Ashes come home

The Oval Fifth Ashes Test- day four

Preview

All the experts say it is impossible for Australia to climb that run mountain, that England must win if they bowl properly and guess that plans will have been formed to deal with all the remaining Australian batsmen.

All the same, why not have a few pennies on the Aussies. It will make you feel a lot better about your cricket judgment and give you automatic bragging rights for the rest of your days.

It might even enable you to buy yourself the sort of watch I have just been offered by some advertising guy who has got hold of my email address.

Meanwhile it is a lovely day at the Oval, sunshine, crowds gathering full of pretty girls, bright summer colours and men with heavy sun tans; and the bars are open.

Enjoy!

To lunch

Plenty to enjoy for all the 20,000 or so souls in the ground. The trumpeter was back. He was "encouraged" not to attend at Headingley, you may remember and he is clearly, by ground authority definiton, a subversive influence, playing the National Anthem and other such revolutionary tunes. I just found him relaxing and the Barmy Army clearly love him.

The openers both went lbw in successive overs; Simon Katich foolishly without playing a shot and Shane Watson, foolishly thinking he was not out. So after 30 minutes we saw the typical Ricky Ponting struggle to survive until he was ten and Michael Hussey typically batting nerves first, every sinew stretched.

By lunch they had not just survived but set Andrew Strauss problems he could not sort out and I guess he chaired a committee meeting during the interval so that he could find who to bowl next.

He had tried Stuart Broad who might have had three wickets and Graeme Swann who snapped out an appeal every other over. They took the wickets, and James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff offered support.

Who to bowl next? Perhaps the dressing room committee will come up with an answer. I thought that, for the first time, England missed Monty Panesar, even bowling badly, as a contrast.

To tea

It's not often that England rely entirely on their fielders but today three great pieces of out-cricket gave them a tight grip on the game.

First Flintoff threw down Ponting's stumps from mid-on - a 30 yard throw - and reminded us all that in the Trent Bridge Test four years ago Ponting was also run out by a direct hit that gave England the Ashes.

Those who knock Flintoff forget those moments only he can initiate and that, in the words of Geoff Boycott, "Freddie never bowls a bad spell." That remark, rather than snide comments on his "lack of professionalism" ought to be his reward for a fine career.

Four balls later Michael Clarke stumbled forward and was run out by a Strauss direct hit and at 236-5 Marcus North was stumped by Matt Prior off Swann as he pushed forward and clearly thought his foot was still behind the line. Umpire Billy Bowden made no reference to the third umpire but was correct in a tight decision.

At tea England were almost home with Australia 265-5 and the tail waiting their turn to hand back the Ashes.

To the Ashes

Soon after tea Swann persuaded Brad Haddin to play one more rash attacking shot, Steve Harmison snapped up two victims in successive balls and three in a row and then, and quite right too, Swann finished off the match by having Hussey caught to crown his marathon stint with four wickets.

Australia were all out for 348, England had won by 197 runs and the Ashes had come home; but this time the celebrations had none of the bravado of 2005. At this moment, the sadness of his retirement seemed to hit Flintoff hard and when Harmison was lining up a hat trick our Freddie must have wished he was completing his Test career with the same handle on glory.

Victory there might have been but England still need to solve batting problems at opener and No.3 although the improved form of Prior seems to have cured the worries surrounding the wicket-keeping. As for the bowling, wait until we meet in the cafe tomorrow.

Greg here:

Mate, at least you won. Think of our mess. We picked the wrong squad, without a third opening bat. We picked the wrong team for this match without a spinner. Our skipper is only the second Australian captain to lose the Ashes here twice. These little matters will not be quickly forgotten back home, I can tell you.

See you back Down Under for another whitewash!

He does not change does he. Well, that's Australian, I guess.

Oh, did I mention - it's 2-1, you Aussie mates.