FOR ONE glorious, sunlit hour at Lord's yesterday, when the runs were flowing like the lunchtime Pimms and a young man was making a name for himself, it was almost necessary to pinch oneself just to make sure it was not just a dream. This was the day that Ben Hollioake, a lad whose county career has barely begun, became a man on the grandest stage against the toughest opposition.
Batting at number three, with the double-0, licensed-to-thrill prefix, he cocked a snook at reputations, clumped his second delivery straight back past the bemused bowler, Glenn McGrath - one of the world's premier pace bowlers - to rattle the pavilion rails, and, in the next 46 balls, hit 10 more boundaries and a massive six hoisted over square leg off Shane Warne one of the finest spinners who ever drew breath - before clipping a catch to point.
As he walked off, the crowd stopped short of flinging their hats in the air, but they clapped, football style, above their heads, and some even cheered. Hollioake, a tall fellow, raised his bat tentatively, but stared at the ground in front of him through the grille of his new England helmet.
Had he been anyone else but a Hollioake it might have been mistaken for embarrassment. Diffidence, however, does not feature in the Hollioake vocabulary. For two matches, it has been Adam who has eased himself into a key role in the England side as if sliding onto a stool next to a woman in a Battersea wine bar: it brought him England's man of the series award.
But Adam has been around a bit, captain of the A side, skipper of Surrey. Ben, though, is barely 19, and 19 year old Englishmen play second XI cricket: they do not bat first wicket down in internationals against Australia, and they certainly do not cane the bowling as if it were a benefit match.
Hollioake's innings shone brilliantly on a day resplendent with fine individual performances, and resulted, neatly, in England's third successive six wicket win.
The Australian innings was dominated by a sublime 95 from Mark Waugh - 96 deliveries met with such elegance he could have been batting on a catwalk - and by 10 overs of Darren Gough, somewhere close to his barrel chested, ebullient best, that set Australia back at the start. It brought him Waugh's wicket when, almost singlehandedly, he was threatening to push the innings beyond England's reach. Gough took 5 for 44 in all for the second time in his career and, on a day of toil for bowlers, the man of the match award.
Australia had made changes, with Mark Taylor deciding there was no further value in limited overs cricket in his quest to find any semblence of form, and he was joined by Michael Slater. But the replacements, Matthew Elliott and Just in Langer, failed to take the chance as England won the toss once more, fielded ferociously again, and caught like demons (Thorpe's catch at slip to dismiss the Australian stand in captain Steve Waugh was exceptional).
Hollioake senior it was who pushed the winning runs, just as he had in the other games. "Oh, well," said Ben, "big brothers always have the last word."
