Debutant the talk of England and Australia entering day three.
If the gross domestic product in Australia took a bit of a hit on Friday you can blame one man – Ashton Agar.
Countless Australian cricket fans burnt the midnight oil as they watched on and searched Agar’s Wikipedia page to learn up more about the man who would be the subject of water-cooler talk across the country.
The 19-year-old sensation that has captured the cricketing world’s imagination is now so popular in his homeland that if he had political aspirations, he would win by a landslide.
After all, you know you’ve made it when you can influence social media as much as having your own hashtag on twitter – #Ashtag.
But the debut of the Melbourne-born left-arm spinner goes beyond the Ashes and beyond cricket as well.
Agar, or his 163-partnership with Phil Hughes for the last wicket, broke just about every record there was for him to surpass.
In fact he probably made history by breaking the most records in a debut as well.
To put it into context if you don’t follow cricket are are new to the game and saw Agar’s heroics after being caught up in Ashes fever, he has done something that has never happened in around 130 years of Test cricket.
When was the last time you heard of more than a century of records being surpassed in any sport?
But it was the way in which Agar played his innings that also will stick in the minds of the fans, offcials, players and journalists for years to come.
With the flair and stroke-play many of his contemporaries struggled to grasp earlier in the day, the spinner looked older well beyond his years at the crease when it was expected nerves would crush him like a vice.
When he came towards what would be his fourth First Class 50 in just 11 games, he breezed past it.
And even as he entered the nervous 90s, he never looked flustered when a lesser player might have attempted to get off strike with a hasty single only to be run out.
As he described to a packed press conference after the game, Australian coach Darren Lehmann told him to play his natural game and not shy away from a delivery he beleived was there to be hit.
That’s why when he spied a short ball from Stuart Broad he could not resist, with his shot finding Graeme Swann at deep mid-wicket.
Some might have said he was mad to try and bring up his century with one shot.
Others that it was good he backed his skill and his eye at that point.
But really, in many ways, the fact he did not make it to triple figures adds to his allure as he handled the situation with aplomb and maturity.
All he could say to him mother as he was walking off the ground was “sorry about that.’
Yes Australia has a possible star in the making but the hype around his first innings in Test cricket will die down eventually.
It is at that point in his career where only sustained results will see him continue to be written up how has has been in the past 24 hours.
Excessive pressure must not be placed on his shoulders, and while he looks to have the calm demeanor needed in Test cricket, unfair comparisons can skew even the most level-headed youngster’s perception of what they have achieved in the game.
So while it is yet to be seen is Australia can win this first Test or even the series itself thanks to his heroics, take a second to reflect on what Ashton Agar served up yesterday, as he reminded us all about the excitement sport can still generate.
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