And, as the skies start to darken, we’ll leave them there, the Australians doing a lap of honour, David Warner holding the urn.
Thanks to you all, on behalf of the OBO team, for your good-hearted, funny and knowledgable emails. Sorry I’ve not been able to include many of the flurry of them this afternoon. It’s been a wonderful summer in so many ways, of redemption for Australia, of promise for England. To Steve Smith, the spoils.
See some of your in a couple of months, in New Zealand, at the witching hour. Good night!
Updated
Root on Bayliss, who, baggy sunhat plonked inelegantly on his head, is deliberately talking and not listening. “He’s brilliant, he’s added a huge amount to this Test team and what he’s done to our white ball cricket is phenomenal. He’s got a great sense of humour and we played for him today.”
“You’ve had two tilts at the Ashes,” says Athers, “not many captains get three?” Root is adamant. “I want to be leading this team.”
Tim Paine - what a nice guy. Athers prods him for his future “I don’t see this as the end game, I didn’t see the job as an option not so long ago! I’ve got bit of cricket left in this old body but I’m not looking too far ahead”
Root and Paine take one arm each of the silver Ashes goblet. They look underwhelmed. Now the real thing! The old urn gets squirted with champagne by the Aussies as a filthy-looking Langer stares blankly out and chews on and on and on.
Updated
The Oval is still full as the players line up for the presentation ceremony. The chairmen of Cricket Australia and the ECB are handshaking on the dais; Tom Harrison and Trevor Bayliss watch from behind the glass high up in the dressing room.
Player of the match: Jofra Archer, just a little something to top an unbelievable summer - the World Cup; the super over; his battle with Steve Smith, the six wickets in the first innings, his eight over stint against Matthew Wade this afternoon.
England’s player of the series: Ben Stokes
Australia’s player of the series: Steve Smith
Compton-Miller medal: For his 774 runs across four matches, at an average of 110, and 12 catches, Steve Smith. And, at last, I can’t hear a single boo.
Smith: “It’s been an amazing couple of months, the cricket has been spectacular, I’ve loved every minute and I’m very proud to bring the urn home
“I saw Jofra last year in the IPL and I saw straight away he was a raw talent. He’s got a great set of skills and an incredibly bright futures.”
“You always want to get better as a player, nothing is ever too much, I’ll keep working hard for as long as I can.”
Take that as a warning!
Updated
Here’s our snap report of the day:
Warney sends out one last last pointed barb: “Tim Paine handed them this Test match on a platter.”
Nasser: “I’ve got to applaud the players, people talk about England’s World Cup but Australia had to play a World Cup too. The players have had to dig deep and everyone today, that battle between Archer and Wade summed up the series for me, this is still Australia and England. You have to applaud the players for putting in the shift and in such a congested summer.
Updated
Gower and Botham raise a glass - a chardonnay - in the commentary box . I raise one to you too OBO-ers. In the dressing room, Justin Langer and Tim Paine stare blankly into the distance, Steve Waugh stands to the side. Go and give them a hug Steve.
Here’s a quick reminder of the story of an enthralling series
Edgbaston :Australia won by 251 runs
Lord’s:Match drawn
Headingly: England won by one wicket
Old Trafford: Australia won by 185 runs
The Oval: England won by 135 runs
Updated
ENGLAND WIN BY 135 RUNS
What a finale! The urn is Australia’s, and deservedly, with Smith a Colossus striding above all others, but this match belongs to England. Australia still haven’t won an Ashes series in England since before Sam Curran was at school (2001.)
Four wickets for Leach, four for Broad, two for Root and menaces money for Jofra Archer. Fittingly Ian Botham and David Gower are on to commentate for their own last hurrahs.
WICKET! Hazlewood c Root b Leach 0
That winning combination again! A diving catch by Root at short midwicket as Hazlewood tries to chip him away. And Jack Leach will be on a hat-trick next time he picks up the ball.
WICKET! Lyon c Root b Leach 1
Lyon sucker-punched into a sweep low and straight into Joe Root’s hands at square leg, seconds after he moved himself there. And that is nearly that.
76th over: Australia 260-8 (Lyon 0, Siddle 11) A wicket maiden for Root, who has provided the golden bullet in his own armoury. That was quite something by Wade - a counter-attacking, brave, nimble-footed century - whose Ashes has been book-ended by hundreds. The battle with Archer was one for the memory-vault.
Wicket! Wade stumped Bairstow b Root 117
Wade strides down the pitch, pushes forward and the ball spins past his bat into the gloves of Bairstow, who makes no mistake. The end of cracking innings, and with it, Australia’s chances of that miracle win.
Updated
75th over: Australia 260-7 (Wade 117, Siddle 11) You can feel the chill start to descend over The Oval, though the players are still in shirt sleeves. A testing over by Leach, who replaces Broad.
74th over: Australia 258-7 (Wade 116, Siddle 10) Root again, four from the over, tick goes the clock, down comes the target. England still hot favourites, but there would be some balance to the universe if Australia did a Headingley...
73rd over: Australia 254-7 (Wade 113, Siddle 9) Siddle edges Broad through the empty second slip spot down into the stretching shade for four. Then, take that, a quite charming off drive for another boundary. Australian need another 145
“Hi Tanya”, writes Geoff Wignall. “I believe I can top your demanding money with menaces group: I’d send Brian Close, or even his ghost.”
While Nuggehalli Nigam has spotted a flaw. “I foresee one problem with your crack team: Miandad and Lillee might end up menacing each other.”
72nd over: Australia 244-7 (Wade 113, Siddle 1) Wade starts to open his shoulders. England think they have him caught at slip by Stokes... and so does the umpires but the replay shows the ball just spinning out of the dust. Root is fizzing the ball here!
71st over: Australia 244-7 (Wade 111, Siddle 0) Wade, the gimlet eyed cowboy, chews slowly on his hide, pulling Broad for four but he can’t do a thing about Cummins’ loose waft. Fifty minutes left of the day, three wickets to fall and level the series.
Updated
WICKET! Cummins c Bairstow b Broad 9
Cummins drives away from his feet and audibly edges through to Bairstow who takes the ball down by his feet
70th over: Australia 239-6 (Wade 107, Cummins 9) Calamity! Two missed chances off Wade in one Root over. First, Bairstow misses a tricky stumping that bounces more than he’d expected and he fumbles, missing vital seconds, then Stokes can’t hold onto a ball at slip that flies high and into his hand but too hard, and he can’t grab the rebound.
