At 2pm the Harris Garden was empty, and the Nursery deserted. Apart from the idle bar and catering staff, the cleaners sweeping up the tumbling plastic cups, the outer grounds were uninhabited. Everyone was inside, in utter tumult. In the Edrich Stand they were chanting: “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!” and over in the Compton it was: “Same old Aussies! Always cheating!”
They have been playing Test cricket here since 1884, the atmosphere at the ground has been loud enough before now, excitable, tense and on edge, too, but it’s never felt, or sounded, quite like it did this Sunday lunchtime.
