Basic HTML Version
Gary Pratt
30
gary pratt:
an unlikely ashes hero
The 2005 Ashes series threw up any
number of twists, turns and talking points
but possibly the most astonishing incident
came in the Fourth Test at Trent Bridge,
courtesy of a player who wasn’t even an
international cricketer.
Gary Pratt, then a 23-year old batsman
on Durham’s books, caused shockwaves
to reverberate around the cricketing world
after running out Australia’s captain, Ricky
Ponting, whilst on the field as a replacement.
Ponting’s furious reaction at England’s,
seemingly liberal, use of substitutes
brought even more attention to the
dismissal and ensured that Pratt’s name
would always surface in discussions about
the key Ashes moments.
“Duncan Fletcher had a list of young
players he wanted to have a look at, to assess
their attitude and that sort of thing, so if
you weren’t playing in a county game then
you would be called up to act as twelfth or
thirteenth man for the Test side.
“I’d done it a few times before the Trent
Bridge match. I’d done it at Headingley
against New Zealand and in that 2005
series in the earlier matches at Edgbaston
and OldTrafford.”
Arriving in Nottingham, the two sides were
level at one win apiece in the five-match
series and the nation was starting to believe
that England might actually regain the
Ashes urn.
That possibility was starting to become a
reality by the third day of the Trent Bridge
match but a dogged Ponting was battling
hard to try and keep Australia in the contest.
England had been fairly flexible in their use
of substitutes, often whipping a bowler off
for a rest after a long spell and replacing
him with a more mobile fielder, like Pratt.
In his case though, he was on the field for a
genuine injury to Simon Jones.
Following-on, 259 runs behind, the visitors
had begun to make a better fist of things
second time around, with their captain
undefeated on 48 out of a score of 155-2.
Ponting’s partner, Damien Martyn, pushed
an Andrew Flintoff delivery out onto the
off side and called the skipper through for
a quick single. Pratt swooped in from cover
and accurately threw down the stumps with
the batsman short of his ground.
“It was just about the basics of cricket really.
I had to execute my skills properly - pick
it up cleanly and deliver a quick release. It
came out all right and I hit the stumps, for
the first time that year, I think!”
It could have all ended disastrously
according to Gary. “Nobody was backing
up but I didn’t have time to think about
that. It was an opportunity for us to take
a wicket and fortunately I hit the stumps.
It went to the third umpire but all the lads
were confident it was out but you never
know until you see it on the screen, even
though the umpire was nodding his head.
“There were only inches in it, so I think
without the cameras being there the umpire
would have struggled to give it out.”
Engulfed by his delighted team-mates, Gary
struggles to recall what was said to him on
the field. “It was just madness then as all the
players rushed over tome. It was a crucial time
to get the wicket really as there wasn’t much
happening at that stage of the game - the
batsmen were cruising and the bowlers were
getting tired. Things like that tend to change
a game and we didn’t let them off after then.”
Whilst the home supporters were going
delirious and the England players were
enjoying their celebrations Ponting was
stomping furiously off the field.
As he made his way through the gates at
the front of the pavilion he looked upwards
and let out a furious volley of abuse in the
general direction of the England balcony.
“Matthew Hoggard had just been off the
field as well,” remembers Gary. “And as
he came back on he’d had a word with the
disappointed batsman, who said something
It was a crazy
run. They’ve gone
on about me but
Damien Martyn
sold Ricky down
the river
GARY PRATT