By the 30th over, the "Ashes" were no longer a tiny urn. On screen, they had become a literal mountain of smouldering currency notes—Euros, Pounds, Francs, Marks—burning at the center of the pitch. The batsmen didn't run between wickets; they shuffled along latitude and longitude lines. The fielders weren't fielders; they were tiny, suited figures representing EU commissioners.
Weird. A glitch. He kept playing.
He tried to quit the game. The menu option was greyed out. The only way out was to finish the match.
He selected a quick match. England vs. Australia. The toss happened too fast—the coin didn’t spin, it just vanished. He chose to bowl first.