Ugly truth of this Ashes series exposed as Australia hunts down England
It’s barely been spoken about but there’s been a nasty element to this Ashes series unlike any we’ve seen at Test level in decades.
Australia is starting to dream of a miracle escape at The Oval after dominating England in a rain-shortened day four in the Fifth Test.
Usman Khawaja and David Warner combined for the first century opening stand of the series before the London weather brought an early end to play midway through the second session with Australia 0/135.
Khawaja is 69 not out, having passed Zak Crawley as the leading run scorer in the series, while Warner is 58 not out and well on his way to a career-saving century.
The visitors will be thrilled with their efforts after being set a chase of 384 runs on a day that was being seen as a victory lap for England and retiring hero Stuart Broad.
In touching scenes to start the day, Australia set a guard of honour for its Ashes nemesis, who hit his final ball as a batsman in Test cricket for six before England’s innings ended.
But expectations of the hosts running through the Aussie order were quickly shelved as Khawaja and Warner went about their work.
They might not have scored at the same blistering rate as their English counterparts but you couldn’t doubt the effectiveness as the pitch offered little encouragement to the bowlers.
The 100-plus overs Australia forced England to bowl in the first innings suddenly seemed incredibly important as Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Chris Woakes failed to have much impact.
England also surprised by not calling on Mark Wood until the 33rd over, by which time Joe Root had already sent down seven overs of off-spin.
But when Wood was finally introduced an ugly truth about this Ashes series was exposed.
It’s barely been spoken about but there’s been a Bodyline element unlike any we’ve seen at Test level in decades.
Khawaja was the latest victim when he was clattered on the head by a Wood bouncer after taking his eye off the ball.
The blow prompted a lengthy delay as Khawaja took a concussion test and examined his equipment.
Khawaja was fine to continue his impressive innings, but CricViz followed the incident by revealing just how much the body and head has been targeted in this series.
A total of 98 deliveries have hit a batter's body or helmet during this series, already the most for any Test series since 2006 passing AUS v SA in 2008/09 (76 balls). #Ashes2023#EngvAus
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 30, 2023
That’s largely down to the historic number of bouncers that have been sent down as both teams deployed a short-ball strategy at times - and we’re lucky it’s not resulted in any worse than a few bruised batsmen.
“Just look at the red mark on the back of that helmet,’ Ricky Ponting said after Khawaja went down.
“It’s compulsory for England players to wear the stem guards on the back of their helmets. You see both these Australian openers here, neither of them have those guards on the back. And this hasn’t gone far away from sneaking underneath.”
Another unsavoury moment between the Australian players and the English crowd was also revealed, as footage of Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne clashing with an outspoken fan emerged.
But all in all this was one of Australia’s best days of the series and suddenly leaves the visitors in position to pull off a series win, either by chasing the runs on day five to make it 3-1 or seeing another day of rain keep it 2-1.
A draw in this match would arguably help the Aussies reclaim some of the moral high ground lost during the Fourth Test, where England was denied a chance to press for a series-tying win from a dominant position.
Australia doesn’t quite have the same stranglehold on this match, but with 249 runs to get with 10 wickets in hand it’s close to having the upperhand.
2am - Play abandoned
The ground staff would need at least 90 minutes to prepare the ground for play so the day has been called off. It’s still raining anyway.
1.05am - It’s teeming down in London
The rain is really heavy now as the chance of seeing any further play today basically ends.
12.10am - Forecast suggests that’s it for day four
It’s probably time to go to bed if you’re watching on from Australia.
11.10pm - Warner saving career as opening stand grows
A major subplot of this innings is the magic number David Warner needs to ensure his selection for the upcoming home summer.
Warner began this innings averaging about 25 in the series and with an axe hanging over his head.
But it would be extraordinary for Australia to drop a player coming off a century - and the lefthander is halfway there as the visitors’ fine start to their second innings continues.
Warner reached his 50 in the 35th over as Australia moved to 0/113.
Usman Khawaja is playing well too, posting his fourth half century of the series to pass Zak Crawley as the highest run scorer in the series.
It’s Australia’s first century opening stand in England since 2015 and the largest from any side in this series.
England finally introduced Mark Wood in the 33rd over after part-time spinner Joe Root had already bowled seven overs.
10pm - Aussie openers make solid start as Wood held back
There is a long, long way to go but David Warner and Usman Khawaja have made a strong start to the run chase, reaching lunch at 0/75.
Khawaja was 39 not out and Warner 30 not out at the break after 24 overs, having beaten their previous highest opening stand of 73 in the Second Test.
“They’ll be happy the Australians, through that session unscathed,” Ricky Ponting said in commentary. “Couldn’t have asked for much more.”
England pulled a bit of a surprise by handing the ball to spinners Moeen Ali and Joe Root quite early in the innings, before speedster Mark Wood.
But Mark Butcher has explained in commentary it’s likely a ploy to help scuff up one side of the ball so it will start reverse-swinging.
8.12pm - Anderson last man out, Aussies set mammoth target
It took a couple of overs and Stuart Broad whacked a six, but England were finally all out for 395 in their second innings when Todd Murphy dismissed Jimmy Anderson lbw for eight.
Murphy finished with 4/110 and six wickets for the match in a solid return.
Australia will need to chase down a mammoth total of 384 to claim an unlikely victory to win the Ashes series outright.
Broad raced off the field to get read to bowl, and will no doubt enjoy the fact he was unbeaten in his last ever Test innings. The final ball he faced was hit for six.
7.55pm - Broad given guard of honour
After announcing his retirement from Test cricket on Day 3, Stuart Broad was given a guard of honour by the Australian team when he and Jimmy Anderson came out to bat on Day 4.
It’s a classy act by the Aussies after Broad tormented them so many times throughout his career, in which he has claimed 600 Test wickets.
‘Big snake cracks’: Curator’s call on first Test pitch
The wicket for the first Test in Perth could still be hard and bouncy but will be missing something pitches in the west normally produce.
Maxi suffers Big Bash blow
A fresh hurdle is obstructing Glenn Maxwell’s return to Test cricket, as his BBL side sweats on his fitness following scan results.
‘Hard to see your dad like that’: Community rallies for sporting stalwart
Six weeks on from his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Michael Johnstone’s family and friends are still coming to grips with the battle he faces. Yet, they are preparing to put emotion to one side to raise awareness about the “insidious” disease.