69th over: Australia 232-6 (Wade 100, Cummins 9) Wade must have been in the 90s for half an hour now.. England ask to change the ball, the umpire pushes it through his equivalent of a set-square with no problem and tosses it back to Broad, who is in again. And there it is, Wade turns the ball round behind him and scampers a single, punching the air, removing his helmet and raising his bat to the dressing room. That’s a cracking hundred!!!
Updated
68th over: Australia 226-6 (Wade 99, Cummins 4) The cameras pan to the Australian balcony where Wade’s teammates are watching... Cummins sees out five balls, then Root produces a finger-kissing beauty which just misses the edge of Wade’s bat as he leans back.
67th over: Australia 225-6 (Wade 99, Cummins 3) Broad again, Wade tips a single to mid-on and scampers through for a quick single ...99...
66th over: Australia 223-6 (Wade 98, Cummins 2) Joe Root bowls an uneventful post-drinks over.
In the unlikely situation that I had to create a crack team to go and menace someone for money I would consider Matthew Wade a good addition to a team consisting of Colin Croft, Ben Stokes, Dennis Lillee, Javed Miandad, Viv Richards, David Warner and Peter Willey.
57th over: Australia 201-6 (Wade 79, Cummins 0) Archer v Wade, the Hobart Hurricanes teammates return to the battlefront. Root moves Ben Stokes into a first-slip position, but 50? metres back on the boundary rope. On the forearms of the crowd, goose-pimples start to form. ARcher charges in, a couple of snorting bouncers, a couple of full length 90mph plus toe-crushers. Wade escapes with a single, then Cummins, on a king pair is greeted with a lifter that hits him on the arm guard.
65th over: Australia 222-6 (Wade 97, Cummins 2) And Wade takes a long, smooth, sigh of relief (internally, naturally) . Archer pulls on his sunhat and stays on the boundary, Broad pulls on his mantle. He’s had a wonderful summer in the James Anderson slot. Reliable, clever, on top of his craft. Especially impressive after he spent last winter on the sidelines. Having said that, Wade is prepared to let Cummins face the last three balls of the over. And that, I think, is drinks.
64th over: Australia 221-6 (Wade 96, Cummins 2) And Cummins does his job again, playing out a Leach maiden.
Michael Robinson deserves a mention: This an extremely late reply to a comment you made about the melodious score of 123-4. Surely more melodious reading would be 123 for 5? Similar to the old Eric Morecambe East Fife 4, Forfar 5 joke.
63rd over: Australia 221-6 (Wade 96, Cummins 2) Archer again - surely his last one, the eighth of this spell. He loses a tiny bit of control with this one. Wade outside edges the first ball tantalisingly close to gully for four. The second he bottom-edges to slip and Archer applauds. No bouquet though. Then a bouncer a wayward knuckle ball and another four through mid-on. Honours to Wade that over.
62nd over: Australia 213-6 (Wade 88, Cummins 2) Cummins sees off Leach’s over, even getting off his pair with an inside edge off his pad for two.
61st over: Australia 211-6 (Wade 88, Cummins 0) This spell of Archer v Wade is feet-tappingly hypnotic. Archer persuades Root he can manage one more over; Wade strokes his beard like a Frenchman contemplating a later-afternoon espresso. Archer’s up at 88-90-91-95mph. Vicious bowling, hitting Wade square on the upper arm. Wade is unmoved, hitting him for two fours, one delectable cover drive.
60th over: Australia 202-6 (Wade 80, Cummins 0) Cummins watches Leach carefully and defends, defends, defends, another maiden.... and so the overs tick by
“So we’re all set now for Wade to do a Ben Stokes and find the last 175 runs with the tail! Could Siddle be the new Leach? Does he wear specs? writes Peter Higginson
I’m so nervous I’ve nearly eaten a whole box of Smoky Bacon Pringles since tea.
Smoky Bacon? Ugh!!!! What were you thinking?At least they weren’t, I almost can’t bear to write it, Frazzles.
59th over: Australia 202-6 (Wade 80, Cummins 0) Wade copes relatively easily with four of Archer’s deliveries, until he sends in a rapid yorker that muddles his feet in a powder puff of dust but Wade somehow digs it out. A maiden. And perhaps the end of this spell?
58th over: Australia 202-6 (Wade 80, Cummins 0) Leach is proving light relief between Archer examinations.
Jeremy Pattison has also been squished at The Oval. Patrick Duce is right. It can take 20 mins to get from the Vauxhall end to the Pavilion at lunch as punters squeeze past each other at the pinch points behind the Peter May and the old Surridge stands. It would be better if it was made one-way and we were made to go clockwise.
56th over: Australia 200-6 (Wade 78, Cummins 0) A wicket maiden for Leach! The door is open now.
WICKET! Paine lbw Leach 21
And, fittingly, Paine’s final DRS call is a wrong’un. The ball pitches in line, and hits him two-thirds of the way up his back pad.
Updated
REVIEW!
The umpire takes forever to give Paine out lbw.... Paine reviews...
54th over: Australia 200-5 (Wade 78, Paine 21) And the number of runs needed drops below 200. Just saying. Wade pulls Archer with a stylish half-pirouette and that’s the fifty partnership off 66 balls. Archer is riled . Three short balls follow, two of them over 90mph as the crowd noise swells behind him, loud and drunk. Archer at the end of the over gives Wade a cold, lingering, stare.
54th over: Australia 196-5 (Wade 74, Paine 21) Leach does get through his overs quickly. Um - just trust me on this one, not much happened.
53rd over: Australia 194-5 (Wade 73, Paine 20) The cameras linger for an uncomfortably long time over Ed Smith, who is in his trademark clear-rimmed sunnies and immaculately ironed shirt - white or light blue, I can’t tell which. I wonder if he has a new shirt for each session? Apparently he’s done a long interview in the FT this weekend, I’ll try to dig it out. And that’s a maiden for Archer.
Tim de Lisle and Tone White have been dining at the same table.
White writes: Afternoon Tanya,
So nobody’s planning to be there tomorrow morning while Paine and Cummins knock off the last thirty runs to win the match?!
And Tim teases:
#Ashes Anyone else just beginning to wonder if Wade has it in him to do a Stokes? @tjaldred
— Tim de Lisle (@TimdeLisle) September 15, 2019
52nd over: Australia 194-5 (Wade 73, Paine 20) Is there anything that marks the end of summer more than a spinner toiling into The Oval dust with shadows lengthening at half past four. A maiden for Leach.
