Backyard Ashes (2013) Online

Backyard Ashes (2013) Online

Dougie Waters loves nothing more than a weekend barbie and cricket match with his mates. But his paradise on earth is destroyed when his best mate and neighbour Norm is forced to leave town and their new boss, a pompous English administrator called Edward Lords, moves in. The animosity between the two men peaks during one fateful backyard cricket match when Dougie hits a ball that accidentally stuns Edward's prize winning cat, Dexter. The cat falls into the roaring BBQ and is instantly incinerated, leaving only ashes. Dougie's son captures footage of the unfortunate event on camera and it is uploaded onto YouTube where the video instantly goes viral! The idea of a backyard cricketing challenge is hatched, with the winner keeping the ashes of Edward's deceased cat, Dexter. The two teams battle it out in the greatest game of backyard cricket ever for the Backyard Ashes.

The Term "Ashes" is based on a tradition Australia and England have. Every Year the two nations select a team to send to either country. They play at test match and the winner takes home the ashes.

John Jarrett was considered for the role of Dougie Waters

Genelle Mullins (Denise) passed away from cancer during post production and the movie was dedicated to her memory.

First ever theatrical feature film to be filmed in the town of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia.

The movie was filmed in director Mark Grentell's own grandmother's backyard in his own hometown in Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia.

Edward Lords' name is a reference to Lord's Cricket Ground in London, generally regarded as the home of cricket.

The name of the main character, Dougie Waters, is an homage to one the larrikins of Australian Test cricket, Doug Walters. Walters played Test cricket from 1965 to 1981, as a batsman and part-time bowler. He later became a television cricket commentator for a short period.

Spock calls Bin's bowling delivery a 'no ball' (an illegal delivery) and refers to Bin as "Murali". Murali Muralitharan was a Sri Lankan bowler whose bowling action was deemed questionable on two occasions. Despite this, he went to become the highest wicket-taker in Test Cricket.

When Lords moves into Norm's house, Dougie refers to him as "Jardine". This is a reference to Douglas Jardine, an English cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was captain of the English team that toured Australia in 1932-3 and is responsible for the introduction of the Bodyline tactic, which targeted batsmen's bodies. He was reviled by the Australian public and in the media, and became a much hated figure in Australia.

When Spock rolls the can of beer to Shep, this is a reference to an incident where, under the instructions of his captain (Greg Chappell), an Australian bowler (Trevor Chappell) bowled underarm to a New Zealand batsman to win a game. This action, though within the laws of the game, created uproar and created ill-feeling between the nations.

'Chin music' refers to balls being delivered so they bounce and reach the batsman at about face height.

Merv's comment after the cat is killed, "What are you are going to do with the ashes?', is a references to "The Ashes", the name of the cricket trophy for which Australian and England compete. This is referenced later on when it is said that the match would be for the cat's ashes and when Dougie says the ashes should stay with the original owners.

Dennis Lillee was a noted fast bowler for the Australian cricket team in the 1970s and 1980s.

The plastic figures Dougie uses when planning his field placements come from a board/ table game called Test Match.

In Lords' dream, his players refer to 'Dougie Bradman' having scored 994 runs already. This refers to Don Bradman, Australia's greatest batsman, who retired with a batting average of 99.94.

Mac's comment, "Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum", echoes the comment by the then Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, when Australia won the America's Cup in 1983 - "I tell you what, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum".

Dougie's dog is named MacDougall, after a bush ballad, "How McDougall Topped the Score", by Thomas E. Spencer. The poem is about a batsman (M'Dougall) uses his dog to steal the ball at a cricket match so his team can score enough runs to win.

The Barmy Army is a name given to a group of cricket fans that follow the English team when it tours Australia. It is renowned for its enthusiastic support of the team during matches.

Spock's commentary of the match is done in the style of Richie Benaud, a long-serving television cricket commentator and host.

Merv's name is a reference to the cricketer, Merv Hughes. This is reinforced when Merv and the crowd do exercises prior to his bowling stint. Merv Hughes was noted for doing the same thing in Test matches.

Several of the characters have names inspired by cricketers - Grace (W.G. Grace), Lilly Waters (Dennis Lillee), Pigeon (Glenn 'Pigeon' McGrath), Sachin (Sachin Tendulkar), Beefy (Ian 'Beefy' Botham), Truman (Fred Trueman), Dexter (Ted Dexter), Titmus (Fred Timus) .

First of two theatrical feature films of director Mark Grentell that has filmed in Wagga Wagga in the state of New South Wales in Australia. The second was 'The Merger' (2018) about five year's later. The Australian country town is known as just 'Wagga' to the locals.

Russell Gilbert was considered for the role of Dougie Waters.