The Aegean Test Championship: Match Report - Day 1
A blow by blow account of the first day's play between the glorious men of Greece and the valiant men of Troy
Well, we promised plenty of heat and action in our preview, and the two teams certainly delivered on that! Ten years to the day since Paris led his team to a stunning victory over Menelaus and took the coveted trophy Helen back home with him, the immense and bitter rivalry resumed here at Ilion Oval. The atmosphere was electric, with the anticipation building slowly throughout the morning as the crowd swelled - there were even reports of over 1000 tour buses dropping spectators off at the ground. Here is an account of the events of this fascinating opening day, which saw the momentum swing between these teams more than once.
First Session
As expected, the conditions were hot and dry on the opening morning, which saw Agamemnon win the toss and elect to bat. With his strong batting line up and bowlers suited for a wearing pitch, he had no hesitation to look for a big score up front. As always, the evergreen Nestor strode out to open the batting, this time alongside the brash young Protesilaus. There was some immediate consternation among the pair when deciding who would face first, but Protesilaus insisted that he be the first one onto the pitch. And he would also be the first man dismissed.
The new ball pairing of Paris and Pandarus began with probing spells, often beating the flashing drives that young Protesilaus aimed through the covers. Only once did he connect with these, walloping a square drive off Pandarus for four to open the scoring. At the other end, patient Nestor bided his time, protecting his off stump at all costs and not being goaded into nibbling at one away from his body. As ever, he looked certain to see out the day.
Paris bowled with much of the venom and accuracy that had so long ago brought him great success, and bowled 5 consecutive maidens to Nestor before a short tuck off the hip got the old man off the mark in the 11th over. Now facing Pandarus, he moved quickly to 6 runs with a couple of clips off the hip which saw his ageing legs and the long leg boundary tested out.
Protesilaus had, by this stage moved along to 12 runs and was starting to look comfortable. After 6 overs from Pandarus, Priam therefore decided to play his ace card - none other than the mighty Hector himself. An air of expectation filled the ground as the Trojan hero took the ball, and their mood turned to one of jubilation shortly after, as Hector had Protesilaus fending at a short rising delivery that took the shoulder of the bat and was caught at slip by Sarpedon. After some early nerves, a collective sigh of relief passed around the ground and the match was alive. Protesilaus fell for a flashy 12 off 33, perhaps regretting now his insistence on going out first.
Nestor at the other end sat on 6 off 40 balls, as dour as ever. A buzz greeted the arrival of Menelaus at number 3, knowing the personal animosity between him and Paris that was so central to this decade-long rivalry. Priam, knowing this could be to his advantage, pressed Paris to extend his spell for several more overs - hoping to goad his adversary into a false shot or two. Unfortunately, Nestor wisely farmed as much of the strike as possible, seeing Paris off until drinks, who completed a stunning opening spell of 8 overs that saw 6 maidens and only 7 runs.
Menelaus looked slightly uncomfortable early on against the back of a length deliveries that Hector sent down against him with a relentless determination. In fact, were it not for one shot that ran through the gully off an outside edge, he may have taken much longer to get off the mark. Once Paris came off and Deiphobus was brought into the attack, Menelaus began to ease into his work, finding the boundary with two imperious shots, one over cover and the other pulled behind square.
As ever, it was Hector who provided the breakthrough in the 27th over, this time dismissing Menelaus with a length ball that cut in off the seam and castled off-stump via the inside edge. Menelaus, who looked set on 16 from 40 balls, had to depart - though his frustration was clearly visible even from the grandstand. By now, Nestor had brough up his century of balls faced, though his score had only moved through to 14, with the Greek total at 45/2.
An excited hush fell across the ground as Agamemnon, the great leader of men, strode to the crease with barely 3 overs left until lunch. There were several keen words directed at him on his journey to the crease, but he seemed on a different plane, his eyes narrowed with determination. He dispatched his first ball, the final of Hector’s over, for four through point, treating it with regal disdain. At the end of 30 overs, Agamemnon and Nestor walked into lunch with the score on 51/2, and honours even after an engrossing first session.
Second Session
Agamemnon may have had lunch during the break, but he came out hungry nonetheless. The Greek captain began in a circumspect manner, but as the session progressed his appetite for runs could scarcely be sated. Priam decided to bring on the off-spin of young Aeneas early into the session, to try and coax an outside edge from the left-handed Nestor. However, his technique remained resolute, and with little turn on offer, Aeneas could do little more than contain and keep the run-rate down.
Deiphobus had some promising moments with ball, most noticeably when a flashing drive produced an edge from Agamemnon, which fell agonisingly short of Sarpedon in the gully. The Mycenean however shrugged this off and set back into his work, looking for gaps in the field to run twos so that he wouldn’t lose the strike to the obdurate Nestor. He took a particular liking to Aeneas’ spin, bringing out the sweep on a number of occasions.
At drinks, Agamemnon had already outpaced his elder teammate, racking up 31 runs off his first 50 balls. Nestor himself was closing in on 150 deliveries for his 19 runs. After drinks, short second spells from Paris and Pandarus failed to provide the necessary breakthroughs that Priam desired; meanwhile Agamemnon began to up his scoring rate, dominating the crease and the bowlers. It was clear to all in the ground that this was his stage and he was determined to own it.
