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How a pub chat led to cricket's most unlikely Ashes hero
The story of Ashton Agar's record-breaking 98 on Test debut began, improbably, in a Worcester pub. The then-19-year-old spinner had been summoned by Australia captain Michael Clarke not for another round of drinks but for an Ashes baptism by fire at Trent Bridge. "He said, 'Are you ready to go, youngster?'" Agar recalls. "I thought he meant the next pub. Then he clarified: 'For next week.' I said yes-no hesitation."
The selection stunned observers. Cricket Australia's website called it "one of the biggest Ashes bombshells in history." Agar, a near-unknown with just two Sheffield Shield matches under his belt, had been plucked from club cricket in Henley to face England's fearsome attack. His parents, alerted hours before his baggy green ceremony, flew overnight from Melbourne to witness their son's debut.
'The ground was moving': A debut under siege
Agar's initiation was brutal. England's 215 all out-spearheaded by Peter Siddle's five-wicket haul-set the tone. By stumps on Day 1, Australia had collapsed to 75-4, with James Anderson's outswinger dismissing Clarke in what Agar describes as "the most demoralizing ball I've seen." The teenager's nerves frayed further as 10,000 fans roared England's anthems. "It felt like God's hand on my brain," he says of the sensory overload. "The chants made the ground sway like seaweed."
Day 2 brought disaster. Australia slumped to 117-9, still 98 runs adrift. Agar, the accidental number 11, walked out to join Phil Hughes. "I just wanted to survive my first ball," he admits. A blocked delivery off Graeme Swann, then a single, steadied him. What followed was cricketing alchemy: 12 fours, two sixes, and a 101-ball innings that rewrote the record books.
"You don't know how it's happening, but it just happens. All of your knowledge and skill comes out at once."
Ashton Agar, reflecting on his innings
Records tumble as England's plans unravel
Agar's partnership with Hughes (81*) became Test cricket's highest 10th-wicket stand at the time. His 98 surpassed Tino Best's record for a number 11, set just a year earlier. Even England's fans, sensing history, cheered him on. "The crowd went quiet when I fell two short," Agar recalls. "They wanted the century more than I did."
The innings earned plaudits from legends-Ian Botham called it "not the shots of a number 11"-and a congratulatory tweet from then-Australian PM Kevin Rudd. Yet Agar's focus remained on his primary role: bowling. He claimed Cook and Bairstow's wickets but was overshadowed by Stuart Broad's controversial non-walking dismissal, a moment Agar defends. "Cricket is hard. You need luck," he says. "That decision might've changed the Test."
Injury and the Queen's handshake
Lord's brought physical agony. A torn finger left Agar "bowling in pain, knowing I wasn't at my best." The silver lining? Meeting Queen Elizabeth II. "She shook my hand and said, 'This is your first time here, isn't it?'" he marvels. "The Queen knew it was me."
Legacy: 98, Hughes, and 'no regrets'
Agar's Test career stalled after five caps, but his bond with Hughes endures. The batsman's tragic death in 2014 hit hard. "We shared something special that day," Agar says. "He taught me resilience." Two days after Hughes' passing, Agar was dismissed for 98 again-"spooky," he calls it. Yet he insists: "I've never regretted those two runs. That innings was pure joy."
Now 32, Agar's Ashes legacy is cemented: the teenager who humbled England with a bat, then bowed out with grace. "It's just a number," he says of 98. "But what it represents-that day, that partnership-is everything."