Anthony Noel has been thinking:
“If Lord’s was a winning draw for England, does that mean England get a winning draw for the series too?”
I don’t think you can have a winning draw if you lose the Ashes...
51st over: Australia 194-5 (Wade 73, Paine 20) Wade, who truly likes nothing better than stirring the pot, top-edges Archer over long leg and into the OSCS stand. On commentary, Atherton points out that a few years ago, before the new stand was built, that would not have been six. And lo! A couple of bouncers follow.
50th over: Australia 188-5 (Wade 67, Paine 20) Runs flowing freely for Australia after tea - six off this over, ten off the last. Paine untroubled by Curran and tips a straight one to the long leg rope.
Updated
49th over: Australia 182-5 (Wade 66, Paine 15) It’s Archer. Wade drives him through cover for four. Then the ball flies leg side, off the thigh pad, past Bairstow to the boundary. Ooooh and now a big shout for lbw.... Erasmus shakes his head - and Root takes about four seconds to signal for a review .... but Erasmus was right - the ball pitched outside leg. I’m thinking about the pressure of the captain shouting at me for my opinion against the clock. What happens if you freeze? This is why, amongst other, small, reasons, why I’m not playing international cricket for England.
An email! Thank you Patrick Duce
Genuine question... if the Oval continues to expand in capacity, where are fans supposed to go in breaks etc? Surely getting to breaking point - it’s like an overly-done sunburnt meat market of shuffling sozzled fans today. Maybe they could they just commandeer the neighbouring streets to give us some space to breathe?
I haven’t been to The Oval for a Test for a long time - I feel your pain as I hate that experience of being hemmed in but public spaces there are relatively spacious - no?
48th over: Australia 172-5 (Wade 61, Paine 14) Curran opens up after tea, scurrying in like a cartoon boy out of a Peanuts cartoon. Paine sends a full toss dripping with ripe juice trilling across the grass, slowing, slowing, but just crossing the rope.
Roll up, roll up - this will probably be the final OBO session of the summer. Do send me your thoughts, and dreams if you like, at tanya.aldred.freelance@guardian.co.uk - many thanks to all of you who’ve written in during the last five months and made doing this job so much fun. And thank you to Illuminations for a lovely tweet - I’ll hail particularly our tireless front men - Rob and Geoff. Time for them too to put their feet up.
Before we all pack up for the summer can I just say how much pure pleasure I've had these past months from @guardiansport OBO coverage of the World Cup and the Ashes; today: @GeoffLemonSport @tjaldred @JPHowcroft https://t.co/YYrYRiUuFn
— Illuminations (@Illuminations) September 15, 2019
47th over: Australia 167-5 (Wade 60, Paine 10) Wade strokes Leach through the covers for four with toes on twinkling form. And again, striding down the pitch before setting off for a single that sends little puffs of dust up into the air. THEN A DROP! NO! A MISJUDGEMENT. Wade swings wildly at the penultimate ball before tea but the ball falls just short of Sam Curran running in from deep mid-wicket - he seems to lose it in the longest second as the ball descends. And that is tea! I’m going to grab a cuppa, see you in twenty minutes.
46th over: Australia 160-5 (Wade 54, Paine 9) Long shadows starting to stretch away from the fielders in this weakening September sun. Stuart Broad chases down a lofted drive with admirable enthusiasm, then Paine stretches a gorgeous four through the covers. Root bowling in sunglasses, and one over to go before tea.
45th over: Australia 153-5 (Wade 51, Paine 1) England in their excitement review an Archer lbw shout against Paine, but it was missing by a welly boot and a half. A good decision by the umpire. Archer, perturbed, fizzes a bouncer through but the unfazed Paine drives him two balls later for four.
44th over: Australia 149-5 (Wade 50, Paine 1) Joe Root sprinkles some Yorkshire gold over the afternoon by breaking up what had been a promising partnership for Australia.
WICKET! Marsh c Buttler b Root 24
The glee of the part-timer! Root tempts Marsh to prod at one on his legs straight into Buttler’s waiting mitts at short leg.
Updated
43rd over: Australia 147-4 (Wade 50, Marsh 20) Archer tries a bouncer, that Marsh sways sleepily away from. And again, with that same sway. Next ball Marsh sends him whizzing through point for four. Archer not quite on the button yet.
42nd over: Australia 143-4 (Wade 50, Marsh 20) Joe Root brings himself on. And that’s FIFTY for Matthew Wade - is this going to be one of those end-of-series centuries that then puts the selectors in a terrible pickle? Anyway, he’s played really nicely here - 50 off just 65 balls, sweet footwork, full swing of the bat.
41st over: Australia 141-4 (Wade 49, Marsh 19) Marsh pings Archer through wide mid-off for a rather magestic four. Are all bat handles the same height? Marsh’s bat looks pulled from a cracker.
A lovely story from Rocket, a partner to the one Donald Last sent Geoff earlier this afternoon.
“Great story from Donald Last. I have the equivalent Australian one (second hand). Forty years ago I met an old guy in Richmond called Jack and got to know him quite well. He told me that when he was a young lad he had walked to the MCG when Australia were playing England in the Bodyline Series 1932-33. He waited outside the ground (with many others doing the same) until it was known that Australia were batting, and only then used his precious money to get in so that could see Bradman bat. Australia lost their second wicket at 67, then Bradman got a bottom edge on a pull from Bill Bowes and was out first ball for zero (I think his only Test golden duck). Jack said he spent the rest of the day crying, and all that night - Bradman made a century in the second innings but being the Depression, young Jack could not afford to go to another day’s play.
He also told me how a few years before that, the Federal Labor Leader of the Opposition (when Federal Parliament was still in Melbourne before they moved to Canberra in 1927) would come into his parents’ Milk Bar in the morning to buy a small bar of chocolate. The first time it happened Jack must have been only about 5 or 6 years old when he served him, and he said “Yes Mr Scullin”, to which Jim Scullin said “Just call me Jim”. He said that Jim Scullin would then get catch the tram to Parliament, engaging passengers in talk about politics or sport on the way. A different world!
ps - Jack lived to see his beloved Richmond Tigers win the 1980 Football Grand Final, but passed away a few years later.
