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Welcome to our coverage of the first day of the fifth and final Ashes Test of the series as Australia look to win their first series in England since 2001.
Australia’s fielders let down their bowlers as the tourists failed to fully seize the advantage in the first session after sending England in under cloudy skies at The Oval.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE BIGGEST MOMENTS FROM THE DAYS PLAY.
1:10AM: WOAKES SURVIVES, WOOD GOES AS MURPHY STRIKES
The break brings about fortune for Mitch Starc once again, who strikes in the first over after tea.
But Chris Woakes’ referral shows the ball cannoning into the bat just before hitting the pads, which begs the question why he took so long to refer it.
Woakes made Starc pay the ball after, whacking him through cover for four, and then his luck grew with Mitch Marsh dropping a simple chance at third slip.
Similarly to Warner’s drop the ball went straight through Marsh’s hands and raced down to third man.
A frustrating start to the third session on what has been an extremely poor fielding day by Australia.
How many runs will this drop cost them?
Woakes’ partner Mark Wood goes shortly after, bowled by Todd Murphy.
Wood backed away to give himself room and Murphy zeroed in on the stumps, ending Wood’s innings at 28 runs.
12:40AM: AUSTRALIA’S LOWER ORDER NEMESIS HITS BACK
Mark Wood has been a thorn in the side of the Aussies since he came into the team, but not only with the ball, but the bat also.
And yet again Wood, along with Chris Woakes are proving difficult to dislodge, putting a swift stop to Australia’s momentum.
Ian Healy hit out at the Aussies’ plan for the tail-enders.
“We started to bowl nothing in the last partnership. They put on 38 of those 118 in between Wood and Woakes in no time. Just think we can get a stronger plan for them.”
A quick partnership is keeping England in the hunt, as they track towards 250.
Both Woakes and Wood have been happy to play their shots, throwing everything at what they pick while also being stout in defence.
They remain at the crease as we head to tea on day one, with England putting up 119 runs and Australia claiming four wickets.
12:20AM: THE HOUR THAT CHANGED THE ASHES
While England may claim that they could be the victors of the Ashes without actually winning, the biggest key to this series according to Ricky Ponting was Australia’s hour of bouncer power at Lord’s.
“I don’t think we’ve spoken enough about the impact that hour of play had on the whole series.
At one stage they were 1 for 180. A quick flick of the switch. Went straight to the short ball plan.”
While Australia’s reliance on short-pitched bowling at times has left fans frustrated, it may have decided the series.
Australia obviously won the Lord’s Test which left England needing to win the last three Tests to retake the urn.
And we all know that’s not happening.
12:10AM: BAIRSTOW COMES AND GOES AND BROOK FOLLOWS
Well just as quickly as he walked out of his crease at Lord’s, Jonny Bairstow quickly departs, chopping onto his for only four runs.
Australia are now into the bowlers, however Chris Woakes is certainly no mug with the bat.
The Aussies have stifled England’s assault, with no boundaries for over 45 minutes, and are surely a Harry Brook-scalp away from wrapping up this innings, not that that appears to be coming anytime soon as Brook ends the boundary drought and moves into the 80s.
BANG!
Written too soon it seems and Brook goes, flashing at a wide one from Mitch Starc and Steve Smith makes no mistake at second slip.
“We really don’t talk about his slip catching ability. I think he’s one of the best. He put down a difficult one earlier on, when he gets a good look at them there’s not many he puts down, for sure,” said Ricky Ponting.
The Aussies have taken 4-28 since England’s flurry after lunch.
11:50PM: STARC CLAIMS THE BIGGEST SCALP OF ALL
That is an absolute seed from Mitch Starc and the England captain must go.
Pitching on middle, Stokes tried to push the ball to the leg side but the ball did just enough to cannon into the off stump and the curse of the drinks break strikes again.
Jonny Bairstow comes to the crease, the runs are still flowing for England but how many can they get with the wickets they are losing?
It just makes you wonder where England would be had Alex Carey taken that catch of Brook, who remains at the crease unbeaten and is racing towards 100.
11:40PM: BROOK PUSHES ON INTO THE 70S
Mitch Starc is back on the field and doesn’t appear to be hampered by that left shoulder concern, finding the edge of Harry Brook before it lands short of first slip.
That comes as part of a handful of edges Brook has fallen safe from, but you make your own luck in this game it seems.
Brook appears extremely keen to get on the back foot to Todd Murphy, repeatedly giving himself room to push the off-spinner throught the off-side.
Is it too early to say that the Test may hinge on how quickly Australia can break this partnership?
Ian Healy (no relation) expressed a similar sentiment.
“How big is this partnership. If Australia can break this, then Bairstow and then we’re into the bowlers. Big hour this,” he said.
11:20PM: BEWARE OF THE INJURED BATSMAN
It’s like the classiccall an ambulance… but not for me meme.
Makeshift no.3 Moeen Ali appears severly hampered by a groin injury, yet won’t go down without a fight.
While Harry Brook pushes on, Ali is taking an all or nothing approach, throwing the bat at anything short, and like it has all series almost it is paying off for England.
