Rob Smyth's Blog, page 183
December 9, 2015
Michael van Gerwen: I can come back from any position to win | Rob Smyth
The Urban Dictionary’s top definition of the word “awesome” could barely be pithier: “Something Americans use to describe everything.” The classical meaning of the word has been lost in recent times, and not just in the US. Darts fans, however, are given a regular reminder of its true definition: since his dramatic breakthrough in 2012 Michael van Gerwen has been inspiring awe on a regular basis.
So many moments have bought a lease in the memory bank. Seventeen perfect darts in a world championship semi-final; a scorching comeback to end Phil Taylor’s 29-match unbeaten run in 2013, the moment the darts world order changed; a 6-0 destruction of Adrian Lewis in the world championship semi-final a few weeks later en route to winning the tournament.
Related: A Grand Slam night of darts – a picture essay
Continue reading...
December 4, 2015
Golden Goal: Gabriel Batistuta for Fiorentina v Arsenal (1999) | Rob Smyth
The last time Arsenal went out of the Champions League before Christmas was 16 years ago, when Gabriel Batistuta scored the last great goal at the old Wembley
Brian Clough loved humiliating goalkeepers. It was nothing personal, just business. “I was king of the castle,” he said. “I used to stick it through their bloody legs and say, ‘Now pick that out!’” The phrase “pick that out” is familiar to everyone who grew up with football as their BFF, whether they first heard it from a commentator like Clive Tyldesley, or Roy Race as he provided, via the medium of the speech bubble, a simultaneous commentary on his own inimitable heroism.
In Clough’s day the phrase was used for all types of goals, but in modern times it has been associated with one genre: the screamer. Pick that out. (There are a couple of popular four-word versions as well, but this is a family website). The phrase might have been invented for Gabriel Batistuta, such was his portfolio of visceral belters. He belonged to a dying breed of strikers: the true No9 who, as Gregg Bakowski discussed in his superb Golden Goal on Alan Shearer a fortnight ago, whacked the ball as if they meant to kill it. They certainly gave added meaning to the cliché of centre-forward as hitman.
Related: Golden Goal: Alan Shearer for Newcastle United v Everton (2002) | Gregg Bakowski
Related: Golden Goal: Ian Wright for Arsenal v Leeds United (1995) | Rob Smyth
Related: Golden Goal: Dennis Bergkamp for Arsenal v Newcastle (2002) | Alan Smith
Continue reading...November 17, 2015
Richie Benaud: cricket’s best friend – as all-rounder, captain and commentator
In his foreword for The Wisden Anthology 1978–2006, Richie Benaud wrote: “Wisden tells us everything about the game of cricket, always has.” The compliment is easily returned. Few have ever spoken about the game with as much knowledge or authority. Benaud read his first Wisden during his first Ashes tour in 1953; his name has appeared in every Almanack since, whether as player, commentator or writer.
One of his essays was a tribute to the great Australian all-rounder Keith Miller in Wisden 2005. “ Keith Miller’s statistics … are maybe those of a very good cricketer, but not a great one,” he wrote. “Those who look at them, examine them closely and then give something of a wave of the hand, miss the point in the way that some people now dismiss Victor Trumper. Trumper’s batting average is ordinary compared to those who spend vastly more time at the crease, but much less time enthralling, entertaining, bemusing and imprinting themselves on the minds of cricket followers.”
Related: Mitchell Johnson: a bowler who at his peak was capable of remarkable feats | Russell Jackson
Continue reading...November 1, 2015
Pakistan v England: third Test, day one – as it happened
Stuart Broad and James Anderson were outstanding as England took the upper hand on a turning pitch in Sharjah
1.20pm GMT
Right, that it from us today. Be sure to stick around on theguardian.com/sport for all the reports and reaction from Sharjah. Thanks as ever for all your emails. Cheerio!
1.19pm GMT
In injury news, Ben Stokes is to be taken to hospital for scans on Monday.
1.18pm GMT
England 4-0. A very fine day for England, then. But with this pitch turning the way it is, this game is very much up for grabs.
1.17pm GMT
2nd over: England 4-0 (Cook 0, Moeen 4) Yasir Shah takes the new ball at the other end. There’s turn there, of course, but Moeen blocks, blocks, blocks and … SMASHES TO COW CORNER FOR FOUR! That was quite a shot. And he blocks out the final two balls of the over and the day.
1.13pm GMT
1st over: England 0-0 (Cook 0, Moeen 0) The left-arm Rahat Ali kicks things off with the ball for Pakistan. Cook is unflappable outside off.
Up on the England balcony, Johnny Bairstow has got himself a nice cup of tea.
1.10pm GMT
The players are back out on the field. Off we go again.
1.09pm GMT
On Sky, Robert Key has just used the phrase “MAN ALIVE!” As if you needed another reason to love him.
1.02pm GMT
That’s a fine effort from England. Anderson and Broad finish with combined figures of 28.1-15-30-6. But it’s not quite job done for the day – they’ll have three or four overs to survive before the close.
The last England seamer to bowler 13 or more overs at 1.00 RPO or less before Broad today was Ian Botham 14-9-11-5 v Aus Birmingham 1981
1.01pm GMT
The No11 pokes an edge to fourth slip, where Moeen Ali holds the ball in the crook of his arm.
12.59pm GMT
85th over: Pakistan 234-9 (Rahat Ali 4, Babar 6) The first boundary Stuart Broad has conceded today, Zulfiqar Babar flicking off the hip to destroy the bowler’s economy rate. A single means Babar has scored as many runs off Broad in three balls as his team mates managed in 12 overs. And Rahat Ali gets in on the act too, driving (well, poking) for a couple down the ground then driving (well, poking) into the covers for a single.
12.55pm GMT
84th over: Pakistan 226-9 (Rahat Ali 1, Babar 1) Perhaps that’s why Misbah barely plays a shot to the seamers. Or perhaps it was just a bit of fatigue, Anyway, that leaves Nos 10 and 11 to fend off the final six overs of the day. And they don’t really give much impression that they can do it. A couple of scrappy singles from the Anderson over.
12.52pm GMT
Misbah goes! And in a fashion so ugly that on first glance I assumed it was Babar who had dangled his bat at a wide one from Anderson. No, it was the Pakistan captain who had perhaps grown frazzled by the clatter of wickets at the other end. It was a tired, tired shot and it ends a hugely important innings for Pakistan, one that will surely prove crucial to the outcome of the match.
12.50pm GMT
83rd over: Pakistan 224-8 (Misbah 71, Babar 0) So Broad’s figures are 12-8-5-2 … and with the chance to get even better.
12.49pm GMT
Broad returns. He and Anderson have combined figures of 25-15-19-3 so far today, with Broad boasting 11-8-4-1. A leg bye and a run are added to the total, then there’s a huge appeal as Yasir Shah is struck high on the pad. It looked a little high and a little leg-side, so England opt not to review once the umpire has delivered his verdict.
From the last ball, though, Broad has his man. Shah pulls top-edgishly and picks out Patel in the deep.
12.42pm GMT
82nd over: Pakistan 222-7 (Misbah 70, Yasir Shah 7) That battering has persuaded Alastair Cook to call for the new ball. With seven wickets down, will Misbah stick to his previous approach against the seamers and shut up his shot shop. Um, yes, in short. A shotless maiden.
12.37pm GMT
81st over: Pakistan 222-7 (Misbah 70, Yasir Shah 7) The new ball is available but England will continue with their spin attack for now. Misbah twice reverse-sweeps and twice finds the boundary, twice taking advantage of big juicy full tosses. As Michael Atherton points out on Sky, England have bowled a shocking number of full bungers today, a particular crime when the pitch is doing so much.
Misbah has changed gears here. Another sweep brings him two more then a huge six straight down the ground. Seventeen – 17! – from the over.
12.33pm GMT
80th over: Pakistan 203-7 (Misbah 53, Yasir Shah 7) Moeen continues and Misbah looks to sweep and sweep often.
12.30pm GMT
79th over: Pakistan 201-7 (Misbah 52, Yasir Shah 5) Yasir Shah will certainly enjoy bowling on this pitch a little later, and he’ll enjoy batting on it too if Patel sends down the sort of rubbish that he offers the new batsman with the final two balls of the over. The first is smacked through the covers for four, the second pulled hard for a single.
12.28pm GMT
This tells you how tricky it might be for the tail. Patel opens Wahab up a touch with a ball pitching on or just outside leg that turns to hit middle, and the batsman is left groping at thin air.
12.25pm GMT
78th over: Pakistan 196-6 (Misbah 52, Wahab 0) England are into the tail then. But first they’re into Misbah, Moeen finding the back pad and yelping an appeal. The umpire says no, England review, and it’s immediately clear that Misbah has gloved the ball into his pad. (The best bit of the slow-motion replays at this ground is the slow-motion audio – we get a collage of noises that sound exactly like a shootout on a Spectrum ZX computer game).
12.21pm GMT
Just as this partnership threatened to turn into a matchwinning effort, Moeen Ali makes the breakthrough. Or, more accurately, Sarfraz makes the breakthrough for him. He skips down the track and looks to heave the ball into the stands at cow corner but he doesn’t get enough on it and sends a steepling catch straight into the hands of Joe Root, who was loitering on the boundary.
12.19pm GMT
77th over: Pakistan 196-5 (Misbah 52, Sarfraz 39) Patel continues, and continues to probe Sarfraz’s defences, the wicketkeeper scurrying a single off the last to pinch the strike.
“Re: 33rd over - had anyone attempted this hiccup remedy on me rest assured he would find himself swiftly murdered,” writes the festival-going hiccuping train-catching Ildikó Connell. “Thanks to Matt for not heeding this advice and also getting me on the Metro in good time!”
12.16pm GMT
76th over: Pakistan 195-5 (Misbah 52, Sarfraz 38) That delay scuppers any chances of an on-time finish to the day’s play, which would’ve been nice if just for novelty value. Misbah brings up his 50 with a little paddle sweep off the returning Moeen Ali. It’s been something of an epic knock – 139 balls for his 52 so far.
12.13pm GMT
75th over: Pakistan 189-5 (Misbah 48, Sarfraz 36) A very painful moment for Ben Stokes and one that, you would assume, is likely to rule him out for the remainder of the Test. Youch. He trudges off with his arm in a makeshift sling made from his shirt. Patel finishes off his over with little fuss.
12.10pm GMT
After the drinks break, we nearly have a sensational catch from Stokes at backward square leg … but the ball pops out and it’s not the only thing. Stokes landed very awkwardly and it looks like his shoulder might have popped out of the joint. He’s writhing in pain on the turf.
12.00pm GMT
74th over: Pakistan 188-5 (Misbah 47, Sarfraz 36) Stokes and Sarfraz continue their dance. The batsman punches through the covers for two. The next stays a little low. The next is a bumper under which Sarfraz ducks. The last is an attempted yorker, dug out by the batsman (although the umpires have a quick look at a half-hearted appeal for a catch; it was a pretty clear bump-ball). Another enjoyable little set-to between batsman and bowler
11.55am GMT
73rd over: Pakistan 186-5 (Misbah 47, Sarfraz 34) Samit Patel returns to the attack – interesting that Cook has gone to him (this is his 19th over) almost more often that Moeen and Rashid combined (they’ve bowled 10 apiece). Patel drags down a rank half-tracker and Misbah treats it with the disdain it deserves, clumping to cow corner for four.
11.53am GMT
72nd over: Pakistan 182-5 (Misbah 43, Sarfraz 34) Ben Stokes, who bowled nicely without reward in the afternoon, returns. He tests Sarfraz with a mixture of lengths and speeds, with the batsman clearly desperate to get after him. A maiden that buzzed with anticipation.
11.49am GMT
71st over: Pakistan 182-5 (Misbah 43, Sarfraz 34) Anderson to Misbah. Block, block, blockblockblock. You have to admire the way the Pakistan captain’s mind works. In many ways he has the perfect Test match temperament, that terrifyingly mix of organisation and patience. You imagine that there’d never be a spoon in the fork section of his cutlery draw. A tickle from the last brings him four to the finest of fine legs.
11.43am GMT
70th over: Pakistan 178-5 (Misbah 39, Sarfraz 34) Rashid continues.
Misbah chancing arm against Rashid, twice going inside out over offside. Bowler needs to hold his nerve, he is doing OK
11.40am GMT
69th over: Pakistan 174-5 (Misbah 38, Sarfraz 31) The 50 partnership came up in that last over. These two are beginning to drag the game away from England. Anderson charges in once more, with the wicketkeeper up to the stumps, fielders in a few funky positions and variations on his mind. He sends the last whistling down the leg side, giving Bairstow no chance and the batsmen pick up a bye, the first of the day.
11.36am GMT
68th over: Pakistan 171-5 (Misbah 38, Sarfraz 30) Rashid continues and Misbah looks to go over the top straight down the ground once more. He gets plenty of elevation but not quite the distance, though the ball lands perfectly safe a yard or two short of the boundary and plops onwards for four. He repeats the trick a few balls later, hitting against the spin and again picking up four rather than six.
11.32am GMT
67th over: Pakistan 163-5 (Misbah 30, Sarfraz 30) Bairstow stands up to the stumps so here comes the offcutter …
11.26am GMT
66th over: Pakistan 161-5 (Misbah 29, Sarfraz 29) Sarfraz just gets a top edge onto an attempted sweep – had he missed that he would’ve been gone. Misbah then turns down a second run from the shot with a effortlessly cool you-must-be-joking gesture from one end of the pitch. Tidy enough from Rashid but there’s not the sense of an imminent wicket wicket that there was earlier in the day.
11.23am GMT
65th over: Pakistan 159-5 (Misbah 28, Sarfraz 28) Misbah drives Broad down the ground for two, in one shot doubling the number of runs the England bowler has conceded in 10 previous overs.
“Standing up in your kitchen will help you less than you think,” writes Robert Wilson MD. “You should either do the Tai Chi Upright Defecation pose or lie on your stomach doing radical Supermans every three minutes. Both are better cricket-watching postures than you might imagine. Trust me, I’m Mr Gym. I’m 176 years old and I’ve never had a moment’s back trouble (though everything else hurts like buggery)“
11.18am GMT
64th over: Pakistan 156-5 (Misbah 26, Sarfraz 27) A thick outside edge from Sarfraz whistles low past Stokes at slip. It was barely even a half-chance – maybe a fifth-chance at best – but a slip wizard might have grabbed it.