40th over: Australia 136-4 (Wade 48, Marsh 15) A maiden from Leach, Marsh hemmed in by three crouching close catchers.
Updated
39th over: Australia 136-4 (Wade 48, Marsh 15) Ah! We have Archer back for his fifth over, wristband on his left arm, sleeve on his right, meandering in before whipping that arm over. Watchful for three balls, Wade then, with some aplomb, pulls him to fine leg where Jack Leach can’t stop it going for four. Wade then ducks into a ball that doesn’t rise very far and pings into his shoulder.
Last week Sussex coach Jason Gillespie asked Trevor Bayliss if he could have Archer back for Sussex’s last ditch bid for promotion to Division One of the Championship. He didn’t get very far!
38th over: Australia 132-4 (Wade 44, Marsh 15) Leach raises both hands and half-heartedly appeals for an lbw that pitches just outside the line and taps half way up Marsh’s front pad. Even he doesn’t look very convinced.
37th over: Australia 130-4 (Wade 45, Marsh 14) The hardest of chances falls, as Marsh has a one-handed drive and ball flies to backward point where Rory Burns just gets a finger to it but manages only to parry it over the top. Then a possible run-out chance falls to Stuart Broad but Wade is well in. Wade then whips Woakes’ final ball for four. Frustration for Woakes, who bowled his first ever called no ball in his Test career ten minutes ago, when Marsh was brilliantly caught by Burns.
Updated
36th over: Australia 123-4 (Wade 37, Marsh 13) The pitch is starting to spit for Jack Leach. Wade has an ugly swipe, Marsh a more delicate cut, then Wade gets all ways up and an inside edge onto the helmet for five, then sets off for a slightly mad run before being sent back. The score a melodious 123-4.
35th over: Australia 116-4 (Wade 36, Marsh 12) Thanks very much Geoff, who is somehow still standing after his summer of summers. I feel very much like I’m slipping into my seat accompanied by the series death rattle. Something helped by the furry slippers I’ve dug out from somewhere dusty under the bed. And then Marsh cuts Woakes for four. Disdainful? Yes.
That’s it for me. Can I self-indulge to say what a pleasure it has been to be part of the mighty Guardian OBO through an English Ashes summer, and the World Cup before that. Thank you all for your company, and your emails, and your whimsy, and your steely-eyed dedication to finding the TMS overseas link.
Thanks to my colleagues on the OBO as well, and for the coup de grace I’ll hand over to the excellent Tanya Aldred.
Tony Brennan writes, cautiously.
“Were it to be the case that England wrapped this up, and we ended with a tied series and Australia retaining the Urn, I think it would be an entirely fair result. England haven’t done enough to win, although each game has had its turning points, and if they had batted thirteen more overs at Old Trafford they would now be looking at a series victory. Australia have clearly been the better side, although a disproportionate amount of this is due to the parts played by Smith, Cummins and Hazlewood. I don’t think it would feel right for Australia to win the series, given that the majority of their players have contributed so minimally. The twenty-year reunion would be a bit awkward (‘Your 700 runs were amazing, Smithy.’ ‘As were your 60, Cameron.’) so all’s fair.”
34th over: Australia 111-4 (Wade 35, Marsh 8) A big England appeal as Marsh smashes a cover drive, on the bounce into Burn’s foot at bat pad on the off side, from where it loops up to bat pad on the leg side. England hope it’s a catch, but an umpire review shows the ball hit the ground just before Burns’ boot. A maiden for Leach.
33rd over: Australia 111-4 (Wade 35, Marsh 8) A couple of leg byes added as Marsh misses one angled in. Then a single eased into the off side. Wade edges Woakes, but just in front of first slip. Then swishes and misses at a ball that moves away violently, and bounced. The pitch starting to misbehave? Australia 288 behind.
32nd over: Australia 108-4 (Wade 35, Marsh 7) A couple of singles as Leach wheels through another over.
David Seare emails in. “Just got home from work to see Steve Smith out. Had to check I hadn’t slipped to another dimension.I think Australia have retained the Ashes because they have the two best players in Smith and Cummins. Also their bowling has been more consistent and threatening in general. England have had odd sessions where they didn’t bowl well. It’s a series Smith has dominated. Ben Stokes played the best knock I ever saw to burgle a game for England as well. It’s been enjoyable to follow. Also glad I found the Lemon/Collins podcast. It’s a good listen. Thanks.”
Fair summary, Dave. Though I’d add that England would have won at Lord’s with another hour to play with. Australia without Smith don’t have a team. It’s been a belting series though in terms of entertainment, and it’s nice to watch the bowlers dominate for a change.
Updated
31st over: Australia 106-4 (Wade 34, Marsh 6) No run off the bat this over, just the no-ball. And the usual discussions begin about umpires not calling no-balls until a wicket falls from one. We know the answer to this. Have the fourth umpire watch the TV camera that is permanently on the front line anyway, and buzz the umpire at each overstep. We’ve trialled it. It works. Get on with it, ICC...
Marsh has a second chance. Must deliver with the bat to support his work with the ball.
Wicket! Off a no-ball!
Straightforward dismissal – great catch by Rory Burns at third slip, diving across towards second, thick edge from Marsh, and he’s halfway off the field. But the umpires check the replay and Woakes’ foot is a few millimetres over.
Updated
30th over: Australia 105-4 (Wade 34, Marsh 6) Wade wants to get things along. Dances down to Leach, turning a ball into a full toss and stroking it through cover for four. Didn’t try to overhit it. Down the pitch again and this time picks up the ball from the pitch, over midwicket this time. The deficit is under the psychologically vital 300 mark. It’s 298. Make that 294, as this time Wade rocks back and cuts, behind point for four! Smart batting, making the bowler feed his shot. Then there’s a huge crowd cheer as Wade drives back on the bounce to Leach. The bowlers throws at the stumps and hits the batsman, I think.
Batsmen with more runs in a series than Smith:
Weekes 779
Lara 798
Bradman 806
Bradman 810
Sobers 824
Walcott 827
Viv Richards 829
Neil Harvey 834
Mark Taylor 839
Hammond 904
Bradman 974
What a list.
29th over: Australia 92-4 (Wade 22, Marsh 5) Mitch gets off the mark with a clobber for four through the covers. It all feels rather irrelevant now though. End of term stuff. Paul Griffin has a question. “Geoff, when do you plan to announce the Player Of The Series? Eagerly anticipating the verdict.”