One of the more bizarre passages came during the final over of Paris’ spell, when a cracking straight drive from Agamemnon hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. The Trojan tyro claimed to have got a finger on the ball as it passed his outstretched hand, before catching Nestor outside of his crease. Umpire Minos was unable to make the call on field, but enlisted the help of Third Umpire Aeacus. Upon reviewing the delivery, it was clear that the ball was well past Paris’s hand by the time he reached for it. A series of boos rang out from the Greek supporters, and Agamemnon did not hold back on voicing his opinions on Trojan sportsmanship.
The game settled back into its rhythm, and it was in the 49th over that Agamemnon truly showed his class and power. Priam had now spread the field for Aeneas, whom he instructed to float the ball up and invite Agamemnon to hit over the boundary riders. This was not a invitation the great man was going to turn down, and with the barest of effort or fuss, Agamemnon dispatched the young spinner over the long on boundary for 3 consecutive sixes. Aeneas returned to a more defensive length after this.
This momentum would surely have taken the Greek leader to three figures, were it not for the timely intervention of the tea break - at least from the Trojan perspective. Swept along in the wake of Agamemnon’s flair, Nestor had even managed to break into the 20s, finishing up at the break on 24 from 190 balls. Agamemnon himself was on 72 from just 99 balls, his strike rate increasing every over. The Greek dressing room certainly was the happier camp as they had their bread and olives, with the score at 131/2.
Third Session
Priam may have tried to rouse his men at the Tea break, but it did little to change the flow of the game upon resumption. Nestor continued to accumulate the odd single, however with the field spread, the Trojans were able to contain the run rate a little more by keeping Agamemnon off strike. Not content with a single per over, Agamemnon instead looked for boundaries wherever possible, sometimes even refusing to run a single, using the pretense of preserving Nestor’s tiring legs.
This stalemate was finally broken some 15 overs after tea, when Aeneas finally brought about Nestor’s downfall. A beautifully bowled series of turning deliveries from around the wicket drew him further and further across his stumps, before an arm ball cannoned into his pads dead in front of middle and off. Umpire Radamanthus had no hesitation in raising the finger, to the great relief of the many home fans who were tiring of the old man’s blockathon. Nestor finished on 32 from 256 balls, a supreme effort on a hot, dusty opening day to blunt the home attack. Greece were 3/156 in the 76th over.
Agamemnon seemed unphased by the loss of his partner; in many ways he was glad to see more strike rotation. Odysseus, that wily old campaigner, came in at 5 with an air of reckless mischief in his eye. The attention, however, turned squarely to his captain, who by now had accumulated 90 runs off his 123 balls. Despite the new ball being only a matter of overs away, Agamemnon seemed cautious as he scraped his way towards a hundred. Priam noticed this and drew in his field to cut off singles.
With Hector and Paris being rested for the new ball, it was left to Pandarus and Deiphobus to apply the pressure. Agamemnon’s mind was clearly focused more on the prizes set by their wealthy sponsor Athena; he knew a hundred here would certainly set him up for the supreme award. When at last, on 97, Deiphobus offered him a short, wide long hop, you could see his eyes light up and the lust for glory shine through. The ball cracked off his bat with a thunderous sound, and his arms were aloft before it had even reached the boundary. A short lap of the field ensued, soaking in the cheers of his compatriots and the boos of the home fans.
And that was that. The very next ball, with his own personal goal clearly achieved, the concentration and determination that had got him this far vanished. A huge, ugly swipe at a ball outside off stump, attempting to deposit Deiphobus into the grandstand, resulted in nothing more than a tame edge through to the keeper Memnon. A sense of anti-climax flew through the ground, though Agamemnon was still given a rousing reception from his fellow Achaeans as he trudged back to the pavilion with a wistful grin, finally out for 101 off 143 balls.
With the new ball due, and two relatively new batsmen in, Priam saw his moment to take the initiative. Bringing on Paris and Hector in tandem for a 10 over burst, he could see the opening that he needed - at 176 for 4, even one more wicket could send panic through the Greek camp. However, he did not account for the formidable bond that Odysseus shared with his incoming partner Diomedes. The two seemed to have telepathic communication, calling and running in sync as they expertly navigated the new ball. Not only that, but the harder ball on the surface enable them to score more freely, against a flagging fielding side.
By the end of the 90 overs, the two were well and truly set and looking hungry for more. Diomedes had motored along to 24 off his 30 balls, with Odysseus on 31 from 40. This partnership in particular allowed the Greeks to move the score from its sedate early pace through to a respectable 224/4 at the close of play. Though Nestor had accumulated a large amount of strike on the first day, he laid an effective foundation for the more attacking batsmen to thrive on.
Close of Play
Priam will have much to think about overnight. Of particular concern is the energy of his tiring bowlers, who had to expend quite a lot of energy on such a hot day, with little return for the spinners. It is likely he will turn to some of his part time bowlers in the morning, before returning to his most impressive asset. Hector looked menacing at all times, finishing the day with 2/45 from his 17 overs. Young Aeneas impressed as well on surface not yet showing much turn, and he will likely remember that dismissal of Nestor long into the future, wherever his career may take him.
But the day certainly belonged to Agamemnon, who seemed predestined to make a century on this grand stage, though there will be a hint of disappointment that he put his own glory ahead of the team. It will also be interesting to keep an ear out for how his team is gelling in their dressing room, with so many competing personalities. For now, however, it is his glorious day to celebrate.
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