11.15am GMT
63rd over: Pakistan 152-5 (Misbah 26, Sarfraz 23) Broad once more. And more dots – 47, 48 on the bounce, and then a run at last, Safraz cutting away for a single, the second run has conceded in 9.3 overs today. There’s a red-faced howl of an appeal from the last as an inside-edge cannons into Misbah’s pads.
11.10am GMT
62nd over: Pakistan 151-5 (Misbah 26, Sarfraz 22) Rashid drops a touch short and is cut away to the point boundary for a couple by Sarfraz. That takes Pakistan to the 150 mark.
Thinking 250 could be a winning score here.
11.07am GMT
61st over: Pakistan 148-5 (Misbah 26, Sarfraz 19) Stuart Broad, with remarkable figures of 8-7-1-1, gets the ball in his hand after the break. Five more dots at Misbah, that’s 45 consecutive dot balls for Broad … aaaaannd make that 46. So make Broad’s figures 9-8-1-1.
In other news, because we like to keep you up to date with a bit of background colour, due to a bad back this OBO is currently being written while standing up in a kitchen, which might be a first.
11.02am GMT
Out come the players. This day is still on a knife-edge but England have the opportunity to press home their advantage in this final session.
10.58am GMT
The winner is 'No'. Thanks to everyone who voted.
10.58am GMT
For the tea break, apropos of nothing, here’s an ever-so-slightly confused poll that my old local tweeted the other day:
Is it better drinking Kronenbourg from a can or in the pub or not?
10.45am GMT
Pakistan 148-5. Another intriguing session. England are right in the game. And they’ve have got through 30 overs for the second session in succession. When was the last time that happened?
10.44am GMT
60th over: Pakistan 148-5 (Misbah 26, Sarfraz 19) Another miscue – this time Sarfraz top-edges a pull wide of mid on – as Rashid continues to find 90 degree-turn. And that’s tea.
10.39am GMT
59th over: Pakistan 146-5 (Misbah 25, Sarfraz 18) Moeen Ali returns to the fray for a quick twirl before tea. He tempts Misbah into a sweep and a top edge flies … just over the man at short fine leg. Stuart Broad might have been able to grab that but lil’ Joe Root had no chance. Misbah picks up a flaky four as a result.
10.36am GMT
58th over: Pakistan 140-5 (Misbah 20, Sarfraz 17) Rashid is finding some serious turn out there – he just needs to control it. Three from the over.
10.32am GMT
57th over: Pakistan 137-5 (Misbah 19, Sarfraz 15) Sarfraz is playing a different game to everyone else – he guides Stokes neatly through backward point for four to move on to 15 from 16 balls.
10.28am GMT
56th over: Pakistan 133-5 (Misbah 19, Sarfraz 11) Adil Rashid replaces Samit Patel. Misbah, who had played eight scoring shots from his first 69 balls faced, plants his foot down the track from the 70th and heaves Rashid into the stands at long on. Rashid responds with a beauty, ripping a legspinner past the outside edge then turning one prodigiously from outside leg stump.
10.24am GMT
55th over: Pakistan 126-5 (Misbah 13, Sarfraz 10) Stokes sends down a maiden at Sarfraz. His figures in this spell: 4-3-1-0.
“Yes, Samit Patel did have fitness issues, but he’s played very well for Nottinghamshire for many years now, especially after he learnt to tear himself away from his mum’s cooking,” writes John Starbuck. “That’s probably responsible for more young players’ difficulties than we know.”
10.20am GMT
54th over: Pakistan 126-5 (Misbah 13, Sarfraz 10) Patel offers Sarfraz a full toss so juicy it could be squeezed into a carton and sold as one of your five-a-day. He thrashes a sweep to the fence. And a slog-sweep two balls later also crashes to the square leg boundary. The eight runs from that over equals the tally from the previous seven.
10.18am GMT
53rd over: Pakistan 118-5 (Misbah 13, Sarfraz 2) Stokes continues to keep things tight, just one from the over.
“A shout out to Jonny Bairstow for his excellent wicketkeeping in some of the most challenging conditions of world cricket,” writes Krishnan Patel. “Why is Bairstow not regarded a ‘proper’ keeper?” He’s keeping beautifully. I suppose the chief reasons is that he has not always kept for Yorkshire, but I think the days of ‘proper’ keepers might be over. Competence with gloves + oodles of runs will always trump a technically perfect keeper who’s merely half-decent with the bat.
10.13am GMT
52nd over: Pakistan 117-5 (Misbah 13, Sarfraz 1) Terrific bowling from Samit Patel. The fact that despite his fitness issues – which for some reason always sounds like a euphemism whenever applied to Samit, like you should be using quote marks, “fitness issues” – he’s managed to play cricket for England in all three formats, tells you something about what a superb cricketer he must be.
Sarfraz gets off the mark immediately but Pakistan are becalmed here and in a bit of trouble.
10.09am GMT
Patel gets his reward for an excellent afternoon spell. A bit of extra bounce is enough to catch the outside edge as Shafiq props forward in defence.
10.08am GMT
51st over: Pakistan 116-4 (Misbah 13, Shafiq 5) Two maidens in a row from Stokes.
10.04am GMT
50th over: Pakistan 116-4 (Misbah 13, Shafiq 5) Shafiq sweeps Patel fine for a couple. And the quality of the over is underlined by Shafiq’s ineffectual charge down the track to the last.
Much better from Samit. Making it difficult for batsmen who will get frustrated.
10.01am GMT
49th over: Pakistan 114-4 (Misbah 13, Shafiq 3) A bowling change then – Ben Stokes (4-0-16-0) returns. His first ball celebrates Dia de Muertos by dying off the pitch. It reaches Bairstow on the umpteenth bounce. He does beat Misbah with one angled in from wide on the crease, the ball this time fizzing past the outside edge. Stokes joins the Maiden Gang.
9.57am GMT
48th over: Pakistan 114-4 (Misbah 13, Shafiq 3) Shafiq dances down the pitch at Patel but can only drive straight to mid off but the next is a floated full toss that the batsman pummels away for a couple. The problem for England with three spinning all-rounders remains the continual (and regular) risk of a four-ball being thrown in to the mix, though Patel has been better since lunch.
9.53am GMT
47th over: Pakistan 112-4 (Misbah 13, Shafiq 1) Pakistan score a run off James Anderson! He and Broad had combined for figures of 8-8-0-2 in this session, but Misbah, warming to his task now, tickles to the leg side to end the string of dots. And from the final ball of the over, Shafiq’s 22nd, he finally gets off the mark with a clip to deep square leg.
9.49am GMT
46th over: Pakistan 110-4 (Misbah 12, Shafiq 0) Hello all and cheers Rob. This OBO lycra is all well and good for the youngsters but a little tight in the gusset for an old stager. And speaking of tight, England have conceded just six runs in the past nine overs. In part that is due to bowling brilliance, in part Pakistan’s slightly obsessive determination not to play a shot against the seamers.
Patel continues to Misbah, who gets out a little paddle sweep and jogs through for two runs. He repeats the shot from the last and three more take the Pakistan captain screaming on to 12 from 46 balls.
9.43am GMT
45th over: Pakistan 105-4 (Misbah 7, Shafiq 0) Anderson and Broad have bowled eight overs in this session; they have all been maidens. It’s like the last days of Ambrose and Walsh! They have kept England in the game, and the rest of the day’s play should be fascinating. John Ashdown is waiting to be tagged in for that, sporting just an enthuastic grin and sponsored OBO lycra. See you later, bye!
9.38am GMT
44th over: Pakistan 105-4 (Misbah 7, Shafiq 0) Samit has been more accurate since lunch, though he is not turning it much. Misbah must be itching to go after him, but the match situation is a bit too precarious for that. That means another maiden, the 18th of the day.
9.36am GMT
43rd over: Pakistan 105-4 (Misbah 7, Shafiq 0) Anderson has a man on the drive for Shafiq, at daft mid off. He slips in the yorker, which Shafiq digs out. It’s not always easy to combine variety and control, but Anderson and Broad have done that exceptionally today and that’s yet another maiden.
Apparently the England players have been telling the Pakistani batsmen what they are doing to do to them with the moving ball in the UK next summer. Misbah just smiled and said: “I may retire.” He is a laconic joy, a regular reminder that the truly cool people have no idea they are cool.
9.32am GMT
42nd over: Pakistan 105-4 (Misbah 7, Shafiq 0) It’s a golden rule for seamers and spinners: the more helpful the pitch, the less fancy stuff you need to do. But it can be hard to stick to that if you haven’t taken a wicket for a while, and this has been the problem for England’s spinners. Either that or they are simply not capable of bowling accurately. Misbah is still playing carefully, with wickets falling at the other end, and is content to work a poor delivery from Patel for two. He has seven from 35 balls. I’d get Samit off here; he isn’t remotely threatening.
9.30am GMT
41st over: Pakistan 103-4 (Misbah 5, Shafiq 0) This has been an odd day’s play, with a mixture of excellence and rubbish from batsmen and bowlers, and the contradiction of the seamers taking most of the wickets on a dustbowl. All’s well that begins well for England, though: those two wickets after lunch have brought them right back into the game.
Anderson and Broad now have combined figures of 15-11-7-3. They really are class acts, and they have bowled so well in their two Test tours of the UAE.
9.24am GMT
A bonus wicket for England, and a big one as well. Jimmy Anderson’s first ball is an accidental full toss, and Younis gets in a tangle as he tries to work it to leg. He plays around his front pad and is pinned in front of middle and leg. He reviewed the decision, probably out of confusion at what had happened as anything, but it was hitting the base of leg stump.
9.22am GMT
40th over: Pakistan 103-3 (Younis 31, Misbah 5) Patel gets away with another short delivery that Younis can only cut for a single. Misbah flicks a poor delivery to fine leg for two more. Patel has now bowled 11 overs, as many as Moeen and Rashid between them.
9.15am GMT
39th over: Pakistan 100-3 (Younis 30, Misbah 3) Broad has a strangled shout for LBW against Misbah, who inside-edged another cutter onto the pad. Broad is in Variations Mode, constantly changing his position on the crease and the position of the seam in his hand. Misbah has no ambition beyond survival, knowing this will probably be the last over of Broad’s outstanding spell: 5-5-0-1.
“Guess he was at Pitchfork Paris, a festival I managed to miss despite spending all last week in Paris,” says the OBO’s own Dan Lucas. “Were Beach House and Thom Yorke no good?” Ah I didn’t realise the Thom Yorke Art Project was playing.
9.14am GMT
38th over: Pakistan 100-3 (Younis 30, Misbah 3) Samit Patel replaces Moeen Ali. This next half hour feels so important. Misbah probably hasn’t faced Patel before, so decides to have a look for a little while before smashing sixes. Just a single from the over.
Outstanding bowling from Broad. Variety, creating pressure. Spinners dont need variety. Just bowl.
9.11am GMT
37th over: Pakistan 99-3 (Younis 30, Misbah 2) Younis is late deciding to leave a lovely delivery from Broad that moves back and just misses the off stump. Younis could easily have dragged that on as well. Excellent stuff from Broad, who has bowled a spell of 4-4-0-1.
Here’s Tom Van der Gucht: “Sadly, If I followed John Starbuck’s hiccup advice regarding kissing a lady, it would probably only result in giving her a fright, which Matt Bliss said he’s already tried and didn’t work...” Not if you do it slowly, sensually, masterfully.
9.07am GMT
36th over: Pakistan 99-3 (Younis 30, Misbah 2) Younis is dealing almost exclusively in the sweep when it comes to attacking strokes, and he nails one through square leg for four. Moeen’s response is to come back over the wicket; I’m not sure that’s the best idea.
9.03am GMT
35th over: Pakistan 92-3 (Younis 24, Misbah 1) Misbah’s tactics in this series have not needed a zoom lens and a piece of A4: he blocks the seamers and biffs the spinners. He’s doing the same here, with Broad looking dangerous and getting a bit of reverse. The result is a maiden; Broad’s figures are 6-5-1-1.
9.00am GMT
34th over: Pakistan 92-3 (Younis 24, Misbah 1) Younis flicks Moeen onto the boot of Taylor at short leg, but the ball lands safely. Moeen goes back over the wicket for Misbah, who pushes one not too far wide of Stokes at leg slip. This is really interesting stuff. If England get one here they will feel they could be batting by the close; if they don’t, Younis and Misbah might still be batting at the close. A full toss from Moeen is pulled for a couple by Younis. “Catc- shit!” says one of the England players, possibly Moeen, upon realising it’s a full toss.
8.57am GMT
33rd over: Pakistan 88-3 (Younis 21, Misbah 0) This, it goes without typing, is the big partnership: Younis and Misbah, with 88 Test runs and 13,000 years between them. Broad’s figures are 5-4-1-1. On a turning pitch, the seamers have 2/23 and the spinners 1/63. It’s a risk because it’s a long day, but I would go with Anderson and Broad for half an hour before Misbah gets his eye in.
In other news, good morning John Starbuck! “Re: 16th over,” he says, “the best cure for a lady’s hiccups is to kiss her, slowly, sensually, masterfully – benefit of personal experience.”
8.53am GMT
Broad could do with improving on a modest Test record overseas: 103 wickets at 36 as against 207 at 27 in England. Make that 104 wickets overseas – he’s got Shoaib Malik caught behind! It was another good delivery, with just a little bit of seam movement. Malik fiddled indecisively outside off stump, his feet in cement, and gave a simple catch to Bairstow.
8.50am GMT
32nd over: Pakistan 87-2 (Malik 37, Younis 21) In this part of the world Tests are often decided on days four and five. That means you can ease into the game a bit on the first couple of days, certainly as a bowler. Not here: every run is vital in what will be a medium-to-low-scoring game, and England’s spinners need to improve on a poor morning’s work. If Pakistan are, say, 270 for four at the close, this match is over. Moeen Ali starts at the other end, and after five balls he finally moves to around the wicket. That brings both LBW and slip into play. A maiden.
8.46am GMT
31st over: Pakistan 87-2 (Malik 37, Younis 21) Younis Khan survives a referral from the second ball after lunch. He inside edged a good delivery from Broad – one of the three in a hundred that move off the seam – to the left of Bairstow, who thought he had taken a clean tumbling catch. The umpire gave the ‘soft signal’ of not out, thinking it hadn’t quite carried, and replays confirmed that was the case.
8.34am GMT
Spinners expecting too much of themselves. By Test standards they are modest. Can do well tho' if don't strain to make things happen.