28th over: Australia 86-4 (Wade 21, Marsh 0) Leach to Wade. Just a bye from the over as the ball misbehaves out of the rough.
“‘HE’S OUT!’. Another echo of Bradman in the ‘30s.”
Quite right, Ian Forth.
27th over: Australia 85-4 (Wade 21, Marsh 0) Broad now has 3 for 34, but he’ll rarely have a 1 in that first column more significant than this. Smith out to an actual plan, actually outdone by a bowler. Mitch Marsh is now in, and he’s not going to knock off 314 with Wade.
Can you believe it? I can’t really believe it.
Updated
WICKET! Smith c Stokes b Broad 23 (Australia 85-4)
THEY’VE DONE IT! ENGLAND HAVE GOT STEVE SMITH OUT! For less than fifty! He’s finally gone, and the leg slip trap has finally worked. England have tried this for many hours in many innings, but at last it bears fruit. Broad on the hip, Smith glances it away, and Stokes is there! Diving forward, taking the catch low above the ground! England will win this Test match now.
Updated
26th over: Australia 85-3 (Smith 23, Wade 21) Woakes. Width. Whacked. Wade. Down on one knee in proper left-hander’s style, Wade flows through the covers for four. Australia’s deficit is down to the small matter of 314.
25th over: Australia 81-3 (Smith 23, Wade 17) Broad to Smith, and there’s a big lbw shout. I’ll let you guess what happened. Anyone? Smith had walked across and was well outside the line. He follows up with an outrageous shot. Full but outside off, and Smith plays a hockey shot on-drive, a whip through the line but twisting his wrists at the moment of impact to send it straight through long-on rather than down to mid-off. Four!
24th over: Australia 77-3 (Smith 19, Wade 17) Smith works away a single from Woakes in his time-honoured style, and that is his 770th run for the series. So he goes past the 769 he made when India visited in 2014-15. Wade tries to whack across the line but drags it to Buttler at midwicket.
Here’s an email. “I was at the Oval 71 years ago, sitting behind the bowlers arm, and saw Bradman bowled for a duck by Hollies. The image is as clear to me this day as the moment it happened. Bradman stepped across his wicket to make a pull shot and was bowled. We were mortified. It was our last chance to see one of the greatest batsmen ever and he was out second ball. Nothing, but nothing, can compensate for that loss. I had read how Bradman trained his eye by throwing a golf ball against a garage door and hitting it with a stump, not a bat, a stump. And that is what I did, as probably countless other youngsters. We wanted to be Bradmans.”
Thanks for the message, Donald Last. If you were there 71 years ago and still here to tell us about it, then you’ve lived up to your surname.
23rd over: Australia 76-3 (Smith 18, Wade 17) Broad at the other end, but Wade handles better than any other left-hander so far. Carves away a boundary behind point, then clips three more runs behind square. and gets off strike. That’s how to do it. Smith adds only a leg bye.
22nd over: Australia 68-3 (Smith 18, Wade 10) This may sound like a snide joke, but I had legitimately forgotten that Chris Woakes was in the team. He started with the ball after lunch and I was trying to work out who it was. He didn’t bowl at all in the first session. Joe Root’s use of him this whole series has been bizarre. He starts with a maiden.
Guha to front BBC's cricket coverage next year
Isa Guha is to become the face of cricket on the BBC from next summer when a portion of the sport returns to the terrestrial broadcaster for the first time in 21 years.
The former England international is understood to have signed up as the BBC’s lead anchor for the five-year rights deal that includes nightly Test highlights, three live T20 internationals per season and both men’s and women’s games in The Hundred.
Guha, part of the England team that won the Women’s World Cup and Ashes in 2009 and a regular commentator on Sky and Test Match Special, represents a fresh start for cricket on the BBC, who take over the evening Test highlights from Channel 5 and are considering a revamp of the format.
The BBC’s first live offering since 1998 includes two live England men’s T20 internationals per season and one featuring the women’s side. But it is the Hundred that the ECB are hoping will capture the public’s imagination despite a rocky start.
Ten men’s fixtures in the new format, and eight of the women’s games, will be shown live on terrestrial television, including the finals of both.
Andrew Flintoff has also been mooted as a host, given his existing BBC deal as a presenter of Top Gear, while the likes of Alison Mitchell, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Michael Vaughan and Jimmy Anderson are expected to cross over from Test Match Special’s list of broadcasting talent.
Lunch – Australia 68 for 3, needing 331 to win
England are in the driving seat to level this series up 2-2. It was Broad again, monstering Australia’s left-handers off the top, and another failure for the opening batsmen. Warner and Harris both went cheaply, then Jack Leach came into the game with his left-arm spin, drawing a stumping against Marnus Labuschagne.
Entirely fittingly, it’s all down to Smith. He looks a bit tired and distracted, and that’s not an omen of a big innings. But even if he can bat long, who can stay with him? The scorecard is as thin going down the order as it has been above.
We’ll be back in half an hour or so to see who can do what, and when, and how, and where.
21st over: Australia 68-3 (Smith 18, Wade 10) Plenty of action even in a maiden for Wade, as he skips down a couple of times but doesn’t get a shot away for runs.
And that is lunch.
Nick Parish emails. “It would be fascinating to know what percentage of the 3.5 tests he’s played in have included Steve Smith on the field. Any OBOer got nothing better to do than calculate it? I reckon it must be pushing 80%.”
20th over: Australia 68-3 (Smith 18, Wade 10) Smith takes a few balls but gets a single away off the pads from Curran. Wade is positive again, opening the face to drive with the outswing away through cover for three runs.
19th over: Australia 64-3 (Smith 17, Wade 7) Smith is still swinging against Leach, and my sense that he might not be long for this innings is increasing. He doesn’t play like this when he’s settled. He lashes to cover, then drives airily towards mid-off and sees it bounce in front. Then plays a sweep shot, which really isn’t one of his strokes, and gets it nervously between keeper and bat-pad for one. Wade advances and drives two along the ground. Australia need 335.
He’s gone past Alastair Cook’s 766 runs in that win in Australia in 2010-11.
18th over: Australia 61-3 (Smith 16, Wade 5) Perhaps a helpful result for Australia is to have a left-hander facing the left-arm swing of Curran. Wade doesn’t look too fussed as he blocks, leaves, then ducks a couple of short balls. A third maiden.
