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1st over: India 4-0 (target 444; Rohit 4, Gill 0) Cummins’ second ball is lap-pulled supremely for four by Rohit Sharma, perfectly bisecting the two fielders behind square on the leg side. The rest of the over passes without alarm, although a couple of deliveries did lift encouragingly for Cummins.
“Answering the question from over 84, if the question is the shortest among the greatest then Dale Steyn has to be the one,” says Vibhanshu Bisht. “But if you are talking about the best fast bowlers among short players, then Lasith Malinga at about 173 cm is probably the best of the lot.”
How about Fidel Edwards? Not quite good enough to make the cut?
There are 47 overs remaining today, though I doubt they’ll get them all in. How many wickets will Australia want by the close to ensure they sleep well tonight? Three? Ten?
Wicket! Declaration! Australia 270-8 dec (Cummins c sub b Shami 5)Cummins slices high to point, then runs straight off the field alongside Alex Carey, who ends on unbeaten on 66. India need 444 to win. It would, as anyone who did their Test cricket module at college knows, be a record Test runchase.
India have only one scored as many runs in the fourth innings of a Test on one occasion, the classic series decider at Adelaide in 1977-78.
Axar Patel takes the catch as the Aussies declare. Photograph: Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC/Getty Images
Geoff Lemon
Why are we still here? Why is anyone here, sure, but why are we still watching this team bat? At least the ground PA just gave us the treat of Gangnam Style, the song that give us the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views. I just checked for you, it’s up to 4.8 billion now. But that’s enough from me. For the rest of the day, you’re with Rob Smyth.
84th over: Australia 269-7 (Carey 66, Cummins 5) A big slog over the on side for Cummins, after a few singles and a couple of leg byes, makes this an expensive over for Siraj. Drinks, though it looks like a declaration for a minute.
“Who is the tallest best batsman ever and smallest quick bowler ever?” asks Ruth Purdue. “Watching Green and Starc gave me the idea.”
Interesting one. Obviously we’ll discount tall specialist bowlers even though they do bat. Marco Jansen has batted top six for South Africa recently at 207 centimetres, but he’s probably too high in the order there and is mainly in the side to bowl.
As for true specialist bats… Two Metre Peter Fulton got a reputation boost, he was really only 198cm. Same as Green, who probably counts more than Jansen with his record. I can’t think of anyone taller but perhaps some of you can.
Short fast bowlers: Steyn and Philander, Nantie Hayward another who springs to mind, Malcolm Marshall wasn’t that tall, there are several to choose from with Bangladesh players, Colin Stuart from the Windies too. Even Harold Larwood wasn’t very tall. But I can’t pluck a height figure for you. Anyone?
WICKET! Starc c Kohli b Shami 41, Australia 260-783rd over: Australia 260-7 (Carey 64) Can’t see the point in batting on here, but Starc enjoys nailing a pull shot from Shami for four. Then switches sides of the pitch with a back-foot glide through backward point. Classy shot.
Last ball of the over, Starc goes at last. Aims a big drive and gets a bigger edge.
The lead is up to 433, well past the 418 that is currently the record Test chase tow in. West Indies against Australia on the Antigua featherbed in 2003. And yet here comes Pat Cummins to the middle.
82nd over: Australia 252-6 (Carey 64, Starc 33) Siraj from the other end, pitching up looking for swing, then dropping short to Starc, who hooks off the top edge but it bounces in front of Shami at fine leg. He fumbles to allow two. The next attempt is way too short! It goes over Starc and Bharat for four byes. No, wides. Five of them. Siraj has failed to find that length a number of times in the match.
“I was there on Day 1 and was very surprised to see Jadeja spending a good portion of the day out at deep point,” writes Tom Barrington. “Maybe a sign of the muddled thinking of the Indians to start the Test, surely you have to have him in the action!”
They’ll often have him in the deep if they’re expecting catches, but that’s in a white-ball game. My guess with that instance is that with Warner so fond of crashing the ball between cover and backward point, you want your most mobile fielder at cover sweeper to cut off more boundary chances.
