The Aegean Test Championship: Match Report - Day 2
An incredible day of Test cricket that saw the Greek heroes dominate the home side
If yesterday’s action was anything to go by, today promised to be another engrossing contest - and it did not disappoint. However, while the first day was a bit of an arm wrestle, the Greek side took a huge step forward towards retaining the coveted prize today. Here’s how it went down:
First Session:
Resuming on 224/4, the Greeks looked for early runs against a Trojan attack that had spent a long, hot day in the field. Although the ball was only 10 overs old, the expert partnership of Odysseus and Diomedes navigated it with ease and kept the run rate ticking over. Priam turned to a range of bowlers to give his players some respite, as well as employing part-timer Penthesilea for a lengthy spell.
Odysseus was the first to reach his 50, coming in just 63 balls as he repeatedly found the boundary in the opening overs. Diomedes soon followed him, bringing up his own half century off 69 balls, in the process taking the partnership well over the 100 mark. When off-spinner Aeneas came back into the attack, Diomedes took a particular liking to him and caused quite a scene.
His first six of the day landed squarely in the sponsors’ tent, grazing Trojan supporter Aphrodite in the arm. While this may have seemed like a happy accident, it seemed more targeted when three balls later he deposited another six in the exact same direction, this time catching Ares full in the chest. The sponsors were understandably hesitant to get so close to the action for some time. Diomedes himself gave a sly wink in the direction of his own champion, Athena, suggesting some sort of prior arrangement may have been made.
The fun and merriment came to an end, however, when Odysseus was ought, caught behind off Pandarus, trying to run one far too fine through the vacant slip cordon - he could only steer it directly into the keeper Memnon’s gloves. The pair had taken the score from 176/4 to 310/5, a vital partnership of 134 to advance the Greek cause.
With Odysseus gone for 73 off 90, Diomedes’ rhythm seemed equally disrupted as he tried to adapt to the slower pace of his new partner, Greater Ajax. When they had added just 8 runs, Diomedes set off for a quick single, forgetting the more robust Ajax was now at the other end. He was halfway down the pitch before he heard the booming call of “No run!” from his partner, and could beat the direct throw from Paris at cover which saw him a foot outside of his crease. Diomedes was thus run out for 72 from 89, another important knock.
If the Trojans thought this double blow would set back the Greek cause, they had not counted on the lightning fast Achilles coming out to the crease. From the get-go, it was clear he was in a brutish mood, and he made quick work of everything they threw at him. Facing only 23 balls, he hit a stunning 8 boundaries, 6 of them clearing the ropes. He took a particular liking to Paris, whose tidy economy rate from earlier in the innings took a hammering as he went for 30 runs in 3 overs.
Paris, perhaps, had the last laugh however, when an expertly guided yorker snuck underneath the bat of Achilles and pinned him in front of leg stump. Umpire Minos’ finger went straight up, and to add insult to injury, Achilles went down in heap. The ball had collected him on the ankle and he looked to be in some pain, as he hobbled off with the help of the team physio. The question of his fitness for the remainder of the match was the only blemish on what was otherwise a stunning session for the Greeks.
Ajax remained stalwart at the other end, accumulating his way to 24 runs by the lunch break. Idomeneus came in to replace Achilles and saw that no more wickets would fall, ending up 2 not out. As the dust settled, the Greeks had moved their score to 402/7, an astounding session of batting which saw 178 runs and 3 wickets fall.
Second Session :
The Trojans clearly needed the lunch break to pause, regather and catch their breath - and this seemed to help them in the afternoon session. Priam returned to his trump card, bringing Hector back into the attack to sort out the tail. After adding a brisk 13 off 15 balls, Hector had Idomeneus caught behind fiddling away from his body. Teucer narrowly avoided a golden duck, driving the last ball of the over and edging it low past gully for 2 runs. That would be all for him, however, as Hector had him bowled first ball of his next over, this time beating the inside edge.
Lesser Ajax came out to join his namesake, who looked intent on farming the strike. After the tailender managed to a eek out a single, the son of Telamon took charge moving his score through to 43. Priam wisely brought on the spinner Aeneas to tempt him into a big shot, which was not his usual gameplay. This had immediate effect, with the great man coming down the track, only to see the ball miss his almighty swing and cannon into the stumps.
The Greek innings came to an end on 437 off 130 overs, an extremely firm platform with which to set up their push to win back the trophy. Agamemnon’s 101 remained the stand-out performance, putting him in the box seat to claim the major prize offered by their sponsor Athena. The partnership of Odysseus and Diomedes, as well as the power of Achilles, all combined to set up this strong position. All eyes were therefore on how the Trojans would come out to face them.
The biggest talking point, however, as the Trojans came out to bat, was that Achilles did not take the field. Instead, he could be seen on the sidelines being attended to by the team physio, Thetis, who worked on his ankle with all her skill. He was in his whites, however, which suggested a strong desire to get back on the field as soon as possible. Without their swift-footed fast bowler, the Greeks opened with the steady pair of Idomeneus and Teucer, renowned for their accuracy more than pace.
The Trojan opening pair was a solid, well-established partnership and they navigated the bowling easily. They left judiciously outside off stump, punished over-pitched deliveries and ducked well clear of any short pitched bowling. Agamemnon was visibly frustrated that he did not have the out and out pace of Achilles to test them, and sent regular messengers to the sidelines for updates. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the middle was calm and almost friendly; at one point Diomedes began a detailed conversation with Glaucus, realising they had both played for the same club in their youth. A little bit of spark had gone out of the game without their fiery spearhead.