17th over: Australia 61-3 (Smith 16, Wade 5) Matthew Wade to the crease, Mitchell Marsh to come. It’s not exactly an inspiring Test batting line-up for Australia with 343 still to get. They need another ton from Wade. He starts by clobbering a sweep for four. Then turns away a single behind square. Joe Root is in at leg slip, after there was a lot of chat between he and Wade when Root was batting.
Wicket! Labuschagne st Bairstow b Leach 14 (Australia 56-3)
A huge one for Jack Leach! Australia’s most important partnership is broken, as Labuschagne loses his balance trying to get forward to Leach, beaten in flight and his back toe lifts up. Bairstow is fast enough with the gloves, and the third umpire confirms that the batsman is out!
16th over: Australia 55-2 (Labuschagne 14, Smith 15) Marnus gets away from Curran after a while, nudging a run, then Smith tries to whack another cover drive and misses out. I’m not sure that Smith will make a big score today, he just doesn’t seem settled. He nudges a run to square leg, and goes past Brian Lara’s 765 runs in England in 1995.
15th over: Australia 53-2 (Labuschagne 13, Smith 14) What was that, Steven? That was Derbyshire Steve rather than Ashes Steve. He wanted to plonk the spinner down the ground but ending up mistiming his loft towards long-on. Luckily for him the contact was so poor that his shot falls short of the man on the rope. A single.
14th over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschagne 12, Smith 13) Curran continues. He’s swinging the ball into the right-handers’ pads, then sometimes changing up to angle one across. Draws Labuschagne into a couple of shots and beats the edge twice. Marnus leaves the next couple. Curran’s second maiden.
13th over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschagne 12, Smith 13) A change in the bowling with Jack Leach on. Broad has done the new-ball job tremendously once again. Two wickets for him. Now the middle overs begin, with Australia moving past their fifty with a couple of singles. 348 to win.
12th over: Australia 49-2 (Labuschagne 11, Smith 12) A maiden for Curran against Labuschagne, who has built his accidental Ashes on discipline, but falters to have one wide drive at a ball slanted across him. Missed.
11th over: Australia 49-2 (Labuschagne 11, Smith 12) Labuschagne not afraid to take on the short ball from Broad, even for a single to the deep. Then another boundary for Smith as Broad bowls in inswinger that Smith with his movement across can glance to fine leg.
That takes Smith past Mudassar Nazar’s 761 runs for Pakistan against India in 1982 and 1983.
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10th over: Australia 44-2 (Labuschagne 10, Smith 8) Sam Curran starts off, and he’s bowling well immediately. Testing out Marnus on the pads, nearly lbw but for an inside edge. Then pushing just across Smith, drawing a cover drive that could bring some risk of an outside edge. The next is straighter, and Smith drives through mid-on, under Jofra Archer for four! Good shot, but maybe it could have been stopped.
Smith goes past Bradman’s 759 runs from the 1934 Ashes. No big deal.
9th over: Australia 39-2 (Labuschagne 9, Smith 4) So Broad got Warner seven times in the series. And Warner has the lowest aggregate for any opener who has batted ten times in a Test series. Labuschagne gets a single from Broad. The standard Australian score of 2 for not many has settled into place.
Well, this is the power of the OBO. We mentioned Gang of Four earlier, and now the band’s own Jon King has emailed in. “So proud my band, Gang of Four, gets a name check. There, shamelessly did it again! Back in the day in Leeds, sharing a flat with Mark White and Andy Corrigan of the Mekons, it was always a toss up for our guests to hear either Berlin-era Bowie, or TMS. Keep up the brilliant work!”
8th over: Australia 38-2 (Labuschagne 8, Smith 4) Labuschagne’s bright start continues, cleanly off the pads from Archer for one. Smith deflects Archer to the fine leg boundary, but it’s off the thigh pad rather than bat. Smith yet to get off the mark then. But he’s away two balls later, a gorgeous cover drive from Archer, on the rise! Not all of Smith’s shots through cover look good, but the timing there was suave.
He goes past Graham Gooch’s 752 in a series against India in 1990, and Denis Compton’s 753 when South Africa visited England in 1947.
7th over: Australia 29-2 (Labuschagne 7, Smith 0) The over starts well for Australia: Marnus drives a full ball for four, then flicks three more runs through midwicket. Jack Leach’s run after the ball looks like the little dude in the original Nintendo handset Donkey Kong game. No barrels to jump over. But Broad knocks down Warner thereafter. Smith arrives, walking across to defend Broad, then playing that twisty-wrist cover drive at a wide one that hits the field.
Wicket! Warner c Burns b Broad 11 (Australia 29-2)
And right on cue, there he goes! Warner’s miserable Ashes comes to an end with one last dismissal. Scrambled seam from Broad, moved away slightly, Warner was only trying to defend from the crease but the delivery is back of a length and takes a fat edge at a nice height to third slip. Two down, and in comes Steve Smith!
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6th over: Australia 22-1 (Warner 11, Labuschagne 0) Archer to Warner, edged through the cordon for four! Luck there for Warner, it flew into the gap between slip and gully. It hits the boundary, and Warner is into double figures for the second time this season. I’d like to say that this might be enough to get him going, but it’s hard to see that from here.
5th over: Australia 18-1 (Warner 7) Another failure for Harris. Another wicket in the first 10 overs for Broad, who has a stack of them this series. Marnus Labuschagne will make another early trip to the middle.
Wicket! Harris b Broad 9 (Australia 18-1)
Off stump out of the ground! Last ball of the over, a beauty from Broad! Warner had taken a single to rotate strike, Harris had played a lovely on-drive for four, and Australia’s total of 18 was their highest opening stand for the series. But that’s as far as it goes. A bit of movement, Harris plays inside the line, and it takes out off stump. Broad erupts. England riot.
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4th over: Australia 13-0 (Harris 5 Warner 7) The frying of David Warner continues. A slight sizzling sound and smoke coming from his ears. He tries to wipe an Archer delivery from outside off and misses. Then gets one in at his pads and misses again. Bairstow behind the stumps goes up in appeal but Archer doesn’t, it was going down leg. Archer bowls a bit short, and Warner slaps him through cover for four. A buccaneering shot, not one that indicates composure. Then Warner sprints a single, tucking it to mid-on and going with the shot, and Harris really has to motor as Broad throws to the striker’s end.