8.24am GMT
England need to bowl Pakistan out for Under 300 to have any chance in this game IMO.... Pitc... #PAKvENG https://t.co/m1qurKIx9l
8.03am GMT
England would probably have taken that score when they lost the toss. But having seen how much it is spinning, it already feels like Pakistan are in control – especially as England’s spin triplets are bowling far too many four-balls. But if they tighten up, there are wickets to be had. See you in half an hour for the start of the afternoon session.
8.01am GMT
30th over: Pakistan 87-2 (Malik 37, Younis 21) A miserable leg-side full toss from Rashid is whapped through midwicket for another boundary by Malik. Are England trying too hard because of the pitch, like fast bowlers who bang it in at Perth? It’s possible, although bad balls are an issue for all these spinners at the best of times. That’s lunch!
7.58am GMT
29th over: Pakistan 80-2 (Malik 32, Younis 19) More garbage from Samit, I’m afraid, a long hop that Malik savages through midwicket for four. The spinners have conceded seven boundaries in 15 overs; the seamers went for two in 13, and one of those was an edge.
“I’ve just turned on the TV and the first thing I saw was Patel being swept to the fence with troubling ease,” says Dave Adams. “Abandoning the TV now in favour of the OBO. Why does an objectively promising scorecard feel like an inevitable crushing defeat already? Is it just me?” Of course not, it’s the English. But in case there’s a fair bit of logic in the misery – it’s turning a worrying amount already.
7.55am GMT
28th over: Pakistan 75-2 (Malik 28, Younis 18) Three years ago, England thrashed India on a not dissimilar pitch, but they had Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar (not to mention Kevin Pietersen) then. Anyway, Adil Rashid is coming on to replace Moeen (6-2-22-1). What mysterious magic has Shane Warne taught him? How to bowl a maiden, apparently, because that’s what he starts with.
7.51am GMT
27th over: Pakistan 75-2 (Malik 28, Younis 18) That’s a beautiful shot from Younis, who flashes a wide half-volley from Patel through extra cover for four. The next ball is a beauty that spits past the outside edge, and the ball after that is a piece of filth that Younis cuts for four more. England’s spinners have bowled too much rubbish so far.
7.48am GMT
26th over: Pakistan 66-2 (Malik 27, Younis 10) Did I say you could Contactless?
7.47am GMT
25th over: Pakistan 66-2 (Malik 27, Younis 10) Younis plonks his front foot and sweeps Patel flat and hard for four. This has been fascinating stuff since the spinners came on.
ball is ragging square. work cut out for england already.
7.43am GMT
24th over: Pakistan 61-2 (Malik 27, Younis 5) The Sky commentators, Beefy and Bumble, think Moeen should go around the wicket to the right-handers, such is the extravagant turn. England’s decision to play three spinners looks the right one so far. On that note, you shouldn’t worry about tomorrow today, right? In that case, whatever you do, don’t bloody think about what Yasir Shah might do on this pitch on days two to five.
7.40am GMT
23rd over: Pakistan 58-2 (Malik 26, Younis 3) Pakistan have been a bit skittish against the spinners, and Younis plays an unconvincing sweep round the corner for a single off Patel. He almost missed that, and had he done so he would have been plumb. The thing is that there will always be bad balls from these England spinners, so you can just wait for those; Patel shows that with a half-tracker that Malik hustles through midwicket for four.
7.37am GMT
22nd over: Pakistan 51-2 (Malik 22, Younis 0) Malik scoots down the track to Moeen later in the over, almost trips himself up and ends up allowing the ball to hit his thigh and loop up in the air. The ball is turning abnormally for a day one, session one pitch.
7.35am GMT
Yes, it was missing leg stump – and by quite a way. Malik took a long time to decide to review it, and almost missed the count, but it was a good decision.
7.34am GMT
England only need it to be shaving leg stump, as it was given out on the field. I think this might be missing.
7.34am GMT
Shoaib Malik has been given out LBW, pushing defensively around a full delivery from Moeen Ali that turned sharply. Would it have turned past leg stump? Shoaib thinks so and wants to review it.
7.31am GMT
21st over: Pakistan 51-2 (Malik 22, Younis 0) A beauty from Samit Patel drifts onto off stump and turns past Younis Khan’s outside edge. The next ball is a carbon copy. Those are authentic jaffas. What England would give to dismiss either Younis or Misbah in single figures today.
7.30am GMT
20th over: Pakistan 51-2 (Malik 22, Younis 0) Here comes Younis Khan.
7.28am GMT
Hafeez throws his wicket away. He dismissed Moeen Ali back over his head for four, a shot of almost absent-minded contempt, and then tried to make it consecutive boundaries when Moeen dropped short. Instead the ball was a bit slow to get to him, and he clunked a pull high in the air. Stuart Broad ran in from deep backward square to take a comfortable catch. It was a complacent shot from Hafeez, and that’s a useful bonus wicket for England.
7.23am GMT
19th over: Pakistan 43-1 (Hafeez 23, Malik 20) The introduction of spin, as expected, has completely changed the mood and the scoring rate. The seamers have conceded 23 from 13 overs; the spinners 20 from six.
7.20am GMT
18th over: Pakistan 39-1 (Hafeez 22, Malik 17) Hafeez drives Moeen for three more. Runs are coming easily – six from that over – though there is enough turn for Moeen to suggest that such an attacking approach is not without risk.
“Rob, on the subject of best festival bands I’d say Pavement at Minehead Butlins,” says Tom Wellman. “Cricket fans you know...” I imagine that last sentence being spoken in a Major-from-Fawlty-Towers voice.
7.17am GMT
17th over: Pakistan 33-1 (Hafeez 17, Malik 16) Pakistan are playing Patel respectfully, for the time being, and there’s just a single from the over.
“Morning Rob, morning everybody,” says Guy Hornsby. “Up with the larks today at the folks as I’m off to Welford Road to see the mighty Tigers (thrash) Wasps. I dreampt we won the toss and were 120-0 at lunch. My dreams are just here to torment me, but such is the lot of an England cricket fan. It feels somehow apt to have you back on the OBO for a Test match as potentially stultifying as this.” That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.
Last time an offie, leggie and SLA bowled in a Test inns for England. Lahore 2000 (Giles, Hick, Salisbury) https://t.co/lw0QTFdJ1F
7.15am GMT
16th over: Pakistan 32-1 (Hafeez 16, Malik 16) Moeen Ali replaces Ben Stokes. I’d have been tempted to get Rashid into the game Before Misbah, though I suppose that applies to all three spinners. And Hafeez is not going to just them bowl, as he demonstrates by sweeping Moeen’s first ball hard for four. He premeditates a lap-sweep later in the over, and Taylor at short leg hares towards leg slip as a result. In fact he runs too far and can only get a fingertip on the ball as he reaches back to his left. Technically that’s a dropped catch, though in reality it was a fine effort.
“Pal safely on the Metro, but her debilitating hiccups have returned,” says Matt Biss. “Does the OBO readership have any suggestions on how to get rid of them, seeing as the stock fright (impossible, as she’s now out of scaring distance) and inverted glass of water (‘a myth’, she insists) methods haven’t worked?” A fifth of vinegar?
7.10am GMT
15th over: Pakistan 25-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 15) Malik works Patel through midwicket for two before being beaten by one that turns sharply, if slowly, off the pitch. Jonathan Trott is talking about the unique demands of selection when you need to win the final Test to square the series. It’s so true, and that situation has led to some weird and wonderful England selections down the years – think 1991 and 1994 in particular.
“Can’t the match ref have a look at that coin for the toss? says Jonathan Salisbury. I think they used a new one today. It’s the unique magic of Misbah.
7.06am GMT
14th over: Pakistan 23-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 13) I can’t lie to you, there’s nothing happening.
6.57am GMT
13th over: Pakistan 20-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 10) Samit Patel comes to replace Jimmy Anderson – and dislocates a finger after two deliveries! That is staggeringly dumb luck. He went down to his left to field a push down the ground, and it caught the little finger on his bowling hand. He is having it taped up, and looks like he’ll be okay to carry on bowling.
With the spinner on, Hafeez immediately looks busier and more purposeful, though the result is the same for now: a maiden. Pakistan have been batting dry, but you would expect the run-rate to increase in the next hour.
6.53am GMT
12th over: Pakistan 20-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 10) Malik edges Stokes all along the floor to the third-man boundary. You wouldn’t expect too many slip catches in this game. Now, this is a good stat, which demonstrates Pakistan’s approach in this series: the combined economy rate of England’s seamers is 2.48 runs per over, and for the spinners it’s 4.32.
6.50am GMT
11th over: Pakistan 16-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 6) This is a really Pakistan interesting side – not quite atypical, because they have legspin, paint-stripping pace and reverse swing, but certainly more controlled and clinical than those I grew up with in the 1990s. Unusually for a Pakistan team, they are greater than the same of their parts.
Anderson, admirably fit for a 33-year-old fast bowler, carries on into a sixth over. Pakistan are happy to kill time and balls, with Hafeez barely playing a shot during yet another maiden. Anderson’s figures are 6-3-6-1.
6.46am GMT
10th over: Pakistan 16-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 6) Pakistan are in no hurry, partly because of the series situation, partly because of the balance of England’s side. They will aim to do the bulk of their run-scoring off England’s spinners. Stokes throws his entire being into an effort bouncer to Malik; it dies off the pitch and loops gently through to Bairstow.
6.42am GMT
9th over: Pakistan 14-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 4) Anderson gets one to lift from a length just enough to jam Hafeez’s bottom hand against the bat handle. He is bowling really well, probably as much as anything because he has embraced the hard yakka rather than lamented it. Another maiden/
“Health were particularly good,” says Matt Biss of his festival weekend. “Also enjoyed Battles, John Talabot & Roman Flugel, Ratatat and Laurent ‘Laboratoires’ Garnier. The hiccups have abated.” I’m pleasantly appalled to say I’ve actually heard of a few of those.
6.38am GMT
8th over: Pakistan 14-1 (Hafeez 10, Malik 4) Ben Stokes replaces Stuart Broad, who has Ted Rogersish figures of 3-2-1-0. Hafeez drives him pleasantly through mid-on for three, and then Malik drives him even more pleasantly through extra cover for the first boundary of the game. The ball has done the cube root of bugger all so far. In fact, that three-out-of-100 estimate might have been optimistic.
“England seamers all bowled very well,” says Mike Selvey of the first two Tests. “Put the brakes on Pakistan who have clambered into the spinners instead.” Which makes this team selection really interesting. I’d probably have gone with Plunkett though it’s hard to foam with outrage when you are on the other side of the world, know nothing about the pitch and haven’t seen the first two Tests.
6.32am GMT
7th over: Pakistan 7-1 (Hafeez 7, Malik 0) Malik, driven back by all those short balls, pushes indecisively at a good fuller delivery from Anderson and is beaten. Another maiden, the third of the morning.
“Any idea of the number of people in the crowd?” asks Julian Birkby. 54? “I was wondering if there is a conspiracy to deliberately undermine attendance figures by scheduling a Test match for the five working days of the week in a Muslim country?”
6.29am GMT
6th over: Pakistan 7-1 (Hafeez 7, Malik 0) Broad has only taken two wickets in this series, though he he has at least been economical. That’s another maiden, to Hafeez. Pakistan seem happy to see off the new ball, a sensible approach especially as England only have three seamers today.
6.24am GMT
5th over: Pakistan 7-1 (Hafeez 7, Malik 0) On Sky, Mike Atherton points out that Ian Bell has been taken out of the slip cordon, which is now Cook, Root and Stokes. Bell is at gully. England clearly fancy Malik with the short ball, after Anderson bounced him out in the second innings of the first Test, and that is the default length at the moment. Malik looks comfortable thus far, though he is still on nought.
6.21am GMT
4th over: Pakistan 6-1 (Hafeez 6, Malik 0) I missed the first two Tests due to being on holiday. How has Broad bowled? Has he been pitching it up as much as in the summer or bowling more cautiously in view of the flat surfaces? He looks in decent rhythm here and drives Shoaib Malik back into his crease with some decent back-of-a-length deliveries. The full ball is coming, but when it does it’s too wide and Malik ignores it.
6.17am GMT
3rd over: Pakistan 5-1 (Hafeez 5, Malik 0) England would love to get Misbah in against the new ball. One more wicket is all they need. The new batsman is Shoaib Malik, who has been all feast and famine in this series: 245, 0, 2, 7.
“...The OBO (and Neu! 2, as I can’t get TMS) are my sole companions for the next three hours, aside from my mate who is lying on the sofa hiccupping while asleep unless she snores in a really bizarre fashion,” says Matt Biss. “I have to get said mate on a Eurostar at 9 and have volunteered to ensure her reawakening and safe enshovelment onto a Metro. We’ve just spent the weekend at music festival and you can imagine what that has entailed. I have no point, but it’s nice to feel that someone’s listening.”
6.14am GMT
Azhar Ali replaced Shan Masood at the top of the order, and he has taken on his role as James Anderson’s walking wicket. That was a good delivery from Anderson, an excellent line and length outside off with a snifter of movement; Azhar felt for it and edged it through to Jonny Bairstow.
6.11am GMT
2nd over: Pakistan 2-0 (Hafeez 2, Ali 0) Stuart Broad, whose series figures aren’t quite so wonderful (56-18-134-2), will bowl to the returning Azhar Ali. Azhar is usually a No3, a fine one too, but we have seen many times that a move from No3 to No2 isn’t always as comfortable as armchair batsmen think. An outstanding temperament is in Azhar’s favour, and he starts by playing out a maiden from Broad. Decent start from both sides.
@100ashesquotes morning Rob, woken by a lizard scratching my carpet and thought I would tune in. Great to have you on the OBO, bad toss mind
5.59am GMT
1st over: Pakistan 2-0 (Hafeez 2, Ali 0) James Anderson, whose series figures are pretty wonderful (67-22-134-7), will open the bowling to Mohammad Hafeez. There’s a packed
house
slip cordon, and a delay after just one ball because of a hole in the sightscreen. It is eventually filled with – and you’ll like this – emergency toilet roll, and the match can resume.
Hafeez leans pleasantly into the third delivery from Anderson, driving it for a couple, and is then beaten by a nice fifth-stump line. No real swing or seam for Anderson in that over, though.
