Sport

Cummins and Murphy earn obdurate Australia narrow advantage in fifth Test

Final Test comes down to a one-innings shoot-out after another dramatic day at The Oval

England captain Ben Stokes takes the catch to dismiss his Australian counterpart Pat Cummins during day two of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
England captain Ben Stokes takes the catch to dismiss his Australian counterpart Pat Cummins during day two of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Ali Martin at The Oval
Fri Jul 28 2023 - 19:37

5th Test, Day 2: England 283 (H Brook 85, B Duckett 41; M Starc 4-82) trail Australia 295 (S Smith 71, U Khawaga 47; C Woakes 3-61) by 12 runs

A helter-skelter second day featuring all manner of drama delivered one final gasp for the spectators at the very end, Ben Stokes producing a superb catch on the rope to shut down Australia’s innings and turn this series finale into a one-innings shoot-out.

Holding on to his opposite number, Pat Cummins, before neatly popping it back up to himself to prevent a six, Stokes had handed Joe Root a second wicket of the innings. With it tourists were finally bowled out for 295 in 103.1 overs, nearly twice the tally for England’s 283 first up and for a Rizla-thin first innings lead of 12 runs.

Steve Smith had earlier top-scored with 71 but the fact the tourists were ahead owed plenty to a late surge from their lower order. Todd Murphy arrived at 239 for eight – still 44 runs behind – before delivering an impish 39-ball 34 from No 10 that, along with a more resolute 36 from Cummins, threatened to change the complexion of the day.

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Because until Murphy began swatting sixes late in the piece like a bespectacled Brian Lara, this had been an impressive bowling performance from England. There was little of the funkiness that has become a hallmark of the Stokes era, rather a disciplined, tactically traditional approach that offered next to no release shots short or wide.

Though a man down due to Moeen Ali’s groin injury, England’s unchanged attack from Manchester saw its remaining components dovetail well. Stuart Broad offered his usual crackle and mischief, while Mark Wood charged in despite increasing fatigue. Jimmy Anderson and Chris Woakes were the epitome of precision, the latter claiming three for 61 in his typically unfussy way.

Facing all this was an Australian side almost looking to make a statement about their side of the culture clash in this series. Resuming on 61 for one, still 222 runs behind, they set about a grim morning of attrition in which the umpires, despite England’s best efforts, were unwilling to change the ball. Usman Khawaja was bunkered down at one end, Marnus Labuschagne even more so at the other. Just 21 runs came in the first hour before a relative explosion of 33 in the second.

But there was one precious breakthrough amid the stalemate, Wood returning for a second burst before lunch and delivering a beauty that caught the edge of Labuschagne’s bat for a spectacular one-handed catch from Root diving to his left. That said, it was Bairstow’s catch and yet once again he was stationary.

Perhaps credit should go to Broad, breaking the tunnel-vision that underpinned this remarkably obdurate 82-ball nine from Labuschagne by cheekily swapping the bails around on the stumps between deliveries for a change in fortune. Perhaps it came down to Khawaja turning his back on an easy single at the start of the over.

Either way, Broad was certainly the agent of chaos during an afternoon in which England picked off five wickets to leave Australia 186 for seven at tea. He produced yet another of those febrile bursts, pinning Khawaja lbw for a 157-ball 47 with his fifth ball of the session and nicking off Travis Head in the following over. The latter highlighted the overall orthodoxy, with the usual early bumper plan to Head ignored.

There was some brief ambition from Mitchell Marsh, those coat hanger shoulders and bulging muscles powering Broad back over his head for a straight six in a bid to disrupt his rhythm.

But a return for Anderson soon shut this down for his first of the match, Marsh bowled off the inside edge for 16. The relief in Anderson’s celebration was palpable and Stokes, having backed his man, was particularly tactile.

The wickets that followed before tea were easier pickings, a smart, loopy bit of bowling from Root getting Alex Carey caught at cover for 10 the ball after launching a six and Mitchell Starc bounced out by Wood on the pull. Instead the chief talking point at the break was sub fielder, Surrey’s George Ealham, nearly making a Gary Pratt of himself.

Smith had been out in the middle since late morning, following a couple of early driven fours off Anderson by getting his head down. On 43, turning for a second run alongside Cummins, he appeared to be the victim of a superb pick and throw from Ealham, completed when Bairstow demolished the stumps. Then came the replays, suggesting the wicket was broken by Bairstow before the ball nestled in his gloves.

There were mere frames in it, folks seeing what they wanted to see until a clarification from the lawmakers at Marylebone Cricket Club followed that endorsed the view of third umpire, Nitin Menon. Ealham, son of the former England all-rounder Mark Ealham, was a whisker away from immortality. Smith, his status assured, ploughed on.

But not for too long, it turned out, falling after the resumption when a thick top edge off Woakes was held well by Bairstow running back. It meant a useful stand of 54 with Cummins – one that also took nine overs of shine off the second new ball – was done, only for Murphy to emerge and deliver his freewheeling cameo.

Woakes eventually ended the fun before Stokes put a cherry on top. We started this series with a nail-biter at Edgbaston and though the fate of the Ashes was sealed through last week’s rain in Manchester, we may well sign off with another. – Guardian