“What I hope will happen: Australia 200/1 overnight and Smith’s not even in yet,” writes Kev McMahon. “What I think will happen: Australia 73/8 at tea. Smith falls over his own feet in one of his elaborate leaves, falls and breaks his hand.”
3rd over: Australia 8-0 (Harris 5 Warner 2) Harris facing Broad looks a better outcome for Australia. Mind you, Harris might need to face all of Archer as well. At least for four balls of the over, Harris leaves and blocks without incident. Then Broad sends down a scrambled-seamer that decks away, beating the edge! Lovely bowling. And a equally good riposte, as Broad overpitches from the last ball and is driven straight for four. Good batting pitch, as we said...
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2nd over: Australia 4-0 (Harris 1, Warner 2) Archer to start from the Vauxhall End, which is so named because that’s where he parked his car. Pace and carry from him, as he operates around the wicket to Harris and outside the off stump. Eventually he slips onto the pads and Harris jabs an airborne glance to fine leg. He’s under as much pressure as Warner, really. Three Tests for Harris this series and no contributions. Warner on strike, and is immediately beaten again as he pushes at a fuller ball. The last ball is wider and he leaves.
1st over: Australia 3-0 (Harris 0, Warner 2) Broad to start. Warner has taken the first ball in his last couple of innings, but doesn’t today. Harris though gives him the second ball, running a leg bye off the thigh pad. Warner does not look comfortable immediately. Gets beaten outside off, stabs a couple of runs off his pads, then gets beaten again pushing hard at the ball down the line. That was a beautiful bit of bowling, moving away. He survives the first over, though.
Adrian Armstrong has been busy.
Ian Forth’s reference to Gang Of Four set me wondering whether the post-punkers’ oeuvre might generate a complete Boycott XI. Here goes:
Natural’s Not In It
If I Could Keep It For Myself
Outside The Trains Don’t Run On Time
He’d Send In The Army
It Is Not Enough
The World At Fault
Better Him Than Me [the run-out modus operandi]
Do As I Say
England’s In My Bones
First World Citizen
Stranded [those run-outs again]
Here’s Boris Starling. “Like all Englishmen of a certain age, my instinctive thought when England are defending a substantial lead in the fourth innings can be summed up in two words (Lord’s, Greenidge) and two numbers (1984, 214*). And no, I can’t shake the sinking feeling that Oval, Smith, 2019 and 200ish* is on the cards (224 to overtake Bradman’s record, if my maths is right).”
You’re spot on, Boz.
“What do you reckon the chances of Warner having an match defining innings and making double figures today?” asks David Kalucy. Given the way he batted in the first innings, not great. He looked completely frazzled.
Here’s the TMS overseas link for those who want some audio with the chase as well as my sweet, sweet written words.
England out for 329, Australia must chase 399 to win
That’s the tally then! A monster for Australia to chase, nearly 400 runs. There have been four winning run chases bigger than this in Test history. So that’s against them, but for them is having Steve Smith and a decent day-four pitch and two days to play. With the time in hand and the good weather, the draw will be impossible. So Australia will bat for a 3-1 lead, and England will bowl to tie the series 2-2 and spoil the party.
Wicket! Leach c Hazlewood b Lyon 9 (England 329 all out)
Leach couldn’t cope with Broad going past his score, clearly, and wanted to retake the lead. He goes down on one knee and tries to slog-sweep Lyon, but only gets a high top edge that swirls before settling with mid-on.
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95th over: England 329-9 (Leach 9, Broad 12) Cummins to Broad... and he nails him! Broad nails Cummins, I mean! The backaway swat shot connects at the third attempt, and connects well. Broad was waiting for it, camped back like a baseballer, didn’t even think about getting forward. Bat over the shoulder in his backlift, then follows through. Siddle at deep midwicket thinks he’s in the hunt, but it sails over his head for six.
So Cummins bowls short again, and Broad misses. And again, and Broad misses. This is the stupidest bowling I have ever seen. Broad is stepping almost off the cut strip. All Cummins has to do is bowl at the stumps: fast ball, slower ball, whatever. There’s no way Broad is carving the yorker off his middle stump behind point for four.
So what does Cummins do? Bowls short and gets hit for six more. Even straighter over midwicket this time, Siddle running around to no avail. Steve Smith was at long stop for that ball, right behind Tim Paine on the boundary. Then Paine calls Smith up, and Cummins bowls a length ball that goes over middle stump. What.
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94th over: England 317-9 (Leach 9, Broad 0) Leach looks pretty good this morning, dipping his knees and driving to point but not beating the field. He’s not shabby with the blade. Knocks a ball to leg side, then gets a little leading edge behind point, but can’t find a run from the over. Broad will have to face Cummins again.
93rd over: England 317-9 (Leach 9, Broad 0) Out comes Stuart Broad, who of course made a Test hundred once but rather lost his enthusiasm for batting and is now all the way down at 11. Unsurprisingly he gets three short balls from Cummins, the first of which he blocks, and the latter two he backs away and swipes at and misses. He has his way.
Wicket! Archer c Paine b Cummins 3 (England 317-9)
Tim Paine gets a review right! Ah, mercy! Ah, blessings! The Oval can do amazing things. The Oval is where Shane Watson overturned an lbw on review in 2013. Now Paine gets one! A glove down the leg side from Archer, just a tiny touch. Umpire says no. Computer says yes. Paine was very confident. That’s the sort of call that a wicketkeeper might know more about than an lbw. Early breakthrough for the Aussies, who will be mighty relieved. Archer doesn’t think he hit it. Like Warner in the first innings, it’s not conclusive on the vision but there’s a tiny spike on the Snickometer.
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92nd over: England 317-8 (Archer 3, Leach 9) Hello all, thanks JP. Well, here we are! Glorious sun again, the classic London autumn. Perhaps the last day of this series, though Surrey will be desperately hoping that their sold-out fifth day goes ahead. Jerusalem over the loudspeakers. Erasmus and Dharmasena to the middle. Huge cheers for Jack Leach and Jofra Archer. Nathan Lyon starting with the ball, and Jack Leach carves him through cover for four!
Geoff Lemon is whirling his arms over down at fine-leg trying to get my attention so I shall toss him the ball and doff my cap to you all. Hopefully we’ll reconvene tomorrow for something absurd, but if not, thank you for all your contributions throughout the series.
Remember: refresh your pages, redirect your tweets to @GeoffLemonSport and send your emails to geoff.lemon@theguardian.com.
