Fifth Ashes Test: The Oval, 12-16 September 2019

[bigfluffylemon]

Lead of 380 really should be enough. It's been a couple of surprisingly good days for England. Sure, from 200-2 we should have more wickets left, but equally we could have collapsed in a heap. England batted all day. I'll take it.

Are England flattered by 2-2? I'm not convinced. Australia have only really had four players who have consistently performed over the series. If you put together at XI of the series, there would be at least 5 England players in there. Smith and Cummins deserve to be on the winning side, not sure if any other Aussies do.

My XI
Burns
Denly (somewhat by default, but he's done better than Warner, Harris, Khawaja and Bancroft)
Root
Smith
Labu
Stokes
Paine
Cummins
Archer
Hazlewood
Lyon (more because I have to include a spinner than because he's been one of the top 4 bowlers)

12th man: Broad

[Arthur Crabtree]

Agree with that XI.

Sunny day in Kennington today, should be OK for batting.

I suppose they could make 400, but only if Smith makes half of them.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Lyon (more because I have to include a spinner than because he's been one of the top 4 bowlers)

Lyon has 19 wickets at under 35 with a econ of 2.7. Not bad in terms of stats. His injury might mean he hasn't been as good later in the series.

Actually, Leach's SR has been much better, but he's bowled nowhere near as many overs.

[alfie]

Perhaps surprisingly England batted a full day to get the lead up near 400...surely going to be enough ? Though there is Smith

I suppose they've not quite batted Australia out of it , and may feel they should have made more after the Denly/Stokes stand ? But really given the usual batting results in this series scoring over three hundred is above par...

Denly has done better than I for one expected. Pity he didnt quite get the century...but he's got himself on the plane to NZ anyway.

Might not be adding many this morning as Archer goes early...

[GarlicJam]

Aus kept the chase to under the 400. Just.

England could be forgiven for thinking "get Smith cheaply, win test"


To win this, Aus need Smith to really fire, Labuschagne to fire, AND another batsman to outperform their tour efforts so far. And Luck and DRS to favour them.

A drawn series will be a fair result. I am just pleased that The Ashes are already decided.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Warner is surely a dead cert to make a ton.

[Arthur Crabtree]

A drawn series will be a fair result. I am just pleased that The Ashes are already decided.

I feel the Aussies deserve to win this. And win the first Ashes away from home since 2001. I think.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Broad gets Wee Davie again. But Aussies are ahead of the game with their openers exceeding expectation.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Which makes Warner the worst performing Ashes opener. Second worst is Adam Lyth with 115. Bancroft is eighth in 2017. So Wee Davie needs 32 to go past Lyth for the worst Ashes series for an opener.

Which he doesn't manage.

Earlier I said Collingwood scored 8 in an Ashes series (2010-11), but that was a typo. It was 83.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Loose change goes and the pressure really is on Smith. If this was England they would give up and get bowled out for about 70.

[bigfluffylemon]

Warner is surely a dead cert to make a ton.

Nice jinx AC.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Got my eye in now.

[bigfluffylemon]

Warner's series aggregate of 95 is the lowest in history for any top 6 batsman who batted all 10 innings of a 5 match series
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... iew=series

Colly may have got 83 in 2010-11, but he only actually batted 6 innings in the 5 games because of England's 3 innings victories and England only losing 1 wicket in the second dig in Brisbane.

[bigfluffylemon]

Double post

[Arthur Crabtree]

Smith out of 23. You'd take that. Great work by Broad today.