81st over: Australia 242-6 (Carey 63, Starc 29) New ball taken, and Shami will get first use from the Vauxhall End. Round the wicket to Carey, who absorbs a couple and then presses a single to point. Gets back on strike with a leg bye, then gets cut in half by Shami, seriously inward seam movement that goes over off stump and is taken by the keeper down the leg side. Bharat can’t stop the next one though! Inside edge this time, and it zips away for four. Carey has had some luck today.
80th over: Australia 236-6 (Carey 58, Starc 29) First shot in anger from Starc. Clears his front leg and swats Umesh through midwicket for four. Looks like Australia wanted to get to 400 in front and will now swing away. Big pull shot from Starc to follow only gets one. Carey steers a single. They meet for a chat. Still no declaration. The target is 409, there’s only one bigger chase than that.
“Ok, I’m in, Cam Green is all that!” says Peter Salmon. “Much better then Stokes. So follow up, is there a simple way for your huge team of statistical boffins sitting in their underground bunker to generate a 20 test thing for all the best all rounders, and see where he sits? So we can map the rest of his career accurately? You’ve said he’ll score slightly more than 258 in the next Test, but what about after that?”
Unfortunately we are currently watching his 21st Test match, and he made 31 across two innings and has taken 2 for 44. Still has time for an eight-for or similar when he bowls in the fourth.
79th over: Australia 229-6 (Carey 56, Starc 24) A couple of false shots against Jadeja. Carey edges one along the ground past Kohli at slip for four, then pops up a bat-pad deflection to silly point but there’s nobody there. The lead is 402.
78th over: Australia 224-6 (Carey 51, Starc 24) Umesh keeps the ball, but comes over the wicket. Right-armer to left-hander. Carey glances to fine leg. What is Jadeja doing fielding down there, the best in the team? Hmm, perhaps because they want to use the short ball against Starc and look for a catch. Tries a couple of bumpers, but they only hit fresh air.
Half century! Carey 50 from 82 balls77th over: Australia 223-6 (Carey 50, Starc 24) Just missed it in the first innings, but Carey raises 50 here with a drive from Jadeja. He’s done it at a good clip and at a time when it was needed, too.
The lead is 396. There have only been four higher run chases to win a Test, all of them over 400.
76th over: Australia 222-6 (Carey 49, Starc 24) Umesh around the wicket to Starc, gets one to keep very low from a fuller length. Tries it a couple more times but the line is straighter, and Starc clips four to the on side, then hits an off drive very hard down the ground.
Andrew Benton emailed in a while ago asking if the WTC final itself has all been a bit boring, or if he’s missing something.
I think it’s been a great quality of play and contest across Day 2, 3, and the first session today. It’s just that those contests were already taking place in a lopsided match situation because of India bowling poorly to Head and Smith for a couple of sessions on day one. That’s been the difference, and it means that now the game can drift because Australia are so far up.
75th over: Australia 214-6 (Carey 49, Starc 16) Jadeja bowling, a couple more singles pushed down the ground.
74th over: Australia 212-6 (Carey 48, Starc 15) Scratch that bit about upping the ante, then. Carey defends the first four balls of Umesh’s over. Drives the fifth straight to the field. Leg-glances a run off the sixth.
73rd over: Australia 211-6 (Carey 47, Starc 15) Jadeja to Carey, a sweep for a single the only score from the over. The lead is 384.
72nd over: Australia 210-6 (Carey 46, Starc 15) Edged, and another streaky one for Carey. Aims a back-foot drive at Umesh, nicks it heartily, but the slips are set quite wide for the left-hander and there’s a gap between Pujara at first, standing at more like a second slip’s position, and Kohli at a second slip which is more like a third. The ball goes between them in a trice. Neither moved.
Another wave of the bat from Carey as Umesh bowls one short and wide, the cut shot misses. Lunchtime directive to move the scoring on? Back-foot punch from Carey adds one more.
71st over: Australia 205-6 (Carey 41, Starc 15) We’re back. Jadeja with the ball from the Vauxhall End. A few blocks from Starc, then he plays a pictureseque off-drive that zooms along the ground for four.
