JOIN USLehmann's faith pays off
Australia coach Darren Lehmann had forecast that teenage sensation Ashton Agar would come into the game “more and more” after the left-arm spinner was handed a shock Test debut in the Ashes opener at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
Just a day later, Agar went on to justify Lehmann’s faith in him, with a spectacular 98 that put his team on top.
Agar, a 19-year-old Western Australia left-arm spinner, was only brought to England originally as a “development player” for the first two Ashes Tests.
But in a dramatic move involving Australia chairman of selectors John Inverarity, on tour selector and wicketkeeping great Rodney Marsh and Lehmann himself, Agar was preferred instead of off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The stunning selection did not leak from the tourists’ camp until fast bowling great Glenn McGrath was seen handing Agar his ‘Baggy Green’ cap, in a traditional presentation ceremony for Australia players making a Test debut.
“The boys were good, they knew two days ago so we just had to see if they could keep it quiet and they did,” Lehmann said.
“For a 19-year-old kid, it’s great,” added Lehmann.
“He was excited and you saw him when Glenn McGrath presented him with his cap, he had a tear in his eye and it’s a big moment for him.”
Just as England believe off-spinner Graeme Swann can play a key role against Australia because his stock ball turns away from left-handed batsmen, of whom there are several in the tourists’ line-up, so the fact England’s top-order is mainly made up of right-handers helped boost Agar’s case.
“We went for a left-arm spinner to take it away from all their right-handers,” explained Lehmann after a day where Agar sent down seven wicketless overs, albeit for just 24 runs, in overcast conditions ideal for seam rather than spin bowling.
“He was nervous (on Wednesday) – you’d expect that on the first day of an Ashes series. As the wicket wears, he’ll come into the game more and more,” Lehmann insisted.
On Thursday though, it was Agar the batsman who turned heads with some clean hitting.
Melbourne-born Agar came to prominence during the last Australian season by taking 31 first-class wickets at a shade under 30 apiece in his debut Sheffield Shield campaign for Western Australia.
Lehmann, then coach of Queensland, was impressed.
Awesome Agar
* Agar and Hughes’ partnership of 163 is the highest for a 10th wicket in tests. It was previously 151, jointly held by New Zealand's Brian Hastings and Richard Collinge (1973) and Mushtaq Ahmed and Azhar Mahmood of Pakistan (1998).
* Agar’s 98 is the highest score by a Test number 11 -- beating West Indian Tino Best’s 95 made against England last year. The previous best by an Australian number 11 was 61 by Glenn McGrath against New Zealand in 2004.
* Agar is the first debutant number 11 to score a Test half-century, the
previous highest score was Australian Warwick Armstrong's 45 in 1902.
* It was only the third time in Test history the 10th-wicket pair have doubled their team’s total. Australia were 117-9 and then 280 all out.
Highest scorebyNo11batsmen
* Ashton Agar (Aus) 98 Eng 2013
* Tino Best (WI) 95 Eng 2012
* Zaheer Khan (Ind) 75 Ban 2004
* Richard Collinge 68* Pak 1973
* Bert Vogler 62* Eng 1906