Tony Becca
THE ASHES Test series, the war between England and Australia on the cricket field, moves into its fourth match on Thursday at Trent Bridge and cricket fans around the world, certainly here in Jamaica, cannot wait for the action to resume.
After three matches, one at Lord's, one at Edgbaston, and one at Old Trafford, after one victory for Australia, one for England, and one nail-biting draw, the contest is locked at one-all and heading for a tight finish - a finish to a series that could be as drama-packed and as exciting as that between Australia and the West Indies in 1960-61.
On that occasion, the first Test in Brisbane ended in a tie - the first tie in the history of the game.
Australia won the second Test in Melbourne by seven wickets and the West Indies won the third Test in Sydney by 222 runs.
MOST EXCITING TEST SERIES
The fourth Test in Adelaide was drawn with the last pair of Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline batting out the final 100 minutes, and in a match which saw Gary Sobers bowling unchanged for 41 eight-ball overs in Australia's first innings, Australia won the fifth and final Test by two wickets to win what many still consider the most exciting Test series in modern times, 2-1.
In this contest, Australia, starting favourites as they were 44 years ago, won the first Test by 239 runs. England won the second Test by two runs - one of the closest victory margins in the history of the game, and the third Test ended in a draw with the last pair of Brett Lee and Glen McGrath batting out the final four overs.
With two matches to go, this series could end up as close and as exciting as that of 1960-61 - so much so that cricket fans may be hard-pressed to determine which one, if any, should be rated above the other.
The drama and the excitement of the close finishes in 1960-61 and so far in the current series are not the only reasons for one still being remembered and the other promises so much, however.
Another reason was the quality play by both sides in 1960-61 and the quality play of both sides in the current contest.
In 1960-61, the West Indies set the pace by scoring 453 off 100.6 overs in the first innings of the 1960-61 series.
LOVELY CRICKET
Australia replied with 505 and with batsmen like Sobers, Rohan Kanhai and Conrad Hunte, with bowlers like Wes Hall, Alfred Valentine, Lance Gibbs and Sobers on one side, with Colin McDonald, Bob Simpson, Neil Harvey and Norman O'Neil, Alan Davidson and Richie Benaud on the other, and with some brilliant fielders, including Joe Solomon, on both sides, from there on, it was cricket, lovely cricket.
In this series, England dismissed Australia for 190 in the first innings of the series. After falling for 155 in their first innings, they returned to rattle up 407 runs off 79.2 overs on the opening day of the second Test and with batsmen like Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, with bowlers like Flintoff, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones on one side, with Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting, McGrath, Lee and Shane Warne on the other, and with some brilliant fielders on both sides, so far it has been cricket, lovely, cricket.
REFRESHING APPROACH
At the end of the 1960-61 series, both sides were lauded for a refreshing approach to the game, for breathing life into a game that many said was dying, and the result was a ticker-tape farewell in Melbourne for the West Indies team.
So far, both sides in the Ashes series are being showered with praise for their approach to the game, and the result, so far, has been full houses everywhere - to the extent that on the final day of the third Test, on a Monday in Manchester, Old Trafford was packed to capacity.
According to reports over 20,000 fans were turned away at the gates.
Trent Bridge will be packed to capacity on Thursday. Like the Woolloongabba, the MCG, the SCG, the Adelaide Oval and the MCG again in 1960-61, however, like Lord's, Edgbaston and Old Trafford over the past few weeks, it will be packed not because of side shows and other attractions, but simply because of the quality cricket being played by Australia and England - by the likes of Ponting, McGrath, Warne and Lee, Trescothick, Strauss, Pietersen, Harmison and Flintoff.