“I know I shouldn’t be writing this,” begins a guilty-sounding Peter Salmon, “but is Cam Green all that? I know he’s only 24, but then again, he is 24. I know he’s only played 20 tests, but then again he has played 20 tests. Only one ton, and one five wicket haul. I think he’s a pretty good all rounder, and it is good to have one, but he keeps being talked about in slightly awed tones about what he will do. At 27? At 30? I’d be interested to know, for instance, Ben Stokes’ stats at 20 tests…”
You want someone to look up cumulative averages for someone who’s not even playing in the middle of a match? You’ve come to the right place.
After 20 Tests…
Stokes: 998 runs at 27.72
Green: 941 runs at 37.64
Stokes: 46 wickets at 40.67
Green: 23 wickets at 34.30
Stokes: 13 catches
Green: 19 catches
Green is looking pretty good on those. Probably fair to mention though that in his 21st Test, Stokes made his 258 at Cape Town.
The excitement around Green is that these days, bowlers tend to peak in the second half of their 20s, and batting often doesn’t peak until closer to 30. Someone who is six-foot-six, can bowl over 90 miles an hour, and can bat top six and score tons, is a rare creature indeed. And he’s banked those scores and taken wickets consistently in Shield cricket, so it’s not just a hazy dream.
If you want something to do during the lunch break, don’t miss Jim Wallace’s outstanding read on the historical mystery he’s yet to solve behind the Dukes ball.
Lunch – Australia 201 for 6, lead India by 374 runs in the third inningsAnother session where India’s bowlers have worked hard, and had plenty of good moments, but Australia still consolidated their position on top. Labuschagne’s early dismissal opened a door, but Green batted for a time. Green’s dismissal opened another, but Carey politely closed it again. As of right now India would already need the ninth-biggest Test run chase to win this.
Will Australia bat on after the break? Probably. How long, if so? Half the squad and staff are out there looking at the surface now, as the ground staff sweep up and re-mark the lines.
70th over: Australia 201-6 (Carey 41, Starc 11) Umesh Yadav back before lunch – that’s the second time in this match that Rohit has asked one of his quicks to warm up for six balls before the long break. It’s not a pleasant over for Carey, who under-edges a ball into his leg. One more run for Starc and that is lunch.
69th over: Australia 200-6 (Carey 41, Starc 10) Jadeja is aiming for a big juicy footmark outside Carey’s off stump. Underpitches and gets defended. Overpitches and gets driven for four! Lavish follow though on the cover drive. Jadeja has a 2-7 field, only mid off and deep backward point on the off side.
Alex Carey in good nick. Photograph: Alex Davidson/ICC/Getty Images68th over: Australia 195-6 (Carey 37, Starc 9) Runs aside, this session Australia have spent in the middle has meant the sun cooking the pitch for another two hours, helping some of the cracks open up. Thakur is bowling an off-stump line and the two left-handers keep deflecting him for singles. Two innings from Carey in this match that have been important to his team.
67th over: Australia 191-6 (Carey 35, Starc 7) Big appeal from Jadeja as the ball loops up high from Starc’s pad, taken by short leg diving onto the pitch. No bat involved. Starc scores two more behind point. Also four byes for one that explodes out of the footmarks and goes through batter and keeper both. The first misbehaving delivery I can remember from the Vauxhall End. The lead 364, we’re into the top 10 for all-time run chases if India were to get this many to win.
66th over: Australia 185-6 (Carey 35, Starc 5) Axar Patel back on the field, luckily for India, because he dives at cover to save a scorching Carey cover drive. Shardul Thakur is bowling his first spell today. Carey settles for a single to a similar area, Starc responds in kind, and Carey opens the face to guide two behind point.
Guy Hornsby is crystal-balling and Bill Lawrying all at the same time.