5.52am GMT
The key for England is surely to stay in the game for as long as possible, match Pakistan’s first-innings total – be it 550 or 300 – and then hope the pressure of the third innings, which can be so asphyxiating to modern batsmen, will tell.
5.44am GMT
Sixth toss in a row goes Misbah's way and Pakistan have now won 17 of their last 21 in all formats #flippinggenius
Lose toss does not mean lose game. Too much of it in the mind rather than the pitch .
5.38am GMT
Pakistan have brought Rahat Ali in for the injured Imran Khan, while Azhar Ali replaces Shan Masood, Jimmy Anderson’s bunny. Misbah, cricket’s answer to Jeffrey Lebowski, says he doesn’t think the pitch will turn enough to play three spinners.
Alastair Cook disagrees, though he says it was a tough decision between Samit Patel and Liam Plunkett, particularly in view of how well the seamers have done in the first two Tests. It’s a brave decision, because it invites criticism should it go wrong. It would have been a more than useful toss to win.
5.33am GMT
Ach! The rueful look on Alastair Cook’s coupon as the coin landed was priceless. He has an admirably humorous outlook on captaincy these days.
5.29am GMT
Urgent message Dear higher power, if you have any influence over these things, please let England win the toss.
5.29am GMT
A video to pass the time Lose yourself in the genius of Pakistan’s first great spinner.
5.25am GMT
Samit Patel has been preferred to Liam Plunkett, which suggests a bowl of dust in Sharjah. So England will go into the side with spin triplets: Patel, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. I wonder how Zafir Ansari feels right now.
Samit eng best player of spin in India Odis couple of years back
5.23am GMT
Match day morning. Weather as usual. Pitch? Who knows but doesn't sound too special. Teams? Bit of a quandary with the bowling therefore.
11.19am GMT
Morning. Thereis a compelling argument that
I’m far too old to be getting up at 4am on a Sunday
if England draw this series, it would be a greater achievement than winning the Ashes in the summer. It has rarely been harder to succeed away from home in Test cricket, and a par score for this series would probably have been Pakistan 2-0 England.
That is still the likeliest scenario, because that wonderful quadragenarian Misbah-ul-Haq and his motley crew are such formidable opposition in the UAE. But this young England side can be justly pleased with how they have played for 29/30ths of the series (the 30th being that morning session on day three of the second Test) – especially as they lost both tosses and have been over-reliant of a few players. If they can address both of those issues, a feelgood victory is a possibility.
Continue reading...October 22, 2015
Manchester United 2-2 Liverpool: the Class of 92, Spice Boys and Cantona’s return
It was a time when Oasis and Blur were making Britannia cool and United’s kids were beginning to bloom. The Spice Boys found the Liverpool groove but, back in October 1995, two sets of talented players were setting off on a journey
The following is an extract from Rob Smyth’s article from the forthcoming Issue Eighteen of the Blizzard. The Blizzard is a quarterly football journal available from www.theblizzard.co.uk on a pay-what-you-like basis in print and digital formats .
There are two sides to every glory. For every winner there must be at least one loser and the contrast between the two has rarely been as neat as with Manchester United’s Class of 92 and Liverpool’s Spice Boys. They were so different as to make chalk and cheese seem like the perfect sandwich filling. One is a brand, the other a cautionary tale. One maximised their talent; the other pissed their talent up the wall and wore white suits at Wembley. One chose success, the other excess. One claimed a load of leagues and cups, the other collected female trophies. If you count Premier League medals won by the two sets of players, the final score was Manchester United 50-0 Liverpool.
Related: Sir Alex Ferguson earned more than any Manchester United player after 2010 deal
Related: What the previous 10 Liverpool managers did after leaving Anfield
Related: When Robbie Fowler became God: 20 years on from history-making hat-trick
Continue reading...September 7, 2015
US Open 2015: Donald Young bows out to Stan Wawrinka – as it happened
Stan Wawrinka moved into the quarter-finals with a comfortable four-set victory over Donald Young.
8.40pm BST
Young survives one match point when Wawrinka whaps a forehand wide, but not the second: a crisp backhand volley finishes the job. It was a pretty comfortable victory for Wawrinka, even if he went missing for most of the second set. There were some cracking shots as well as a stream of unforced errors. Wawrinka will probably need to play better if he is to win the quarter-final against Andy Murray or Kevin Anderson, however. Young’s brave US Open campaign is over. Thanks for your company. Night!
8.35pm BST
Fourth set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 5-4 Young (*denotes next server) My Grotesque Book of Sporting Cliches tells me that Young is at the point of no return. He holds serve easily, but now Wawrinka will serve for a place in the quarter-finals.
8.31pm BST
Fourth set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 5-3 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka runs around a storming forehand to take the first point after a good rally. An ace and a backhand volley take him to 40-15, and a superb second serve finishes the game. Young will serve to stay in the match.
8.26pm BST
Fourth set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 4-3 Young (*denotes next server) All Young can do is hold serve and put pressure on Wawrinka, which he does in a slightly scruffy game.
@100ashesquotes Somehow I don't think it looks good for Donald, but I might be wrong. It's not over till it's over.
8.24pm BST
Fourth set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 4-2 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka starts his service game with the kind of appallingly overhit forehand I’d be proud to call my own. He responds with a couple of punishing winners and then – at 30-30 – a fierce first serve. Another half-chance gone for Young, and now Wawrinka is two games away from the quarter-final.
8.20pm BST
Fourth set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 3-2 Young (*denotes next server) The crowd go if not wild then at least slightly less than orderly when Young produces a fine passing shot, and he eventually holds to 15. That’s the easy part; now he has to find a way to break.
8.17pm BST
Fourth set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 3-1 Young* (*denotes next server) Young has had a few half-chances on the Wawrinka serve, but he hasn’t taken half of them. There goes another, at 15-15, with an errant backhand. It’s the last chance he gets in that game.
In other news, crikey, an email! “That’s a good line in self-admonishment from Young, admittedly, but it still pales in comparison to Murray’s magnificent ‘I’m trying my tits off here!’ from the French Open a couple of years ago,” says Matt Dony. “Have these two fellas decided to take it in turns this match? Easy fourth set to Young?”
8.14pm BST
DY been to net 116 times in 1st 3 matches only 16 so far vs Stanimal
8.13pm BST
Fourth set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 2-1 Young (*denotes next server) Young has the best view from the precipice. If he is broken here it’s surely over. That looks probable at 30-30 before Young wins the last two points.
8.09pm BST
Fourth set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 2-0 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka is hitting some brutal forehands, and holds to 15 with the minimum of fuss. Young’s body language suggests this might be a challenge too far.
8.07pm BST
Fourth set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 Young (*denotes next server) Wawrinka begins the fourth set with a return of almost laughable brilliance. Young needs to just stay in the contest for a couple of service games and then see what happens. But he’s in trouble at 15-30 after an excellent drop volley from Wawrinka. A slice into the net gives Wawrinka two break points, and he rams a backhand through the stretching Young. Brilliant stuff. This could be over very quickly.
8.01pm BST
Young gives himself a public dressing-down when he nets a return off the second serve. He doesn’t get another sniff as Wawrinka romps through the game to love, finishing the set with a majestic one-handed backhand. He leads by two sets to one, and Donald Young will have to go to the five-set well yet again if he wants to reach the quarter-finals.
Young, raging to himself: "That's such bullcrap, you absolute chump!"
7.59pm BST
Third set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 5-3 Young (*denotes next server) The crowd have stirred again. A long rally at 30-30 goes Young’s way when Wawrinka produces yet another unforced error. A moment ago it was 5-0; now it’s 5-3.
7.56pm BST
Third set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 5-2 Young* (*denotes next server) A lovely point from Young, one of the best of the match, gives him two break points. He nets the first but then Wawrinka wafts long to give Young a break. Is something brilliant happening?
7.51pm BST
Third set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 5-1 Young (*denotes next server) A comfortable service game for Young, though it means little: Wawrinka will now serve for a 2-1 lead.
7.48pm BST
Third set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 5-0 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka holds to 15. Young is serving to
stay in the set
postpone the inevitable.
7.45pm BST
Third set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 4-0 Young (*denotes next server) Young has returned to his first-set passivity, and he is being taken apart in this set. A long backhand gives Wawrinka two break points. He only needs one. Young won the last five games of the second set; since then Wawrinka has won four in a row.
7.40pm BST
Third set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 3-0 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka has gone up a level from the first set, and about four levels from the second. There is a hint of trouble at 30-30, but a smash and a big first serve put him 3-0 up.
7.37pm BST
Third set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 2-0 Young (*denotes next server) Anger is an energy, part 329841019: Wawrinka growls with pleasure after a backhand pass gives him an opening at 15-30. He works Young around the court to give himself two break points - and takes the first by smashing a backhand at the body of Young, who can only fend it into the net. A superb break, that.
7.33pm BST
Third set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka looks in a foul mood, like a man who’s just realised somebody has nicked all his lovingly collected Lenny Kravitz vinyl. He holds to 30 nonetheless, finishing the job by running around an angry forehand.
This is what they get for stealing Donald's shoes.
7.28pm BST
Wawrinka seems to have mentally packed it in until the third set. His 471st unforced error – a long backhand - gives Young two set points. He takes the second to complete quite the turnaround. It’s one set apiece! Young was having no joy whatsoever on Wawrinka’s serve, then from nowhere he broke twice in a row.
7.25pm BST
Second set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-5 Young* (*denotes next server) It never ceases to amaze how quickly a sporting contest can change. That one double fault from Wawrinka, at 1-2 and 30-30, gave Young a sniff out of nothing. It also woke the crowd up. A long rally is won by Young after yet another Wawrinka error, and suddenly Young has two break points! An ace takes care of the first – but then Wawrinka nets a forehand! Young has broken again and is serving for the set.
7.21pm BST
Second set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-4 Young (*denotes next server) That break has changed the mood around Arthur Ashe: the crowd are suddenly much noisier, and a radged-off Wawrinka breaks his racket when Young takes the first point of the game. It swings from 30-0 to 30-30, and then Young roars “C’monnnnnnnnnn!” as Wawrinka makes a mess of a backhand. That’s his 22nd unforced error of the match, and his 23rd follows soon after. Young leads 4-1.
7.18pm BST
Second set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-3 Young* (*denotes next server) Young needs a moment on the Wawrinka serve – a great shot, or a long rally, to get him and the crowd going. This might be it: a double fault from Wawrinka gives Young his second break point of the match. And he takes it! Or, rather, Wawrinka gives it to him by slapping a forehand into the net. Young break for the first time!
7.13pm BST
Second set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 1-2 Young (*denotes next server) Young is not playing badly, but he’s been just a little passive. That said, he looks very comfortable on his serve at the moment and holds to love.
7.10pm BST
Second set: Wawrinka 6-4, 1-1 Young* (*denotes next server) The story of the match so far can be told in winners: Wawrinka 20-6 Young. Wawrinka roars through another service game, losing just one point. Young looks powerless against the serve at the moment.
7.08pm BST
Second set: *Wawrinka 6-4, 0-1 Young (*denotes next server) This is nothing new for Donald Young. He has lost the first set in all four of his games at this year’s US Open, and was two sets down to Gilles Simon and Viktor Troicki. This, however, is a different level entirely. Young starts the second set confidently, holding to 15.
7.04pm BST
Young has a chance to put Wawrinka under pressure but muffs a simple volley to lose the first point of the game. Wawrinka doesn’t give him another chance, holding to love with some formidable serving to take the first set in just over half an hour.
7.02pm BST
Donald Young always had the talent, it was just a matter of when, not if, he broke through: http://t.co/StMs2xZ5h9 #usopen
7.00pm BST
First set: *Wawrinka 5-4 Young (*denotes next server) Young is under serious pressure at 30-30, and responds with a lovely low cross-court forehand. Wawrinka successfully challenges an apparent ace at 40-30, but the game is over moments later when Wawrinka goes long. No matter: he will now serve for the first set.
6.56pm BST
First set: Wawrinka 5-3 Young* (*denotes next server) There are plenty of empty seats, and you suspect Young will need a bit more crowd fuel if he is to have a chance of winning this match. The crowd, as much as Young, might be able to rip Wawrinka from his comfort zone. For now he is cruising even while playing erratically; with the aid of another ace, he holds to love.
6.52pm BST
First set: *Wawrinka 4-3 Young (*denotes next server) Young holds to love. He looks comfortable on his serve now, after a nervous start, but he has only had one break point so far.
6.51pm BST
First set: Wawrinka 4-2 Young* (*denotes next server) Young is being bullied a little bit, though Wawrinka continues to make a Horlicks of some pretty routine shots. A couple of unforced errors give Young a glimmer of hope at 15-30; it is rapidly extinguished, and Young chunters to himself in frustration as Wawrinka holds.
“The biggest piece of the puzzle for Donald is he has to be unpredictable” –Jim Courier on Coach’s Corner segment on @TennisChannel pre-game
6.45pm BST
First set: *Wawrinka 3-2 Young (*denotes next server) A comfortable hold for Young. Wawrinka has been erratic thus far, with some storming shots and plenty of unforced errors.
6.43pm BST
First set: Wawrinka 3-1 Young* (*denotes next server) An errant backhand from Wawrinka gives Young a break point, and the crowd use their vocal chords for partisan purposes for the first time. He can’t take the chance, with Wawrinka punishing an indeterminate return on the second serve before going on to hold.
6.36pm BST
First set: *Wawrinka 2-1 Young (*denotes next server) A meek shot from Young is punished by a flashing backhand from Wawrinka. That’s 0-30, and a withering forehand gives Wawrinka three break points. He needs only one, with Young going long.
6.34pm BST
First set: Wawrinka 1-1 Young* (*denotes next server) Wawrinka wallops down the first ace of the match en route to a comfortable hold, despite a nice point for Young in which he worked Wawrinka around the court before advancing to finish with a crisp volley.
6.32pm BST
First set: *Wawrinka 0-1 Young (*denotes next server) Young wins the first game despite some nervous serving, with five faults. A series of unforced errors from Wawrinka meant he won comfortably to 15.
6.22pm BST
The players walk out to the intrusive strains of Lenny Kravitz’s 1993 spandex-rock game-changer Are You Gonna Go My Way? Young looks calm enough, hiding under colourful headphones.
6.20pm BST
Back in the Stanislas days, Stan Wawrinka lost 7-6 in the fifth to Donald Young at the U.S. Open. Will he be Stanislas or Stanimal today?
