In Hilaire Belloc’s most marvellous children’s book Algernon and other cautionary tales, the opening tale concerns Jim (‘whose friends were very good to him’). Jim, however, met a fateful end. When, upon a visit to the zoo, he escaped the clutches of his Nurse only to catch the attention of a dangerous beast. As Belloc notes ‘the lion having reached his head, the Miserable Boy was dead’.
As the book is full of such cautionary tales, the caution in this instance was thus: ‘always keep a-hold of Nurse, For fear of finding something worse’.
Something worse. The recently concluded Ashes seemed to be – despite a few flashes of heroism and Australia’s refreshingly old-fashioned ‘I am nothing, we are everything’ ethos – like English cricket slipping the hand of its own nurse.
Batting became, save for two hundreds by the book-ending Root and Bethell, insouciance rendered in 3D. Little care, little reward, little remorse. Nothing captured the escaping clutches more so than the ‘great hope’ of Harry Brook.
Harry ‘s first ball charge at Mitchell Starc was no mere brain fade. It was a dancing ‘up yours’ to batting. A ‘shove it up your arse’ exclamation to all of the gritty, determined, match-winning or match-saving efforts of those who have become before. A selfish and self-promoting flourish which ended, not in tears, of course, as that would have shown regret. It ended in the promotion of the individual over team, a sanguine shrug of ‘oh, that’s just Harry’.
It seems fitting, does it not, that Hilaire Belloc’s Jim was devoured by a lion – the symbol of British imperial strength. England’s Bazball incarnation, adored and derided in equal measure, was consumed by the very lions which are proudly stitched to their breast.
Harry, Baz, Jamie and Ben, then there’s the rest of them, were wretched away from the steadying hand of cricket’s nurse – the one has who allowed for ebbs and flows of the times, for Test cricket to shape and move as the times required. Instead, Baz, his co-conspirators and, willing conscripts, endeavoured to attempt a reverse cricketing Copernican Revolution to make cricket orbit them. To orbit around the might of the individual, the might of the dare, their own gravitational pull of fantasy.
In the end, like Jim, England met their fateful end. Their collective heads lay akimbo, strewn across the outfield of Adelaide, their Ashes dream devoured, hungrily and readily.
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About Tim Goddard
Someone from 3227 who likes some sports, the Cats, some words and an incoming tide.
Welcome Tim. Thanks for this magnificent set of observations. If only England had thought about their batting with the care and insight you’ve shown here. Among many great lines, this stood out – ‘endeavoured to attempt a reverse cricketing Copernican Revolution to make cricket orbit them.’
Good stuff. Provocatively and engagingly argued. Thanks Tim.
Hilaire Belloc and GK Chesterton became life long friends. There is a story of them imbibing whisky and water and waking with terrible hangovers. Next night they tried brandy and water with similar results. Then after trying gin and water, they decided the only common ingredient was water and resolved never to dilute their drinks in future.
Bazball owes much to them.
Looking up their friendship I saw they were both accused of anti-semitism but became stout defenders of Jews late in life when Hitler came to power. Chesterton wrote in 1935 that he and Belloc “began in the days of Jewish (financial) omnipotence by attacking the Jews, we will no doubt probably die defending them”.
Such is the difficulty of nuanced debate in emotionally charged times.
Mali would no doubt have banned them from Writers Festival.
Tim interesting take with a hell of a lot of truth in that yes ohh that’s just-Harry for mine the snotty posh schoolboy no matter what he did the parents it was never his fault ( classic case happening here currently)
just go back to -Perth just some remote common sense batting and England go one up and it’s a totally different series.Australia won the big moments but a lot of the time it was really-England lost those moments,Harry reverse sweep-Jamie Smith slog in -Adelaide then he goes nah I can play a even worse shot in -Sydney.Englands management we can effectively play a pre season internal game followed by the gf.
With just clear thought honesty and no arrogance it could have been totally different thanks-Tim
Thanks Tim.
Love the paragraph describing Harry’s nonchalant self-destruction.
And the analogy of the English lion eating Bazball.
Tim, ff all the many thousands of words I have read analysing the Ashes series these were for me the ones that were closest to revealing the truth of it all, all the more so, for having mined English literature for the exact rhetorical gems to reveal that truth. Thank you for doing so, so succinctly and so cheerily. Before the summer I thought of the names “Root, Brook, Stokes, Archer, Wood” and feared for what might lie ahead. As you remind us, I should have added Copernicus, and the cricketing Gods that lay waste to those who dare to believe they can ignore the natural forces and stare with contempt and disregard at Mt Olympus. Loved it.