“Morning Geoff, morning everyone. It would be perfectly reasonable to declare at lunch but this Aussie team are too risk averse to do that yet (they’re not called Stokes basically, who would’ve probably declared last night). They’ll want 400+ lead, so more like midway to tea and 5 sessions, keep the foot behind the line and take your catches, and it should be theirs tomorrow afternoon. India are already into middle territory anyway, and no amount of deplorable slowing the game down from either side will save a result, barring a monsoon in south London. Still, imagine if someone went all Laxman on Australia. Pujara rearguard? Rahane signoff? Kohli masterclass? Nah.”
65th over: Australia 181-6 (Carey 32, Starc 4) Off the mark with four for Starc, who plays a little dab at Jadeja outside off stump. Left-armer to left-hander, and the balls runs fine. Lead of 354.
64th over: Australia 177-6 (Carey 32, Starc 0) The leads goes up to 350, as Carey decides it’s time to go with Mitchell Starc at the other end. Laces one cut shot form Siraj for four, top-edges another through the cordon, takes two to square leg.
63rd over: Australia 167-6 (Carey 22) Wicket from the last ball of the over. A strange over, too. Just before the dismissal, Jadeja got in the umpire’s face while appealing. Walked at him, quite close, arms out. Wonder if the match ref will have a look at that.
WICKET! Green b Jadeja 25, Australia 167 for 6He kind of deserved that, Cameron Green. Odd dismissal! Jadeja comes over the wicket, and Green kicks them away. The second one, Jadeja appeals mightily. Probably pitching outside leg. The third one Green does the same, but doesn’t have his back leg around covering the stumps. The ball bounces sharply, turns some, hits his back leg rather than his front pad, perhaps via the bottom of the glove as well, and rolls back onto the stumps. Venom from Jadeja that created it. It was like Green was copying Test batting without knowing how to do it.
62nd over: Australia 166-5 (Green 25, Carey 21) Another run dropped to the leg side for Carey, who has caught Green on the scoreboard. Not for long though, as Green gets four very streaky runs! Again from that Pavilion End, Siraj gets it leaping at Green’s back shoulder, and the big West Australian gloves it wildly down the leg side while flinching from the ball. It loops too high for the keeper.
Eamonn Maloney is thinking about similar things, differently. “These Australians have been a bit nervy bowing fourth over the last 5-10 years – Hazlewood sometimes the chief culprit but Cummins and Starc guilty on occasion, H@*&dingly comes to mind for the former. Kohli, Pujara, Jadeja… I can picture it if under 400. they have both a prayer and a receptive deity for me.”
Hmm. See two posts before this one, Eamonn. And also the start of this one.
A view of play at the Oval. Photograph: Alex Davidson/ICC/Getty Images61st over: Australia 161-5 (Green 21, Carey 20) Leading edge for Carey, safely through point as Jadeja’s ball skids on, and they race a single. They’re now leading by 334 (Bradman at Leeds, anyone), which would be top 20 for all fourth-innings run chases.
60th over: Australia 160-5 (Green 21, Carey 19) Around the wicket comes Siraj to the left-handed Carey, working to angle in at the stumps. Carey is happy enough to stand behind it, waits for the stray one to pick off to fine leg. One run. Back over the wicket, and Green cops a brute! There’s that spot on the pitch again. All of the nasty ones, lifting sharply, have been from the Pavilion End: Labuschagne’s three, Shardul Thakur’s three, Travis Head in the first innings, all climbing at the gloves from a decent length. This one smashes Green on the shoulder, it looks like, and he gets a brief physio visit. Gets a visit from Siraj next ball, too, wandering down for a chat after Green gets forward to defend. Then nice inward movement from a good length, and it stays low. Green keeps it out, Siraj has hands on head. Can’t see anyone chasing 300 on this.
Cameron Green reacts after being hit on the shoulder. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP59th over: Australia 159-5 (Green 21, Carey 18) Australia lead by 329. If that sounds familiar, think Brisbane 2021. It soon becomes 332 though, as Carey drives three runs out through cover. Jadeja has a silly point and a slip for Green. Tries spearing at the pads, looking to force Green back perhaps. But Green gets forward whenever he can.