6.06pm BST
Azarenka has beaten Lepchenko, 6-3, 6-4, and is high on life as she conducts an apparently never-ending post-match interview. Young and Wawrinka will be on court soon. By sundown anyway, the way this interview is going. It’s sweltering, and not really the kind of day on which you want to go two sets down even if it is fast becoming a kind of unwitting superstition.
5.50pm BST
Hello. Imaginary studies show that a Grand Slam is 34.21 per cent more enjoyable when a player from the host country captures the nation - and the imagination - with an intrepid run to the final stages. Think Jimmy Connors at the US Open in 1991, Henri Leconte at the French Open in 1988, or that triumphant fortnight that no British tennis fan will ever forget: when Jeremy Bates reached the fourth round of Wimbledon ijn 1992 before a heartbreaking defeat to Guy Forget
There are two Americans remaining in the men’s singles this year: “Big” John Isner, who meets Roger Federer, and Donald Young. Young’s US Open
journey
story so far has had potential-ESPN-30-for-30-film-with-emotive-plinky-plonky-music written all over it. Before this tournament he had lost all 17 matches in which he had been two sets down. Then he came back from two down to beat the 11th seed Gilles Simon in the first round - and did it again to take care of Victor Troicki in the third. It’s enough to make you wonder: is something brilliant happening? (NB: Link contains adult language.)
September 4, 2015
Golden Goal: Ian Wright for Arsenal v Leeds United (1995) | Rob Smyth
The Arsenal legend was a great goalscorer and a scorer of great goals, as he showed with this ingenious chip at Elland Road 20 years ago
Ian Wright was a fox outside the box, never mind inside. The majority of his goals were scored with the explosive aggression that defined his career, but he was also a specialist in the most cunning type of finish, the chip or lob. It was those goals which provided the most memorable demonstrations of one of Wright’s greatest qualities: his imagination.
When he scored with a looping snapshot from 20 yards against Manchester United in the 1993 Charity Shield, the Sky commentator Martin Tyler exclaimed: “Wright! Och! How does he do it? How does he do it?” The question ostensibly referred to Wright’s execution, but it carried an equally important, if less catchy, implication: how does he even come up with the idea to do it?
Related: Golden Goal: Dennis Bergkamp for Arsenal v Newcastle (2002) | Alan Smith
Related: Golden goal: Nayim for Zaragoza v Arsenal (1995)
Continue reading...August 23, 2015
Ashes 2015 ratings: How England’s and Australia’s players shaped up
Related: Ashes 2015: England v Australia: fifth Test, day four – as it happened
Continue reading...Ashes 2015: England v Australia: fifth Test, day four – as it happened
4.57pm BST
The report from the last day of the 2015 Ashes can be found here.
More reaction to follow on the site but from me, it’s good bye.
4.29pm BST
Trevor Bayliss chatting to Ian Ward:
“In the UAE, at some stage, we’ll play two spinners. so how we fit that other spinner in we’ve yet to decide. There’s a selection meeting in a couple of weeks for that. We’ve got to make sure we do our homework and make a decision.
These two magnificent bastards >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> pic.twitter.com/wpIvpzRvJL
4.13pm BST
CHAMPIONES CHAMPIONES ETC
The moment England lifted the urn #ashes #getinthere https://t.co/DwG68eEXcT
4.11pm BST
Cook poses for a video as he holds the Investec trophy. Bit odd.
“To have beaten Australia three times is a huge credit to the guys here. It’s been a great series to be a part of. The support of the general public has been absolutely fantastic.
4.06pm BST
Good ovation for Michael Clarke as he comes to the stage to collect his medal.
“Probably because I haven’t scored many runs - I’m used to them booing me,” says Clarke on his reception across the country.
Little pause before Michael Clarke says 'have success' in his post career speech - learning until the last minute
4.03pm BST
Some quick sort-of news before the captains say their piece...
England batsman @Ian_Bell tells @bbctms he is going to "take stock" before deciding about his international future pic.twitter.com/rq8yc6TfNy
4.02pm BST
England Man Of The Series AND winner of the Compton-Miller medal: Joe Root (460 @ 57.50 – two hundreds, two fifties)
Well, it had to be, didn’t it? Lehmann picked him for England’s best, selectors James Whittaker and Rod Marsh picked him as the best of both sides.
3.58pm BST
Australia Man Of The Series: Chris Rogers ( 480 runs @ 60.8)
“I’ve never been up here [the podium] so it’s nice.”
3.54pm BST
Player of the Match: Steven Smith (143 in the first innings)
He wins two and a half grand, a magnum of champagne and the Australian captaincy.
3.52pm BST
Presentations about to get underway – the players had to wait around on the outfield until the Sky montage, shown on the big screen at the ground, finished. Odd.
Will bring you the chat from the skippers and news of how many beers Ben Stokes has seen off.
A stat to support the feeling that this was the T20 Ashes: a wicket fell every 49 balls, the lowest strike rate in an Ashes since 1902.
3.40pm BST
“I might wear it around my house” - Michael Clarke on his Baggy Green.
A great? In moments, yes. One big moment, 2012, saw him break the record for number of runs scored in a calendar year by an Australian. 1595 runs, five hundreds, three doubles, one triple.
Michael Clarke says goodbye to cricket. pic.twitter.com/s0WT0j0vTf
3.32pm BST
Some early reactions from Twitter...
Reminder that Australia scored more runs and took more wickets than England in this series. #MoralVictory #CheatingPoms
I mean this in the nicest way, but thank goodness it's two years before we do this again #ashes2015
Steven Finn stranded 48 runs off a new Test best score. #Ashes
Clarke is given a guard of honour by his team at The Oval: http://t.co/J9nFmQiU4G #MyAshesSummer pic.twitter.com/4hqm4wd8TY
3.27pm BST
England win the 2015 Ashes series 3-2!
3.25pm BST
101st over: England 284-9 (Ali 34, Finn 8)
Couple to Ali as Marsh is outside off-stump and he guides him behind point. Bit of an overcorrection and it’s fine down the leg-side for four more to Ali. Bit of width and a decent scythe in front of point for another boundary.
3.19pm BST
100th over: England 273-9 (Ali 23, Finn 8)
A dot ball then Finn works a ball off his hip, behind square on the leg-side for one. A thick low edge gets Finn a four through gully, after the strike is returned to him by Ai. A good leave and then a good block and England are back to being favourites.
3.15pm BST
99th over: England 267-9 (Ali 22, Finn 3)
Mitchell Marsh misses a drive outside off and then mis-times a pull that lands safe for one. Rogers takes the helmet for short-leg to Finn. A duck, a fish and then a nice time off middle-and-off for a single to midwicket.
3.10pm BST
98th over: England 265-9 (Ali 21, Finn 2)
Starc and Johnson spent that last over warming up, Siddle instead and a wicket second ball. Broad drives onto his own stumps and the Watford Wall comes out. Chris Rogers, his Middlesex teammate for so many years, has a few words from short-midwicket. Finn responds with a comprehensive thick edge through gully for 2!!!
3.06pm BST
Siddle gets Broad forward and driving onto his stumps off a thick inside edge.
3.04pm BST
97th over: England 263-8 (Ali 21, Broad 11)
Mitchell Marsh to bowl and Stuart Broad leaves outside off-stump. Smart single into the leg-side takes him to 11 as Moeen takes guard again. Marsh around the wicket to him and that’s another leave. Strange passage of play before the rains came when Ali, wary of the clouds, started sweeping across the line and being a bit silly. Much better, now, as he defends Marsh with a straight bat into the leg-side. Then he goes over the top of cover for four.
2.57pm BST
A quick run through what we’re all waiting about for:
Australia need two wickets, England need 74 runs to make them bat again. Moeen Ali’s still there on 17, having spent his innings playing some peculiar shots. Stuart Broad, 10*, has been giving it a bit of tonk.
Nice of Nathan Lyon to get Alastair Cook a present... #Ashes pic.twitter.com/m7ZXzVVaC0
2.33pm BST
NEWS FROM THE KIA OVAL - PLAY DUE TO RESTART AT 3PM
That is of course provided there is no further rain. Sterling work to get the covers off and the outfield mopped.
2.29pm BST
For those enquiring about UAE tickets earlier, some info courtesy of Faisal Ali, who has e-mailed in:
“You can tell your reader, he can just rock up and pay at the gate for the Sharjah test. For some odd reason, the entire test has been scheduled for the working week in the UAE (Sun-Thurs) so will barely be a soul at the test. Daft scheduling as weekend Tests in Sharjah do attract around 10,000 on a Friday and 5,000 on a Saturday.
“Tickets will cost around £10-15 per day. Could be even better - is always free entry for Tests in Abu Dhabi and usually free in Dubai.”
2.17pm BST
“Oh”
Nick can’t quite believe that Azpilicueta has scored. No doubt this will be reflected in his live-blog update. That’s the thing about Nick Miller, he gives little away. Apart from when he live-blogs, where he puts it all on the line. He’s seen four goals so far and he’s live-blogged every single one of them, has the lad.
2.07pm BST
Paul Ward has e-mailed in with a request, if any of you lovely OBOers could help...
“Many years ago, I read two cricket books whose titles and author now escape me. I seem to recall that the author was Indian (books were in English” and that titles were something like ‘Cricket, the lovely game.’
“If anyone can identify books and author, I’ll happily run over a nominated granny.”
2.05pm BST
Away from Nick (briefly), some movement in south London...
I actually DO have something to report: covers coming off! #london #ashes pic.twitter.com/a9SEn51dMx
2.00pm BST
Hahahahaha I know, tell me about it, Nick!
Sorry about that, was just sharing a joke with Nick Miller, who’s currently live-blogging West Brom v Chelsea on this site. I said a joke first, he responded with a riff on my joke which was really funny. Technically, I’ve set him up for that and, given there was no break in dialogue, it probably still counts as *my* joke. Nick’s not laughing though. He’s still live-blogging.
1.39pm BST
Afternoon all. Vish here – I’ll be your rain supervisor for the next couple of hours.
It is still raining at the Kia Oval.
1.25pm BST
I’m off to get some lunch. Vish will be on rain duty for a while. Bye!
Something for the rain delay: outtakes from Canterbury as @melindafarrell attempts my full name for the first time https://t.co/UKDgbBx9yD
1.16pm BST
Weather update See the last weather update. It’s raining, pretty heavily. The Sky chaps are confident we will get some play, maybe after tea. Whenever there is news about a potential restart, you’ll read it here 12th.
1.11pm BST
Tickets. Please.
“Dear Rob,” writers Hugh Saunders. “I too would rescue your granny, but not for charitable causes. Rather, it’s because I am going to be in the UAE in November for the last test and I quite fancy going to watch. However, the ECB website is silent about the series as a whole - especially about how to get tickets. It’s almost as if they have designs on your granny too. Do any of your readers know how one goes about getting tickets for Sharjah?”
1.01pm BST
“Why is all the talk of Moeen either as a number 8 or a makeshift opener for subcontinent conditions?” says Alfred Moore. “He seems a perfect middle-order batsman, capable of taking the game to the spinner, playing all the shots, grinding out a score if necessary, as at Edgbaston in this series or his rearguard hundred against Sri Lanka. I wouldn’t want him facing the new ball against South Africa, but at four or five he’d be ideal. He (like Stokes) is a potentially excellent batting all rounder, and he’s going to be screwed if he’s treated as a not quite good enough spinner or a not good enough opener.”
Yeah, at the moment he is a utility player and that isn’t entirely fair. They need to make a decision about his role soon, and matters will come to a head if his bowling is picked off in the UAE. I’m not sure he’s quite good enough to bat in the top six long term – I suspect he’ll average nearer 35 than 45 – but I suppose there is only one way to find out. England’s problem is that Stokes, Buttler and Moeen are all not quite Test No6s, yet, but between them they give England enough of a cushion to justify playing five bowlers. Take away that cushion and have, say, Broad at No8 and you have a bit of an issue with the batting. In fact there’s an issue with the batting even now.
12.57pm BST
Granny Smyth update
“I would rescue your granny from the 4x4 and expect nothing in return, except for a hefty cut from the personal injury insurance claim to be donated to a cricket-worthy cause. Actually, there’s an opportunity there for cricket charities: we could organise some specific granny-bundling incidents to increase funds. It’ll be pretty crowded around the Oval in a few hours and in the wet any number of accidents could happen.”
12.56pm BST
It’s still raining.
12.44pm BST
An early lunch has been taken. Okay, it was taken 13 minutes ago. Start the breaking news ticker! The afternoon session is thus scheduled to begin at 1.10pm, though that isn’t going to happen.
12.39pm BST
Here’s Ian Copestake. “I would bundle your granny under a 4x4 for UAE tours to be struck off the calendar and this series be extended to best of 21.”
12.35pm BST
Over in Colombo, Kumar Sangakkara has played his final Test innings. Retires with 12,400 runs at 57.40. Crazy numbers.
12.33pm BST
“Time now for a Great Rain Commentary,” says John Starbuck. “Will this one be mainly punctuated by OBO readers’ emphatic obsessions, or can we come up with a totally unrelated riff? TMS has got one going on bowlers’ workloads and discovering that they were a lot more intensive Back in the Day, but it is Geoffrey driving it so no surprises there. We crave novelty.”
Ach, I would love to, but I have to write the England player ratings for the series, and those Adam Lyth-related expletives won’t write themselves. But I’ll update this sporadically, so send your emails in, and don’t forget to press F5!!!!
12.22pm BST
I guess that will be it until lunch at least, and maybe until late afternoon. The forecast gets a bit better later in the day.
12.21pm BST
“The crowd would do well to remember that they also asked for a Conservative government,”
writes Alastair Cam
Ian Copestake. “Be careful what you pray for.”
12.17pm BST
95th over: England 258-8 (Moeen Ali 17, Broad 10; trail by 74) This is a masterclass in batting for a draw by Moeen, who misses an almighty slog-sweep at Lyon. EVEN SHANE WARNE IS ADVOCATING THE DEFENSIVE OPTION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE! The crowd are chanting “off, off, off” – and, for once, the public gets what the public wants, because they players are going off. With the permission of the umpires, I should stress; they haven’t just decided to do one.