Ok, let’s sharpen the focus with the restart nearing. England win, right? WinViz reckon it’s 87% likely. But we all know Steve Smith’s going to do something preposterous don’t we, one final hit. Are we coming back tomorrow? Or is this it? Our summer dalliance fading with the weak autumn sunshine...
Steve Smith’s gone and done a nice Instagram.
Thirty minutes until play #Ashes pic.twitter.com/7Mpzaclclt
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 15, 2019
Derek Stocker must be unique, surely, a Zimbabwe supporter in Bulgaria. Anyway, he’s sent an email. “I am a Zim supporter but rooting for England. I hope today is the day the Teddy Bear does not come to the picnic. No doubt about Warner’s talent and, I do have sympathy for him. I just imagine him going really big today. I hope my vision disappears to where it came from.” It would be remarkable for such a talented player not to have at least one knock in a five-Test series, wouldn’t it? Maybe the bit of needle that’s crept into the contest is what he’s needed?
The music bug is catching. Ian Forth is the latest to join in with a quite excellent summer mixtape.
“1. Australians in Europe by The Fall. By way of an overture.
2. Midnight in a Perfect World by DJ Shadow. For those tuning in down under.
3. Heart Cooks Brain by Modest Mouse. Slightly misguided bumper sticker tribute to the previous England captain’s strategic capabilities.
4. Monty Got A Raw Deal by REM. For those who think there should have been room for Monty and Swanny in the same side.
5. At Home He’s A Tourist by Gang Of Four. For KP.
6. Why Won’t They Talk To Me by Tame Impala. Also for KP.
7. The First Cut Is The Deepest by PP Arnold. For Joe Root.
8. I Just Get Caught Out by The Go Betweens. For every batsman in this series other than Smith.
9. I’m Stranded by The Saints. For Jos Buttler.
10. I Know It’s Over by The Smiths. For all of us, very soon. (Also for grumpy bowlers who’ve just had their appeal turned down off the last ball).
11. Ashes to Ashes by Bowie. Because it’s never really over, is it?”
I’m only linking to The Fall for now, but there are plenty of bangers in that batting order.
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Ben Stokes has occupied centre stage for most of this summer but when it was time to take his bow at the Oval it arrived in subdued fashion. Ali Martin has more.
When a drowsy Oval crowd offered Stokes the polite applause that a score of 67 might usually merit, a chance to thank the all-rounder for his efforts during this epic home season felt slightly missed.
Stokes, unable to bowl in this Test and thus with just fielding left on the to-do list, has hit a new level as a batsman this year; the responsibility that some feared may be shackling his game before the World Cup has paid out some serious jackpots since.
Joe Denly’s runs yesterday were good for Joe Denly, but they were also handy for England selector Ed Smith, as Barney Ronay reports.
Of all the new picks during the last 18 months Denly has perhaps been the most thoroughly Smith-flavoured, albeit not for the reasons some have assumed. One former Kent player laughed out loud at the idea Smith might pick his former teammate out of ties of matey loyalty. The response, in essence: if you think that, you obviously don’t know Ed Smith very well – with the suggestion good old Joe from Canterbury is unlikely to figure too prominently in Smith’s list of vital VIP personages to please at all costs.
David Gaskell has identified the particular grade of salt to pour onto Australian wounds. “We have not had an imperious innings from Stuart Broad for some time. If memory serves me rightly, he did annoy and frustrate the opposition from time to time. Why not today? A handy thirty or so whilst the Boycott maxi- me that is Jack Leach blocks like a factor 50 on the French Riviera.”
As Emma John writes, it has been an extraordinary summer of cricket.
But for England fans, the best-case scenario of a two-all draw scarcely seemed a reason to put the Moët on ice, not after a summer that had given us so many champagne moments already. We’d been spoiled for storylines and the realisation that the Ashes weren’t coming home – and England could still finish on the pointy end of a 3-1 scoreline – was as deflating as sitting through seven series of your favourite TV show only to discover that Bran Stark had won the Game of Thrones. (Still not over that, no.)
There's been a lot of ordinary cricket in this Test - minds are tired - but it's still a good Test @JPHowcroft. My irrefutable proof is that, on the fourth morning, at 9.30, the touts outside were buying tickets.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) September 15, 2019
Ah, the cry of “Any tickets, buy or sell” accompanied by the smell of police horse poo and the sight of a man dribbling meat pie down his front. You can’t beat a major sporting event.
If we’re on a music trip, I’ve finally found the Steve Smith song we’ve been looking for. Here it is in all its ten minute glory. Here it is skipped to the good bit. Warning, this contains language not suitable for yelling within earshot of an umpire.
Kim Thonger, I shall miss your morning emails when this series is over. “If ‘It’s Coming Home’ doesn’t describe England fan feelings this weekend, perhaps this does, Dark Black by Kristina Train. I’ve been saving it for my funeral, but do ‘enjoy’ today as an Ashes farewell...
“I remember colors painted in my eyes
Green was for the springtime, blue the summer skies
And now the skies have darkened, the white clouds turn to grey
What a way to break a heart, you took all the colors away
Dark black is the color of my life
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life”
The lead stands at 382 with two fragile wickets remaining. It should be enough for England – if they can get Smith out.
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Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live OBO coverage of day four of the fifth Ashes Test from the Oval.
It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming! What? Speak up a bit. It isn’t!? A shared series means Australia retain the Ashes? Oh well...
The destination of the urn may have already been determined before battle commenced in south London but England turning in their most complete performance of the series so far is a welcome sight nonetheless for the majority of patrons inside a packed Oval. A strong day in the field on Friday was backed up by some refreshingly competent batting on Saturday to guide the hosts into a commanding position. It would take a Stokesian feat of escapology for Australia to wriggle free of their current predicament.
Joe Denly has hogged the morning headlines, and most likely another series at the top of England’s batting order, with his slow-burn series ending in impressive fashion. His obduracy, following on from Sam Curran’s tenacity with the ball, have given England a steelier edge, much to Australia’s dissatisfaction. For the first time during this long old tour of theirs they have looked tetchy, bordering on rattled, and ready for the next Qantas home.
Whether they do so as jubilant series winners or content urn retainers will depend on how they occupy the crease over the next couple of days. We know with Steve Smith anything is possible...
I’m around for the hour leading up to play, after which it’s over to Geoff Lemon. Please keep me company during this prelude, either on Twitter @JPHowcroft or by sending an email to jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
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