58th over: Australia 156-5 (Green 21, Carey 15) It’s time for drinks, Siraj finishing the half-term session with a wayward ball that ends up at fine leg for four leg byes. Green’s production thigh pad. They’ve managed a whole 14 overs in that hour, almost at the asking rate of 15! With three from Jadeja. And the hour went for about 65 minutes.
57th over: Australia 151-5 (Green 21, Carey 14) Thinking over the match situation. There have only been 23 Test run chases in history bigger than the current lead of 324. Still plenty in the surface. You wouldn’t really want to be batting after lunch, as Australia, in case India can dig in. We’re an hour into the session. Might have thought it’s time to up the ante here, and if you’re all out for another 40 runs quickly then that’s a decent result.
Three singles from Jadeja.
56th over: Australia 148-5 (Green 20, Carey 12) Siraj to Carey, who this time waits five balls to strike a run through point. They’re not in a hurry today, Australia. The lead is up to 321 so they’re comfortable, but want to get through some good bowling.
55th over: Australia 147-5 (Green 20, Carey 11) Astonishing that a team can have Jadeja’s ability to race through a maiden over in about a minute and still be so far behind the rate.
54th over: Australia 147-5 (Green 20, Carey 11) Mohammed Siraj comes on for his first work of the day. Carey tries a couple of shots without success, then leans back a touch and flays an extra-cover drive! Very aggressive shot for four.
53rd over: Australia 143-5 (Green 20, Carey 7) Alex Carey? A sweep shot? In this economy? Who could believe it. Ravindra Jadeja comes on for a bowl, and the first ball of spin today has Carey getting out the broom. Conventional, not reverse. Green plays him rather more uprightly, defending on the long stride.
Point and counterpoint.
52nd over: Australia 142-5 (Green 20, Carey 6) There’s a delay as… Green changes his pads. Yep, that’s a new one. We got about 75 overs out of 90 yesterday, the rates have been truly dire. And they can’t make up any time using the sixth day unless there are overs lost to rain or bad light. Teams just… choosing not to bowl them? That’s fine, the umpires will do nothing and nor will the ICC.
Shami is still getting movement away. Green is starting to resist playing at some of them. Tries the surprise yorker, Shami, but Green is equal to it, a crisp straight drive back under the bowler’s attempted stop. To the fence.
51st over: Australia 138-5 (Green 16, Carey 6) Another little test for Green, keeping out a ball that stays low and getting a single. Umesh bangs in a bouncer and Carey hooks, there’s a deep backward square protecting the boundary. Two slips and a gully for Green, I’d have another one in there. He takes on Siraj at mid on this time! Drops the ball there and runs. Might have been close, Siraj fumbles the pick-up. I think Green would have been home. It wasn’t dissimilar to Starc’s series of decisions that saw sub fielder Axar Patel get him in the first innings.
John Starbuck reminisces. “Frying eggs on the top of cars? When I were a lad we ‘ad summers so ‘ot you could fry an egg on t’ pavement. I saw me dad do it once, an’ besides, we din’t ‘ave cars in them days.”
It was the only way you could get seasoning back then, what with all the rations after the Crimean War.
50th over: Australia 135-5 (Green 14, Carey 5) Edged, and… four. Immaculate seam position and the slightest deviation from Shami. Green again plays one wider than he needs to. Nicked into the ground again, and Gill at second slip fumbles it on the bounce. It nutmegs him and runs away. That’s the first ball of the over, he nudges a single from the last. The lead is 308.
49th over: Australia 130-5 (Green 9, Carey 5) A run via Carey, who takes Umesh off the thigh pad to midwicket. Wonder how Umesh will go now that he has to switch from right-hander to left every ball. Got his line correct to Labuschagne with the right hand. Accuracy can be his weakness. He’s bowling up towards 140 kph, with the long bandage sleeves on both arms for diving in the field. A good sight when he’s really steaming.
Green is finally able to add his first run of the morning, down to fine leg. He and Carey are working 9 to 5.
