness of that defeat still left a bitter after-taste.

Australia's victory target had snuck down to 3. I was sitting on the edge of my lounge, feet habitually tapping away, hands clenched together. I hadn't moved from this position since Kasper had come to the crease. It's bad luck to move. You all know this. But we needed just three to seal a magnificent victory against the odds...you almost believed that Australia could win the unwinnable Test...
Bad move. NEVER begin to believe! Surely past history had already proven that!
As Harmison's delivery ballooned to Jones, the thoughts that rushed through my mind were,“It was NOT off the gloves!”
“The ball hasn't carried!”
“Billy (Bowden) won't give it out!”The truth, of course, was obvious, and before the ball was even halfway to the keeper, I exclaimed to Helen, “That's out...”.
And so it was. Kasper was out, the Poms were delirious, and Australia had lost by a measly (expletive deleted) 2 runs.

As a 35 year old, it was bloody painful, and the closeness of that defeat still leaves a bitter after-taste.

Of the narrowest losses in terms of runs in the history of Test cricket, Australia now have four of the top five. Adelaide 1992/93 (1st), Birmingham 2005 (2nd), Melbourne 1982/83 (4th) and Sydney 1993/94 (5th).

The series is wide open again. Both sides are relying on too few players to win matches. To me, it appears that the team that can break this dominance first, by having more than two or three players contributing to the total effort, is likely to be the eventual victor.

Isn't it amazing what a difference (expletive deleted) 2 runs can make?