12.14pm BST
94th over: England 258-8 (Moeen Ali 17, Broad 10) Mitchell Johnson is back, perhaps for one last bit of thuggery in Ashes cricket. Moeen Ali knows what’s coming. He shapes to hook, tries to pull out when it gets really big, and top edges the ball over Nevill for four. Johnson looks angrier than at any time in the series, even more so when he is wided for a very short delivery to Moeen. Moeen continues to bat diligently for a draw with a wild swing that meets with only fresh air. It’s seriously gloomy now, and the groundstaff are ready for business.
@100ashesquotes #theashes why are @englandcricket considering Moeen as an opener when he doesn't play the short ball well?
12.09pm BST
94th over: England 252-8 (Moeen Ali 12, Broad 10) No daft slog-sweeps against Lyon yet, and his second over passes without incident.
“Five series wins in a decade!” says Phil Withall. “People need to realise just how remarkable that achievement is. I still struggle to comprehend the magnitude of it. People just need to look at that stat and remember where English cricket was and where it’s core is now. Be happy!”
12.06pm BST
93rd over: England 252-8 (Moeen Ali 12, Broad 10) Broad flicks Starc in the air and just wide of mid-on. Imagine if the score was 2-1 now rather than 3-1; there wouldn’t be a squeakless derriere in the house. There would be an homage to the fat physio, with England trying to waste time until the rain comes. Instead, nobody really seems to care.
Predict Eng will be parading Ashes in pissing rain. Suitable end to a damp squib of a match for them.
@AndyinBrum @100ashesquotes what happened to the Johnny Come Latelies?
12.01pm BST
92nd over: England 248-8 (Moeen Ali 11, Broad 7) This is a good move from Clarke: he has introduced Nathan Lyon, who will surely tempt Moeen and probably Broad into slog-sweeping against the spin. His last ball, to Moeen, dips onto middle and turns viciously past the outside edge. Good luck playing that. Right, that’s drinks.
@100ashesquotes to carry on the 2005 ashes riffs. Is it cowardly to pray for rain?
I guess Jos Buttler felt that it was cowardly to play for rain. @100ashesquotes
11.57am BST
91st over: England 246-8 (Moeen Ali 11, Broad 6) Mitchell Starc replaces Mitchell Marsh and beats Moeen with a gorgeous outswinger. As Mike Atherton observes on Sky, Moeen plays and misses a helluva lot for such a good player, and then when you think you’ve got him in trouble he unfurls the most emphatic, elegant cover drive – or a deliberate squirt to the third-man boundary, as he has just played off an exasperated Starc. Who is then even more exasperated when the next ball goes past the outside edge. England trail by 86. It’s extremely gloomy at the Oval now, and a few umbrellas are up. A storm is coming, Frank says.
@100ashesquotes For what it's worth, it's raining hard in Sevenoaks. Watching for rain approaching the Oval makes me feel 10 years younger!
11.54am BST
90th over: England 242-8 (Moeen Ali 7, Broad 6) Nevill iron-gloves an awkward, dipping delivery from Siddle for four byes, and then for two more as he dives to try to reach a delivery that swung a mile after passing the bat.
“Am finding myself irritated by the emerging consensus (btl on Guardian blogs at least!) that England have been lucky here and somehow don’t deserve to win this series,” says Philip Harrison. “You don’t fluke wins in five-game series. And people forget how little chance most observers gave England at the start. I hope people don’t start trying to rewrite history now.” Yep, completely agree with that. Maybe we have become a bit spoiled by five Ashes wins in a decade and are now looking for perfection rather than just winning the thing. Between 1989 and 2005 most of us would have bundled our granny under a 4x4 for an Ashes win, however it was achieved.
11.49am BST
89th over: England 235-8 (Moeen Ali 6, Broad 6) Moeen eases a lovely drive through the covers for four off Mitchell Marsh. He’s England’s third-highest scorer in this series, behind Root and Cook. Indeed only four lower-order batsmen (batting from 8 to 11) have scored more runs in a Test series. The man just before Moeen on the list is quite good. Wasim Akram scored 257 runs in the 1996-97 series against Zimbabwe. In one innings.
11.44am BST
88th over: England 230-8 (Moeen Ali 1, Broad 6) Siddle is bowling some absurd jaffas with this new ball, such as the surprise lifter that bursts past Broad’s outside edge. Broad responds with an excellent cover drive for four, only the third boundary off Siddle in 21 overs.
11.39am BST
87th over: England 226-8 (Moeen Ali 1, Broad 2) Both batsmen get off the mark with quick singles. England trail by 106.
England's next opening batsman strides in at number nine.
11.35am BST
WICKET! England 223-8 (Buttler c Starc b Marsh 42) This isn’t going to take long. Buttler plays a loose, uppish drive that is taken nicely by Starc, swooping forward at mid-off. He knows it’s a poor stroke, and looks pretty hacked off with himself as he walks off. It’s hard to be too annoyed. Buttler ends a poor personal series, with the bat at least, with 122 runs at 15.25.
11.34am BST
86th over: England 223-7 (Buttler 42, Moeen Ali 0) There have been some very good No9s throughout Test history: Clem Hill, Asif Iqbal, Ray Lindwall, Shaun Pollock, Daniel Vettori – and Moeen Ali, who is batting in this position for the second time in the series. He misjudges an attempted leave off Siddle, deflecting the ball fractionally short of second slip and then survives consecutive shouts for caught behind. The first missed the outside edge; the second jagged back and hit Moeen’s thigh on its way through to Nevill. A superb maiden from Siddle. In other, mildly terrifying news, Bumble is talking about playing Spin The Bottle at primary school. “Whoever it pointed at, y’ad to give ‘em a kiss.”
11.29am BST
85th over: England 223-7 (Buttler 42, Moeen Ali 0) Clarke rotates his Mitchells, with Marsh replacing Johnson after a two-over spell that was straight outta 2009. It might be Johnson’s last spell in an Ashes Test. There are plenty of folk playing their last Ashes Test, and a few playing their last Test.
11.25am BST
84th over: England 221-7 (Buttler 40, Moeen Ali 0) Siddle’s figures are now 19-11-20-2. I’m not sure what that second noise was with the Wood dismissal, but it doesn’t really matter because justice was eventually done and the world is ultimately a better place for that.
11.23am BST
Wood, driving on the up in the contemporary style, edges Siddle over the slips for four. Then there’s a huge LBW shout, turned down by Kumar Dharmasena but reviewed by Michael Clarke. There seemed to be two noises, and David Lloyd on Sky thought there was an inside edge. So did I, but the first replay suggests otherwise. This looks plumb. Yes, he’s out. It snaked back and hit him in front of middle, an excellent delivery from Siddle.
11.17am BST
83rd over: England 217-6 (Buttler 40, Wood 2) Johnson bowls to the right, delivering a big leg-side wide to Wood that would have gone to the boundary but for Peter Nevill’s spectacular diving stop. The floodlights are on already, such is the enveloping gloom in south London. Buttler leans into an inswinger from Johnson and drives it whence it came for four. Johnson is not happy, and a radge-induced short ball hits Buttler on the back before looping over Nevill for four byes.
“Can I suggest a quote for these Ashes that is not actually from these Ashes?” says Robin Hazlehurst. “This series has been defined by its hell for leather, damn the torpedoes, play like there’s no tomorrow (which there often hasn’t been) approach to batting that typifies the New Brand of Cricket (TM). But that characteristic only shows up in stark relief against the stodge that preceded it, so the best quote for these Ashes is ‘we have to look at the data’, as that is precisely what this series has emphatically not done. If you see what I mean.” Always.
11.13am BST
82nd over: England 207-6 (Buttler 36, Wood 1) It’s Siddle rather than Starc at the other end, a shiny red cherry as reward for his good work yesterday. Buttler, whose unbeaten 34 is his highest score of a difficult series, is waiting for a bad ball. He can keep waiting. Wood invents a potential leg-bye in his head and gets more than halfway down before Buttler sends him back. Wood sprawls into his crease but would have been out had the throw from Rogers hit the stumps. Wood really is daft as a brush, bless him. Buttler then gets a leading edge through the covers, all along the ground, for two.
“I reckon that any quote from Michael Clarke raging at the Aussie selectors would do,” says John Starbuck. “It’s clear that the pattern of the series was heavily influenced by sectorial foul-ups and calls into question the Aussie method. For England, there were some mistakes (choice of opener, in hindsight) but otherwise they happened to get lucky in that injuries dictated many of the choices, all of whom came good at some point.” That’s a good point. “I’m not a selector” - Michael Clarke, passim.
11.08am BST
81st over: England 205-6 (Buttler 34, Wood 1) Mitchell Johnson takes the new ball, with destruction in mind. Wood pushes his first ball in the air but past short leg for a single. There is inswing for Johnson, which might make Clarke give the new ball to Starc rather than Siddle at the other end.
“What do you make of the series Rob?” says Paul Ewart. “I think we may have witnessed the first postmodern ashes: all crazed action with plot and detail as added extras. Great result for England but I do wonder at some of the coverage. Such a young team will be inconsistent, let’s celebrate the good times and accept the bad ones. The likes of Root, Stokes and Buttler could and should be fixtures for years to come. As for Australia, what to say? It’s perhaps the least Australian touring side I’ve ever seen. But the bowlers are good and England have done well to score when they can.”
11.03am BST
80th over: England 203-6 (Buttler 33, Wood 0) Michael Clarke leads Australia out, perhaps for the last time, and gets a lovely ovation. I can’t even begin to imagine the whirligig of emotions he is experiencing right now. Peter Siddle will bowl the first over. He gave a supreme demonstration of Glenn McGrath-style fast-medium torture yesterday, with figures of 16-10-14-1. Those figures are now 17-11-14-1, after six dot balls to Jos Buttler. England trail by 129 and Gary Naylor has something in his eye.
A frankly spine-tingling standing ovation for Michael Clarke and his team from all parts of the ground. Cricket fans eh? @100ashesquotes
10.51am BST
“Evening Rob,” says Phil Withall. “Having picked up a copy of Gentlemen and Sledgers this afternoon (Only $15 in a well known Australian chain store!) I started to ponder on the quotes from this series that will grace future editions. However, any such endeavour has been nullified by my inability to shake off images from Shane’s mural.”
I’ve been thinking about this in case we do a paperback. What I found with the book is that often the quote that comes to define an Ashes series, like Allan Border’s tea party, isn’t a big thing at the time. So maybe we need the dust to settle first. But I suspect it will be remembered as the groundsman’s Ashes, and in that sense David Warner’s quote at Trent Bridge – “every ball felt like my first ball” – was a good one.
10.29am BST
Sky are paying tribute to Michael Clarke, whose wonderful career will probably end today. It’s kind of fitting that 10 of the 16 England wickets in this match have fallen in the first over a new spell, for few captains have read games with the same level of insightful instinct. At his best, and particularly when he had disciplined bowlers like Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle to accompany Mitchell Johnson, Pup controlled games like a master puppeteer.
His captaincy has been so good that it’s easy to forget what a gorgeous batsman he was for so long. There are so many memories: swapping his helmet for the Baggy Green just before he reached a sublime debut century against Bangalore in 2004, his record-breaking 2012 – in which he made three Test double hundreds and an unbeaten 329 – and his unbelievable courage in Cape Town in 2014. His final average – 49.10 – is a fair reflection of a glorious talent who ultimately fell just short of greatness.
10.21am BST
“What the hell is a Graduation Ball?” says David Singer. Duh, it’s Nathan Lyon’s new delivery.
10.14am BST
The ever impressive Paul Farbrace is chatting to Ian Ward on Sky. He admits there has been an “end-of-term” feel to the match, and that England have lacked “edge”. He said their preparation was fine and their intentions were good, but that the emotion of Trent Bridge took more out of them than they realised. It’s hard to find too much fault with that.
10.00am BST
Hello. The Graduation Ball (or Prom Night, if you prefer) is one of the most memorable nights of a person’s life, even if the actual details are usually lost in a fug of booze, mawkishness and injudicious comments to people you’ll mercifully never see again. It’s also one of the most keenly anticipated, which makes New Year’s Eve seem like an ordinary week night by comparison.
Today, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood and Moeen Ali are in the unusual position of wanting to delay their own graduation party. If they can bat until lunch – when the forecast is for everything from light showers to the apocalypse – this game may drag on until it is declared a draw tomorrow afternoon. But if England’s last four wickets go down in a hurry, they will be lifting the urn and swigging bottles of the ECB’s official liver compromiser before midday.
Continue reading...August 22, 2015
Ashes 2015: England v Australia: fifth Test, day three – live!
4.43pm BST
52nd over: England 140-5 (Cook 60, Buttler 0) That is Stokes’s third duck of the series, and his sixth in just nine home Tests. He is a streaky cricketer, hot and cold, and in his last five innings he has made just 20 runs.
4.41pm BST
Ben Stokes makes yet another duck in a home Test. Lyon seduced him into the drive with a lovely bit of flight, and Stokes edged it straight to slip. That’s beautiful bowling really, though it wasn’t a great shot to play on nought.
4.38pm BST
Nathan Lyon strikes in his first over! Bairstow pushed forward with hard hands at a nice off break that took a thick inside edge and flew towards Voges at short leg. It hit him in the chest, but he was sufficiently alert to take the catch at the second attempt. Excellent work.
4.36pm BST
51st over: England 139-3 (Cook 59, Bairstow 26) The parsimonious vegan is replaced by Mitchell Starc, which should liven things up one way or the other. Cook works an errant delivery to fine leg for a single.
@100ashesquotes Siddle's got a way to go to match the most economical spell of all time.. [32-27-5-0] http://t.co/h2D7EaMmci
4.31pm BST
50th over: England 137-3 (Cook 58, Bairstow 26) “So Rob, given that this series has largely shown the folly of teams adopting an overly attacking mentality and we’re now hoping that England will now dig in and grind out a resolute draw, is Old Brand Of Cricket the New New Brand Of Cricket?” says Phil Sawyer. “I’m a bit confused by it all.”
Yep, the backlash against Brand of Cricket starts here. To misquote Roy Keane, you can stick your brand of cricket up your b- [that’ll do - imaginary ed]. But yes, it does feel like sport is damagingly susceptible to fashion. It’s almost as if everyone is making it up as they go along!
4.26pm BST
49th over: England 133-3 (Cook 58, Bairstow 26) Siddle is haemorrhaging runs, relatively speaking: he has gone for a single, worked off the hip by Cook, and then Bairstow thick edges four to third man. That’s the first boundary off Siddle in this innings, from the last ball of his 13th over.
