Ashton Agar eager to return to venue of Ashes heroics with Birmingham

It was at Trent Bridge in 2013 that Agar, aged 19, made a sensational start to his Test career when, batting number 11 in his first innings, he scored 98

Birmingham Bears are preparing for a big weekend of Vitality Blast action on the road, away to Notts Outlaws on Friday and Yorkshire Vikings on Sunday - and Australian star Ashton Agar can't wait for the games to arrive.

Spin-bowling all-rounder Agar has settled immediately into the Birmingham squad and is loving life with the Bears. He has impacted on the field too, contributing runs and wickets to the wins over Leicestershire Foxes and Derbyshire Falcons at Edgbaston.

A defeat at Northants Steelbacks last Sunday interrupted the Bears' momentum, but Agar is keen to help them bounce back with victory against old rivals The Outlaws at Trent Bridge - a ground at which he has some very special history.

It was there in 2013 that Agar, aged 19, made a sensational start to his Test career when, batting number 11 in his first innings, he scored 98 in a last-wicket stand of 163 with Philip Hughes.

Agar batted for 134 minutes and showed it was no fluke by batting for more than two hours again in the second innings. So plenty of memories will be evoked for the popular Aussie in Nottingham on Friday.

"It will be good to go back as I do have some good memories of Trent Bridge," he said. "Though I was also part of the team that got hit for 481 there in an ODI last year so they are not all good!

"It was a great start to my Test career, though it set a pretty tough benchmark. People can be a bit unrealistic in their expectations.

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"Cricket is a very tough game so you have got to accept that you will have bad days as well as good days. I just go out there and demand the best from myself every single time. It helps being an all-rounder because if you don't fire in one department maybe you will in another.

"I just want to affect every game as much as I can. I'm pleased to have contributed to a couple of wins for the Bears, though I was disappointed not to get us over the line at Northampton.

"Now we have Notts, Yorkshire and Leicestershire away in a short time so it is a big week and they will be great atmospheres. Playing T20 at a big stadium with a big crowd in, as we saw in the two games at Edgbaston last week, is like playing international cricket."

Agar has settled very quickly among his new team-mates at Edgbaston which, he insists, is a big tribute to them and to others in the Bears family.

"It helps so much when you feel at home and are comfortable with the people around you and that has been the case from day one for me at Edgbaston." he said. "There are some wonderful people at the club.

"Ian Bell, who I played with at Perth Scorchers, has been awesome, and everyone had made me feel so welcome."

Courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network

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