This all changed, however, in the final over of the session. Sarpedon drove one firmly through the covers, only for it to be collected on the boundary by sub fielder Patroclus. Having not realised that the substitute was on the fielder, Sarpedon had given the ball up for a boundary and walked down the pitch to talk to his partner. Before he recognised his mistake, the throw came in and he was run out. The Trojan camp erupted in cries of cheating, poor sportsmanship and deception, but the Umpires made it clear that there was nothing they could do.
Sarpedon was out for 42 off 63 balls, a fine knock in the circumstances but a bitter taste in his mouth at the dismissal. Rumours report that the head of the Olympian Cricket Committee, Zeus Almighty, was tempted to intervene at the Tea break and have him recalled. However, he ultimately decided not to get involved in the situation as Sarpedon was in fact a close relation of his, and he would not have any suggestion of nepotism. At Tea, then, the Trojan reply stood at a firm 79/1, with Glaucus not out on 35 off 51 balls.
Third Session:
The controversial end to the second session lit a fire beneath the contest and reinvigorated the action. This was also aided by the return of Achilles to the field, who seemed to have fully recovered from his earlier knock to the ankle. Coming in for the Trojans was the young gun Troilus, who was brimming with eagerness to make his name on this grand stage.
However, he was no match for the fury and pace of a fired-up Achilles, still frustrated by the suggestion that his closest friend Patroclus had done anything wrong. Having made his way to 9, Troilus received a fierce bouncer from the paceman, which burst through his recoiling defence, cannoned into his helmet and ballooned agonizingly onto the stumps. The Trojans were now wobbling at 94/2.
Into this cauldron strode the imperious Hector, breaker of picket fences. Despite Achilles’ best efforts, he was equal to everything he sent down at him. Glaucus at the other end moved onto 50, taking advantage of the extra pace to put away some misdirected short pitched bowling. However his confident innings was cut short by an incredible feat of athleticism from the Greek keeper Ajax. Glaucus fended a short ball down the leg side from Achilles, the ball grazing his glove and taking a healthy deflection. The bulwark of the Greeks sprang to his left and completed the catch inches from the ground in his glove, before being mobbed by his team mates. Glaucus departed for a well-made 56 from 77 balls.
At the fall of this wicket, with the score 121/3 and the innings in the balance, the mood around the ground changed. Paris, who had set in motion this immense rivalry ten years before, strode out to the crease both camps drew a breath of expectation. Agamemnon made the curious move of taking Achilles out of the attack, and bringing on Menelaus. Whether he wanted to rest his fast bowler’s ankle, or to reignite the rivalry between his brother and Paris, it certainly made an impact.
Immediately Menelaus, who bowls a heavy back of a length ball, tested out Paris on the back foot. In his first four balls, he hit him three times on the body - first the shoulder, ducking too slowly; second, in the chest, missing a pull shot; and finally on the elbow, a painful knock which saw him drop to the ground. Menelaus stood over him with little remorse, as the physio ran out to attend to him. There was some consternation on the sidelines, and it seemed like Aphrodite herself was directing that her favourite be taken from the field to nurse his wounds. Paris seemed almost relieved to walk off the field, retiring hurt on 1* with the score at 122/3.
With this intriguing conflict forestalled, the tension dissipated somewhat. The mighty amazon Penthesilea came out to join Hector, who had barely seen much of the strike thus far. With Achilles resting again, they negotiated the other bowlers, with Menelaus completing a tidy spell. Second efforts from Idomeneus and Teucer were not able to threaten the composure of Hector, and the Amazon put the gentle spin of Lesser Ajax to the sword. Having put together a partnership of 30 runs in short time, Agamemnon could feel the momentum slipping away, and once again called on his express quick.
Achilles had immediate success, trapping the defiant Penthesilea LBW for 21 off her 33 balls. An innings that promised much, but was cut short. Hector, who had made his way to 19 at this stage, took a fair deal of the strike when his new partner Memnon arrived at the crease, providing an anchor for the innings. Keeping Achilles for short bursts, Agamemnon rolled through his line up, giving even the wily Odysseus a couple of overs to seek out a breakthrough. But once again, under the level head of Hector, another solid partnership formed.
And it seemed very much that the day would end in this fashion, but Agamemnon was not content to see it out. Calling back the son of Peleus for the final over of the day, he set an aggressive field to try and blast out the resolute Memnon. With the first four deliveries seen off confidently, an intense discussion took place between the captain and Odysseus, his key strategical advisor. The result was unusual; Odysseus set up a ring of fielders on the leg side behind the wicket, as if standing in the slips for a left hander. Achilles, the light now shining in his eyes, knew exactly what to do. A short, lifting ball directed at Memnon’s armpit saw him fend it off, directly into the waiting hands of none other than Odysseus himself.
Memnon fell for 15 off 29, and with Paris nursing his injuries and only Hector standing tall at the other end on 30*, the Trojan innings looked in tatters at 182/5. The sharp wits of Odysseus had provided a vital blow for the Greeks, who took all the momentum with them into the sheds at the close of play.
End of the Day
For the Greeks, this was a day to remember. The stunning attacks of their batsman to push them to a huge platform, the blasting pace of Achilles always threatening, disaster looming for the Trojans. Agamemnon can rest easy knowing he has all the firepower he needs to win the match outright, provided Achilles remains in good health and humour. Taking 4/31 from his 12 overs, and with 5 wickets remaining to fall, Achilles could very easily pip Agamemnon to the ultimate prize tomorrow morning.
The Trojans will need the night to regather and lick their wounds. Paris’ fitness remains a concern, and they will know that so much of their fate rests on the shoulders of their favourite son Hector. Priam will likely send himself in to shore up an end and allow him to play the anchor role. However, it will take an almighty effort to drag themselves back into the contest from here.
Come back soon for all the Day 3 excitement. Don’t forget to subscribe so you can keep up with all the action as soon as it unfolds!