4.21pm BST
48th over: England 128-3 (Cook 57, Bairstow 22) Mitchell Marsh replaces Lyon and starts with a maiden to Jonny Bairstow. The match is drifting a bit, which has not something that has happened often in this breakneck series.
Feels a bit like the Third Place Playoff in the World Cup here. It's more than a friendly, but less than a "live" match @100ashesquotes
4.16pm BST
47th over: England 128-3 (Cook 57, Bairstow 22) Siddle continues to join the dots, almost sneaking one behind Cook’s pads with the fifth ball of the over. Yet another maiden from Siddle (12-8-7-1).
4.12pm BST
46th over: England 128-3 (Cook 57, Bairstow 22) Nothing to see here.
4.09pm BST
45th over: England 125-3 (Cook 55, Bairstow 21) Siddle zips a length delivery past the outside edge of Bairstow, who snaps his head round to follow the ball in a manner that usually suggests an edge. Not this time. A maiden from Siddle, who has the kind of figures usually seen next to the name C. E. L. Ambrose: 11-7-7-1.
“I know his season has been average, but is there no chance of Compton going on tour?” says Tom Bowtell. “He was proper gutsy in India, and he and Cook are still one of the most prolific opening pairs in the last 3 years (and he brought out good form in Cook who averages 54 odd batting with him).” I agree, I’d be very tempted to go with him or Carberry in the short term, with a view to Hales coming in over the next 12-18 months. But I doubt it’ll happen. If Hales has a good ODI series against Australia I suspect they will pick him in the Test squad to play Pakistan.
4.04pm BST
44th over: England 125-3 (Cook 55, Bairstow 21) Nathan Lyon starts the evening session. He is bowling to Cook, who needs 46 to equal Kumar Sangakkara’s record for most centuries in the second innings of a Test. Make that 45, after a cut for one. That shot has got Cook in trouble against Lyon in the past, and this one was in the air for a while.
4.01pm BST
Hello, Rob here, on a dark day for those whose name ends in -yth. We have a longish evening session to come, with 36 overs still to bowl. England are 209 behind but still have a chance of saving this game. Their two main hopes are Alastair Cook and the little rain symbol evident on most weather forecasts for tomorrow and Monday.
3.42pm BST
43rd over: England 123-3 (Cook 54, Bairstow 20)
Mitchell Marsh replaces Johnson after an expensive over. After Cook starts with a single, Bairstow gets in and behind the rest of the ones at his stumps and leaves a couple, too.
3.37pm BST
42nd over: England 122-3 (Cook 53, Bairstow 20)
Siddle showing the odd sign of frustration in the heat as singles come a little easier off his bowling as his length wavers. Cook frustrates him the most by working a ball on off stump towards midwicket
3.32pm BST
41st over: England 119-3 (Cook 51, Bairstow 19)
Two consecutive fours from Bairstow to start this Johnson over. Neither were convincing, both scuffed through the cordon but with soft hands. Ah OK, we’ll give you that, Johnny. The over finishes with an aerial scuff this time, high over the heads of the slips for the third four. Johnson scratches his head, Bairstow just squits.
3.27pm BST
40th over: England 107-3 (Cook 51, Bairstow 7)
Cook drops the ball in front of midwicket and takes a single, before Bairstow works Siddle behind square on the leg-side for another.
3.24pm BST
39th over: England 105-3 (Cook 50, Bairstow 6)
Not the most promising start from Bairstow as he flays at a ball that is past him in a flash. Later, he bunts aerially down the ground, as Johnson sticks out his right hand in an attempt to take what would have been a stunning caught and bowler. Four to Johnny.
3.18pm BST
38th over: England 99-3 (Cook 50, Bairstow 0)
Siddle bowling to Cook. What do you think?
3.14pm BST
37th over: England 99-3 (Cook 50, Bairstow 0)
Fifty for Alastair Cook, off 119 balls. It’s his 44th in Tests and has featured nine fours. He has a little wave at the crowd, as Nasser reminds us all that he’s still yet to score an Ashes hundred at home. Short and wide from Johnson then allows Root to cut hard in front of backward point for four! And then a silly hook to get out. Silly Joe...
3.11pm BST
Root top-edges a hook off new bowler Johnson, straight into the hands of Starc at long leg, who takes a smart catch just in front of the sponge.
3.07pm BST
36th over: England 94-2 (Cook 49, Root 6)
Singles to Cook and Root start the Lyon over. The odd bits of spit of the pitch but nothing too threatening. Johnson back at the other end – perhaps a change of ends for Siddle?
3.04pm BST
35th over: England 91-2 (Cook 48, Root 5)
A very Siddle over full of tight lines, nagging lengths and some close-ups of his gums. Just one from it, to Cook.
2.59pm BST
34th over: England 90-2 (Cook 47, Root 5)
After staying in his crease for the first three balls from Lyon, Root skips down and works him through midwicket for a single. Cook then takes the single on offer to the off side boundary, as Peter Siddle prepares to replace Starc...
2.55pm BST
33rd over: England 88-2 (Cook 46, Root 4)
Cook going through the gears one – the low ones you’re milking during your third driving lesson. A tuck off the legs for two is followed by a punch drive for four. Very well timed, very odd to watch but very effective.
Cook's straight-arm-check-prod-drive legit in my top 10 favourite cricket shots.
2.51pm BST
32nd over: England 82-2 (Cook 40, Root 4)
My word – turn AND bounce. Lyon pitches leg stump, kicks off the surface and misses Cook’s outside edge, taking a feather form the keeper’s left glove, meaning Clarke has to fetch and a bye is taken. Cook retains the strike with a dab into the leg-side.
2.45pm BST
31st over: England 79-2 (Cook 39, Root 3)
15 balls it’s taken for Root to get off the mark. He does so with a three, as Shaun Marsh does the unthinkable and successfully retrieves a ball running across the squares at the Oval. Starc yorks Cook, who has the awareness to clamp his bat down for a single into the leg side. Meaning...
This is now Cook's highest-scoring home Ashes series http://t.co/wibl99MiH8 #ashes2015
2.40pm BST
30th over: England 75-2 (Cook 38, Root 0)
Finally, some intent. Marsh is still doing his job, but Cook has managed to thread a couple of drives through the cover field, both for four. Clarke applauds Marsh’s persistence with the full ball. Naturally, he finishes with a short ball that Cook thumps through extra-cover for four.
2.37pm BST
29th over: England 63-2 (Cook 26, Root 0)
Good stuff from Athers on Sky: he’s noticed that Starc is swinging some and reversing others. Evidently, Starc is unsure where it’s going. Neither does Root. He’s still there, for now.
2.33pm BST
28th over: England 63-2 (Cook 28, Root 0)
Marsh excellent, again. Cook’s given nothing to work with and then, final ball, a ball is sent across him that he cannot resist, throwing a loose drive its way and finding nothing but air.
2.28pm BST
27th over: England 63-2 (Cook, Root 26)
Mitchell Johnson’s first post-lunch spell comes to an end and Starc will take over left-arm duties. He’s getting the ball to move both ways, but hasn’t been able to get things quite right, sending one past Root’s edge but following up with an inswinger that passes harmlessly down the leg side.
2.23pm BST
26th over: England 62-2 (Cook 26, Root 0)
Slack from Bell as he pulls firmly but uppishly to Chris Rogers, diving to his right, who’s unable to take what would have been a very good catch. There’s a slight delay as Rogers is forced to leave the field and it works in Marsh’s favour, as he hits the pitch hard to sting the fingers of Bell and send him on his way. A modest series comes to the end for England’s most lavish accessory. Immediately Marsh is at Root, beating the outside edge.
2.18pm BST
Absurd innings from Bell ends: the ball after he pierces the hands of midwicket, he takes one on the glove which balloons up to Clarke at slip, who makes amends for his drop a few moments ago.
2.16pm BST
25th over: England 58-1 (Cook 26, Bell 9)
Johnson continuing. The pace is still up there but the radar is starting to show signs of weariness. The first ball is sent down leg before a wider ball is played with soft hands by Cook between the slips for another four.
2.11pm BST
24th over: England 54-1 (Cook 22, Bell 9)
More indecision from Bell on his off-stump. He gets four, but he won’t like it: attempting to retract his bat and offering up the face for the ball to kiss off and run through a vacant gully for four. Clarke’s doing well to ensure Bell is stuck on strike, with two on the leg side to stop that dab into that region. Marsh toys with his position at the crease and finishes tight to the stumps, as Bell creams one, finally, but straight to the man at cover.
2.06pm BST
23rd over: England 50-1 (Cook 22, Bell 5)
Cook very quick to pick up a short ball from Johnson and hammer to the square leg fence for four. Good follow-up ball has Cook with both his shoulders facing down the pitch. The edge is found, but it skates wide of the slips.
2.03pm BST
22nd over: England 42-1 (Cook 14, Bell 5)
Mitchell Marsh replacing Nathan Lyon and he squares Bell up, just missing the edge and off stump. Bell then flashes at a drive ball that he edges high through to Clarke... who shells it! It was fast but he’s taken those this series. Seemed to react late, throwing his hands up so quickly that he took himself off his feet. It’s no great pace, just some low 80s, dandy seam stuff. But he’s keeping Bell in check. Just a two, mid-over, past point from the over.
1.56pm BST
21st over: England 40-1 (Cook 14, Bell 3)
Johnson goes at Bell, who gets pinned on the arm and adds four to the score as he was taken evasive action. Same again the next ball – short, up at his arm-pit – and there’s bat this time, but to a safe are between bat-pad and the man out at deep fine leg. Cook gets an easier ride, as Johnson searches for his edge with some balls in his half.
1.52pm BST
20th over: England 35-1 (Cook 14, Bell 2)
Cook is given one to the man at deep point, rocking back and cutting to bring Bell on strike. Muted appeal as Bell goes to work one behind square, with Lyon coming over the wicket. Nevill with a good take, but no bat. Maybe worth chucking a leg-slip in? Bell’s fallen foul of a man around the corner before. Single off the penultimate ball and Cook lunges forward in defence to see out the over.
I'm sitting 75 yards from the middle with 52 year-old eyes and even I could see that came off the arm. Absurd stuff from Aus @Vitu_E
1.49pm BST
19th over: England 33-1 (Cook 13, Bell 1)
Mitchell Johnson zings a couple wide of Bell’s off stump and then bowls a marginally slower one that arcs in but wide and short enough for Bell to leave comfortably. One shorter and across him – 88.2mph – and the next ball is deflected through to Voges, low at first slip. The catch is taken, a huge appeal goes up, Dar and Bell are unmoved and there’s a review from Michael Clarke... and it’s shoulder of the Bell rather than the bat.
1.43pm BST
18th over: England 33-1 (Cook 13, Bell 1)
“Tidy start from Lyon,” says Warne. Words, Warnie. A few getting the batsmen forward, a few letting them push back. A couple of tucks around the corner – one for each – and hint of a change-up.
1.40pm BST
Play about to resume at the Kia Oval...
Only a fool like me would choose to follow so immediately after Rob Smyth with this OBO. It’s all disappointment from now until tea, when he’ll return. Ah well, at least it’s sunny out.
1.04pm BST
A pretty somnolent morning session ends with England where they were at the start of the day: in the malodorous stuff, and needing a new opener. It’s still a good batting pitch, so there is scope to lose the match with dignity, or save it with rain. Thanks for your company; Vithushan Ehantharajah will be with you after lunch.
1.01pm BST
17th over: England 31-1 (Cook 11, Bell 0) Siddle finally concedes a run, from his 35th delivery. Nothing else happens, and that’s lunch!
“So you don’t think Hales is capable of dealing with the harder series then, Rob?” says Michael Drinkwater. “ That’s not much of a recommendation, is it? Surely if he is good enough, he should be tried now. Reckon he’d be a good person to have in South Africa. As for the dilemma that is Moeen, for a start this series he should have been ahead of Buttler, but his bowling - or his control anyway, seems to have gone in reverse. He should be in the UAE though and so should Rashid. If its just one series, and the selectors want to squeeze in Rashid too, then why not open with Bell and have Moeen at 3?”
12.56pm BST
16th over: England 30-1 (Cook 11, Bell 0) Lyon starts around the wicket to Bell, an angle from which he has dismissed him a few times. The first ball turns down the leg side for four byes, and the Sky commentators note with surprise the lack of a leg slip. Bell has been dismissed turning Lyon round the corner in the past.
Adam Lyth is the first player in Test history to make 5 consecutive scores between 10 & 20 whilst opening the batting pic.twitter.com/HBBLKLd9c6
12.52pm BST
15th over: England 26-1 (Cook 11, Bell 0) Bowling dry has gone out of fashion in the last year or so; Siddle is demonstrating the ridiculousness of that situation. He is supremely accurate, and has a strangled LBW shout against Cook from a ball that pitched just outside leg. It’s another maiden, so Siddle’s figures are now 5-5-0-1.
“Only one choice for your movie tonight,” says Niall Mullen. Oh my. That looks heroically diabolical.
12.49pm BST
14th over: England 26-1 (Cook 11, Bell 0) Cook cuts another boundary when Lyon drops short. So, who would you open with this winter? I would leave Hales until next summer, because it’s such a tricky winter and it could finish him before he has started. Moeen in the UAE is an option, though not in South Africa. They could almost do with a short-term patsy to do the hard work this winter and then allow Hales to come in when it’s theoretically easier next summer. The other problem with Moeen opening in the UAE is that he’s such a good player of spin, so why take him out of the middle order? It’s a big problem; I’ve no idea what they should do.
12.45pm BST
13th over: England 19-1 (Cook 4, Bell 0) With every passing over, the omission of Siddle for the first four Tests seems less an oddity and more a downright scandal. Another fine delivery draws an edge from Bell that falls this far short of Clarke at second slip. Siddle’s figures are now 4-4-0-1.
“Film tonight,” says Dan Lucas. “Go with Galaxy Quest. Because you could do with a hilarious farce.”
12.40pm BST
Adam Lyth’s Test career comes to an end. Probably. It was a good delivery from Siddle – an immaculate line and length, which meant that Lyth felt he had to play. He pushed defensively and edged low to second slip, where Clarke took the catch. Lyth ends the series with 115 runs at 12.77, and the summer with 265 at 20.38. He was worked over beautifully by Siddle there.
One summer, seven Tests, one century: Sam Robson in 2014, Adam Lyth in 2015 @100ashesquotes
12.38pm BST
12th over: England 19-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 4) I have nothing to declare except another maiden, the fourth in a row. Cook has four from 41 balls. “Good morning Rob, I have an interview on Tuesday,” says Jeremy Bunting. “I have so much preparation to do and my concern yesterday morning was this would play through days 4 & 5. That would totally screw up my chances.”