48th over: Australia 128-5 (Green 8, Carey 4) Green keeps on playing outside that off stump! Reaches very wide for an off-balance drive that hits cover directly. Gets an edge along the turf to third slip. He edged to slip in the first innings. Spoke about the IPL transition, where you go from hitting the ball in front of your body for power, to hitting the red ball as late as you can. But he’s more in white-ball mode here. Good seam from Shami cuts back in but his bounce takes it over the stumps. India’s bowlers have had so many beaten edges in this match, and I’d say it’s because they’ve so often bowled a small margin too short.
No score from the over. Five runs in four overs this morning.
47th over: Australia 128-5 (Green 8, Carey 4) This is interesting. The Australian lead is 301. Could India get through them for another 50 or 60 runs? Carey made a useful score in the first innings. Gets off the mark with four here, the rolling edge through gully from a forward press.
WICKET! Labuschagne c Pujara b Umesh Yadav 41, Australia 124-5Top delivery! Good bounce and carry from the pitch, exactly the line to draw Labuschagne into a front-foot push, but the right length to give the ball time to leave the bat. Umesh has produced on this fourth morning, the edge flies to first slip and Australia’s engine-room bat has not added to his overnight score.
Umesh Yadav celebrates after the dismissal of Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images46th over: Australia 124-4 (Labuschagne 41, Green 8) Mohammed Shami from the Pavilion End, runs up to Green who is fishing slightly! Playing the line of the off stump and Shami just goes past the edge. Strays on leg and the big batter almost falls over turning it to midwicket, but to the fielder. Green settles into defence for the rest of the over, a very good one.
Samanda Black emails in. “Can you get a message directly to Ricky Ponting?”
Bold start.
“I have been in Jaipur for an extremely long time, and I learned myself cricket originally to always have some thing to talk about in my back pocket with suppliers and, well anyone really. My obsession with the game changed quite fast. And completely superseded polite conversation.”
As soon as someone finds out that one is Australian, says Samanda, the first response is to invoke Ricky Ponting.
“Every single transporter dude just loves Ricky. He should know this. He’s a legend among every bloke driving a camel, an elephant, a cart, a rickshaw, a car, an anything… No doubt you also know this yourself, Geoff. Please pass along to the great man.”
Ricky, if you’re reading…
And yes, I would agree that he is the most commonly raised name in my experience in India. Even more than Warne. There’s still quite a lot of Michael Bevan too, which is interesting.
45th over: Australia 124-4 (Labuschagne 41, Green 8) Umesh Yadav to start the day, interesting call. Good first over from him though, smashes the channel, and after a Green single, gets one ball to fizz back in at Labuschagne and hit him around the waist.
It’s gonna be a good one today! Warm and clear up above. Glowing green grass. And there’s atmosphere. A pretty good crowd for a Saturday, as per Billy J. We all came seething up from the underground station like Morlocks on the way to dinner. There were big lines to get in. Good signs for a full house, or as full as some unclaimed seats in the pavilion will allow.
If you want more detail about what happened yesterday – and there was a lot of it – maybe you want the Final Word podcast wrap that I do with fellow OBO-slinger Adam Collins. Here’s Day 3.
What caught my eye was how well Australia bowled early, even while catches were going down all over the place.
Match report? Fancy a match report? I can testify in court that Simon Burnton was at The Oval yesterday writing down everything. I saw him with my own eyes.
Preamble
Geoff Lemon
Day four? Day four! A stonker in London, it’s tipped to reach a mighty high of 29C, so get ready to see locals frying eggs on the bonnets of their cars. The World Test Champs final heated up yesterday – India are still well behind in the match thanks to the first two days, but they did compete fiercely on day three, first with Rahane and Thakur smashing enough runs to bring Australia distantly into view, then taking four top-order wickets.
India scored 296 and now trail by 296, which is neat.
So they would need to dismiss Australia for less than another 100 runs to have a prayer in the match, but it would be a small one. Chasing 400 doesn’t happen more than once in a blue moon, and this pitch has offered assistance, especially to fast bowling throughout, as Marnus Labuschagne learned during his bombardment yesterday that saw him smashed on the gloves multiple times. Siraj especially has got some heat out of the surface.
Australia will resume on 123-4, which is also neat.