12.36pm BST
11th over: England 19-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 4) An airy-fairy drive from Lyth meets only fresh air. “Oooh dear,” says David Gower. When even David Gower bemoans an airy-fairy drive from a left-hander, it’s safe to say it wasn’t a good shot. Lyth is beaten twice more in the over by gorgeous leg-cutters from the excellent Siddle. He is going at just two an over in this match, with combined figures of 16-8-32-2. When they reflect, I suspect Australia will regret following fashion and omitting Siddle so often over the last 18 months.
Follow-ons enforced by recent Australian captains: Clarke 1/5 (had 5 chances to do so); Ponting 4/13, S Waugh 8/8, Mark Taylor 3/5
12.32pm BST
10th over: England 19-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 4) I missed that over because I was trying to decide what film to watch tonight. It was – horror, shock – another maiden, this time from Lyon to Cook. England trail by 313.
12.29pm BST
9th over: England 19-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 4) Siddle beats Lyth with a beauty that pitches outside leg and jags past the outside edge. There’s a break in play while Siddle changes his shoes. “Is that one of them Fokkers?” says Bumble as a plane flies over the ground. Another maiden, the fifth of the innings.
“I dont think Moeen is an opener either,” says Phil White. “But he is wasted at 8. On Ashes form he should be in the top six. A positive approach to this match would have been to drop Buttler, put Bairstow at 7, and bring in Rashid at 8. Arguably a stronger batting line-up, and who knows what Rashid’s bowling might have achieved?”
12.22pm BST
8th over: England 19-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 4) Cook started the series by shimmying down the pitch to Lyon. He is ending it by staying firmly in his crease, defending watchfully. He is waiting for a bad ball, and when it eventually comes he cuts crisply for four to get off the mark from his 27th delivery.
12.20pm BST
7th over: England 15-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 0) Clarke continues to tinker, replacing Johnson with Peter Siddle. He starts with a maiden, including a good short ball that Lyth fends to gully on the bounce. It’s pretty quiet around the ground. Sometimes that low hum signifies high tension; this is not one of those times. Lyth actually isn’t England’s lowest-scoring batsman in this series; he has 115 runs to Jos Buttler’s 80. “If we’re handing out insults for not scoring runs, let’s have a go at him!”
12.15pm BST
6th over: England 15-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 0) Michael Clarke plays a bit of slap-bass in his final innings as captain, bringing Nathan Lyon into the attack after only five overs. Cook defends solidly and now has nought from 23 balls. There’s your brand of cricket.
12.12pm BST
5th over: England 15-0 (Lyth 10, Cook 0) This is probably the last time we’ll see Mitchell Johnson bowl in an Ashes Test. The bald statistics – 19 matches, 86 wickets at 25.41 – don’t even hint at one of the better stories in 21st century sport: a tale of songs, schadenfreude, redemption, nasty surprises, moustaches and murderous bloody lifters. Lyth uppercuts him confidently for four, and then deflects one off the elbow to fine leg for four leg-byes. A pristine cover drive makes it 12 from three balls.
12.07pm BST
4th over: England 3-0 (Lyth 2, Cook 0) Kumar Dharmasena calls a no-ball from Starc, prompting a few sarcastic cheers. How did people manage to get by before banter was invented? Not much is happening; the new ball is swinging, but thus far Starc in particular hasn’t made the batsmen play enough.
12.03pm BST
3rd over: England 1-0 (Lyth 1, Cook 0) Lyth works Johnson off the hip to get off the mark. To repeat, the forecast for tomorrow and Monday is pretty poor, so this match is saveable. Cook, attempting a dainty flap-hook, is beaten for a pace by Johnson’s bouncer.
“Would suggest Moeen is different class to Peter Taylor, and it has been seriously proposed that he should open, in the UAE,” says Phil White. “(This should ensure Lyth now gets his hundred.)” Oh I agree, I just meant the tactic of putting someone straight back in when you follow on because they batted well in the first innings. He probably will open in the UAE but it’s not a sustainable strategy, and it means potentially weakening what is already the weakest part of the side.
11.58am BST
2nd over: England 0-0 (Lyth 0, Cook 0) Alastair Cook has promised more than he has paid in this series: 245 runs at 30.62. There are mitigating circumstances – a couple of serious jaffas, that freak catch at short leg – but it’s unusual to see Cook in decent form make so many nothing scores. He ignores a series of deliveries outside off stump in Mitchell Starc’s first over, so it’s a maiden.
@100ashesquotes Gooch was under quite a lot of pressure going into the Oval Test in 85. He got 196
11.54am BST
1st over: England 0-0 (Lyth 0, Cook 0) Lyth ignores the hat-trick ball, a full awayswinger. I bet his heart is playing a drum-and-bass track right now. He does really well to get on top of an excellent lifter and steer it on the bounce to gully, but then has little option but to wears a beautiful short ball that hits him on the glove and body. A maiden.
“England should have opened the second innings with Moeen,” says Phil White. “He’s got his eye in and been batting well.” Ah, the old Peter Taylor tactic. I love stuff like that. Batting orders should be much more fluid.
11.49am BST
Mitchell Johnson, who is on a hat-trick, is going to take the new ball.
11.49am BST
As Adam Lyth trots out, thoughts turn to some of the great career-saving innings: Mark Taylor in 1997, Andrew Strauss in 2008, and of course Alastair Cook on this ground in 2010. I suppose that was place-saving more than career-saving, but even so.
11.43am BST
An email Interesting to compare Moeen’s figures to those of our main spinner in last four home Ashes series,” says Tom Bowtell. “Take the Swann-friendly 2013 pitches out of it and he’s right up there., basically the same as Swann in 2009.
Giles 2005: 155 runs at 19.37, 10 wickets at 57.8
Swann 2009: 249 @ 35.57 and 14 @ 40.50
Swann 2013: 126 @ 25.20 and 26 @ 29.03
Moeen 2015: 250 @ 41.66 and 12 wickets @ 45.50.”
11.39am BST
Mitchell Johnson finishes the innings with two wickets in two balls. Moeen feels indeterminately outside off stump and edges low to Nevill. England are 332 behind, and Australia have enforced the follow on. That’s the first time Michael Clarke has done so in a Test, and it might just be the last.
11.37am BST
Mitchell Johnson strikes with his third ball. Wood, beaten for pace, miscues a pull straight to Starc at midwicket. That was another breezy little innings from Wood, 24 from 41 balls with six fours.
11.34am BST
48th over: England 149-8 (Ali 30, Wood 24) Lyon replaces Siddle. I used to think he was the most underrated player in world cricket, but I reckon he falls foul of the Denis Irwin rule: once a certain percentage of people say you are underrated, you are no longer underrated. Moeen Ali plays him better and more aggressively than most England players, and drives smoothly over mid-on for four to bring up the fifty partnership. The next ball is clouted disdainfully back over Lyon’s head for a one-bounce four. England have hit seven boundaries in the last three overs. It’s a whole new brand of cricket!
In other news this, from Mike Jakeman on home domination in recent Test cricket, is very good.
11.30am BST
47th over: England 141-8 (Ali 22, Wood 24) Wood chases a very wide delivery from Marsh. Fresh air roars through cover for four; the ball ends in the hands of Peter Nevill. The runs are starting to come quickly now, with Wood hitting consecutive boundaries off Marsh. The first was a forcing shot past backward point, the second a storming cut stroke.
“My friend Mel is there today (I’m in Leeds, what was I thinking?) as I chose day five instead,” says Guy Hornsby. “I’m looking about as foolish as Finn did yesterday when Steve Smith nicked it. Still, how we perform today could go a long way towards the UAE, so here’s hoping for 320-1 at the close. Allow me some misplaced optimism at least. Hope is already in the pub.” Hope’s already in the clink after throwing hands at the bar when it realised there was no chance of rain today.
11.25am BST
46th over: England 133-8 (Ali 22, Wood 16) Moeen, driving expansively, edges Siddle through the legs of Warner at gully and away for four. A softer edge next ball sneaks past Warner for another boundary. He makes it three fours in the over with a pleasant drive through mid-off. Actually it was better than pleasant; David Gower would have been proud of that shot.
One of the less remarked influences of T20 is people applauding the edge that goes for four - like the batsman meant it @100ashesquotes
11.21am BST
45th over: England 121-8 (Ali 10, Wood 16) One Mitchell replaces another, Marsh coming on for Starc. He looks a really good fifth bowler; as Nasser Hussain on Sky, a lot better than most of us thought he was. After an era of six batsmen, a keeper and four bowlers, the fifth bowlers is having a bit of a renaissance, perhaps a consequence of the workload on the main bowlers these days. If Marsh looks a good fifth bowler, then Wood looks a seriously good No10 batsman; he punches another lovely drive for four, this time through mid-off.
“If Australia can win this Test, then in these last three Ashes series that have been played in an almost back-to-back fashion, it will give Australia an aggregate victory of 7-6 – despite the fact that 10 of the 15 matches were played in England. Despite not retaining the ashes at the end of this series, I consider that a moral victory and is perhaps the best indicator of which team is stronger. Agree or disagree?” It’s a no from me. Mind you it’s interesting that, although England have won five of the last seven Ashes series, Australia have won more Tests in that time: 14-13.
11.16am BST
44th over: England 117-8 (Ali 10, Wood 12) Wood is averaging 40 with the bat in this series, second only to Joe Root among Englishmen. Moeen is just below him, averaging 39, and works Siddle off the hip for a couple. That aside there is nothing to work with. Siddle bowls a lovely, challenging length.
11.12am BST
43rd over: England 115-8 (Ali 8, Wood 12) More ominous inswing for Starc to Wood. I’m not sure anyone in world cricket has a higher jaffa-ratio than Starc, though mercifully for batsmen he bowls a fair bit of filth as well. Such as a very wide half-volley that Wood can’t quite reach with a flail outside off stump. You would expect Starc to tighten up as he plays more Test cricket, and heaven help everyone when he does. Wood gets the first runs off the bat this morning with a flowing cover drive for four. Shot!
“England’s strategy from here,” begins Matthew Tom. “Follow on, get to 61 ahead in their second innings, declare and give the ball to Broad.” Tbf that would be well banter.
11.08am BST
42nd over: England 111-8 (Ali 8, Wood 8) Peter Siddle, the man who should have been brought in after Cardiff to sex down the Australian attack, starts from the other end to Moeen. He hits his optimum length straight away, just full of good, and it’s a maiden.
“Oh my!” says Steve Hudson. “Which bit of that Beefy video is funniest?? ‘You change nappies if you want to live, it’s a free country. That’s why my dad fought in the war’. ‘There are more deer now that in the time of Henry XIII. Fact.’”
11.03am BST
41st over: England 111-8 (Ali 8, Wood 8) Mitchell Starc, Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the series with 18, gets things going. The bad news for England is that it’s swinging – or, as David Brent might say, I think there’s been some shape out there! The first ball is an inswinger that deflects off Mark Wood’s left leg for four leg-byes. Wood does well to clear his feet and dig out a yorker before being beaten by three consecutive deliveries outside off stump. This won’t take long.
10.58am BST
The players are out. It’s a pretty damn gorgeous morning in south London. Normally you would say it looks like a perfect day for batting but, well, you know.
Cricket United today at The Oval, wear Blue if you can! Have a fun day. https://t.co/iMJVbNBmU1
10.55am BST
“I was just listening to TMS as I pootled around the flat getting a few things done when I could swear I suddenly heard in the background the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme tune,” says Phil Sawyer. “Did any other OBOers hear this or did I hallucinate it? I mean, I realise as a soundtrack to England’s batting yesterday it’s pretty apt but it seems the unlikeliest of venues to hear it.”
10.48am BST
Want to buy a funny, insightful, definitive history of the Ashes that contains a soupçon of concupiscent mischief? Good luck with that. But you can buy this if you like.
Gentlemen and Sledgers: A History of the Ashes in Quotations and Confrontations is available now. http://t.co/Z2jttd804k
10.45am BST
The Sky chaps are talking about this no-ball business, which is all a bit strange. Some of those no-balls yesterday were huge. There’s clearly only one solution: make Walter Sobchak an umpire. (NB: Video contains lively language from the start.)
10.43am BST
The follow on
There is some talk that Michael Clarke will not enforce the follow on so that he can bat again. In fact he might not want another innings; when a man is weary he just wants to sleep. Either way, he’ll surely do what’s best for the team. In a post-Kolkata world that normally means batting again, but because this is a dead game I suspect the let’s-get-this-done vibe will override any fear of losing the match. There’s a forecast for rain tomorrow as well. So I reckon Clarke will do the right thing and enforce the follow on to ensure I get a day off tomorrow.
10.19am BST
I am a bit late to this, as I believe it was doing the rounds on the social media last week. But for those who haven’t seen it, it’s a comic treat.
10.19am BST
An OBO isn’t an OBO until we’ve heard from Gary Naylor.
@100ashesquotes We picked Lyth in an odd year instead of an even - http://t.co/h6i3gc3wFI
10.02am BST
Sad news from Australia: Arthur Morris has died at the age of 93. He was probably Australia’s second greatest opener, after Victor Trumper, and was the leading scorer when the Invincibles hammered England 4-0 in 1948. In the final Test, at the Oval, he played an innings that was completely overshadowed by Donald Bradman’s duck. “I was there,” Morris would say when the subject of Bradman’s final innings came up. “Oh, did you play?” someone would ask. “Yes, I got 196.”
Vale Arthur Morris, an Invincible and rated the greatest left-hander by Bradman. An obituary: http://t.co/nj28vrzGGM pic.twitter.com/mkkaBtGboA
9.58am BST
Morning. The 2015 Ashes would have tested even Kipling’s equilibrium. Triumph and disaster aren’t impostors; they’re the only friends we’ve got, the only friends who can help us process this unnervingly weird Ashes. Usually such knee-jerkism is the preserve of the risible football, but this series has been so daft as to make extreme reactions almost irresistible.
So it is that, on Thursday morning, England were an intrepid bunch of rare talents embarking on a journey towards world domination; today they are a flaky bunch of underachieving talents who can only win on doctored greentops. You don’t need me to tell you that the truth is somewhere inbetween, so that’s precisely what I’m going to do: the truth is somewhere inbetween.
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