Australia are not without their own injury concerns, with Mitch Starc going off for treatment on a shoulder injury.
Brook and Ali have now put on 100 runs together, with the scoring rate continuing to hover around five an over.
Ali finishes the over with a ramp shot over Alex Carey for four, as the two take to Aussie skipper Pat Cummins.
Cummins turns to Todd Murphy and is immediately rewarded, with Ali swinging across the line and being bowled.
Ben Stokes will come to the crease, with the key Harry Brook still flying.
11:00PM: BROOK RIDES HIS LUCK TO 50
A short push to cover and that’s 50 for Harry Brook, off just 44 deliveries, every run he makes you can see Alex Carey shudder almost.
Brook looks in serious touch now, but is still struggling with the odd ball or two.
Cummins has challenged both Brook and Ali to start the second session, but cannot find the elusive edge.
It feels like the state of this Test now hinges on Brook’s wicket.
Cummins beats both the outside and inside edge of Brook in one over, yet the England no. 5 cannot be breached.
Brook was almost run out on the last ball of the over, pushing to short cover and taking off immediately.
Cummins fired to the non-striker’s end with the bounce sending the ball flying over the stumps.
A chance goes begging once more.
10:15PM: LUNCH: WILL POOR FIELDING COSTS AUSSIES DEARLY?
Australia’s fielders let down their bowlers as the tourists failed to fully seize the advantage after sending England in under cloudy skies at The Oval.
England was 3-131 at lunch on day one after Australian captain Pat Cummins won his first toss of the series and elected to field, seeking to secure Australia’s first away Ashes series victory for 22 years.
Given a life on five by Alex Carey, Harry Brook had raced to 48 by the interval, while Moeen Ali was on 10.
Having borne the brunt of heavy criticism for his performance in the fourth Test at Manchester, Pat Cummins bowled exceptionally well early on Thursday and should have had another wicket when Carey couldn’t hang onto a low one-handed effort after an edge from Brook on five.
Brook continued to live dangerously and could easily have been gone the following over when a miscued drive off Hazlewood flew past Usman Khawaja at third slip.
Smith had earlier grassed a much harder diving attempt that would have removed Crawley on 11 in Marsh’s first over.
Khawaja let a Moeen Ali drive past him to gift England’s makeshift No. 3 a boundary in what was a poor fielding session overall for the Aussies.
As expected, Australia made just one change to the XI that was lucky to come away with a draw at Old Trafford. Spinner Todd Murphy was recalled, meaning all-rounder Cameron Green was dropped for the first time in his Test career.
Cummins’ call to bowl first was a repeat of Tim Paine’s decision to insert the hosts in the corresponding Test four years ago, a decision that has been a source of regret for some of the Australian touring party after England levelled the series at 2-2, the same situation the Aussies are seeking to avoid this time around.
9:50PM: BROOK ON THE CHARGE AFTER EARLY GIFT
Harry Brook can certainly score runs quickly, which we saw at Leeds, meaning any chance to get him out has to be taken.
Brook was dropped straight off the bat by keeper Alex Carey, and has been on the attack since, racing to 30 off 25 balls, although has edged a few down to third man.
Brook whacked Mitch Marsh for six over square leg with an incredible forehand-like pull shot, putting some pressure back on the Aussies after a rampant 15 minutes.
Will Brook make them pay the ultimate price?
9:30PM: CUMMINS’ COIN TOSS CALL REDEEMED AFTER ENGLISH COLLAPSE
This time it’s Joe Root who goes and England have lost 3-11!
A back of a length delivery nipped back into Root’s body and the English batsman chopped on, giving Josh Hazlewood his first wicket of the game.
It’s taken the Aussies an hour but it seems they have now worked out what the right length is to bowl.
“Australia took too long to work out how to hit the pitch here. They worked it out after an hour. The length has been brought back a bit,” according to former captain Mark Taylor.
Just as it seemed Pat Cummins’ decision at the coin toss had a Nassar Hussein GABBA feel to it, Australia are now right back on top in London.
Yet the cheers are short lived, with Alex Carey putting down Harry Brook behind the stumps.
9:00PM: AUSSIES SAVE THE FIRST HOUR AT THE DEATH
Australia may still regret sending England in at The Oval, but have finally secured the wicket of one of the openers as Ben Duckett departs.
Duckett feathered one down the leg side to Alex Carey, with umpire Kumar Dharmasena declaring him not out.
Mitch Marsh however was adamant, and after sending it upstairs Duckett had to go for 41.
And just like that one becomes two!
This time it’s Pat Cummins securing the wicket of Zak Crawley, with the opener squared up and edging to Steve Smith at second slip.
Australia have gone bang bang and will have two fresh batsmen at the crease to attack.
8:40PM: WARNER’S HOWLER COMPUNDS AUSSIES’ POOR START
England have made the better of the start the The Oval, and the pain for the Aussies has only gotten worse with David Warner putting down a regulation chance.
Warner, fielding at first slip let a thick edge from Ben Duckett go straight through his hands.
The ball was Pat Cummins’ first of his spell, with Ricky Ponting lamenting the Aussies’ start.
“Nasser (Hussein) was on saying the Australians had been sloppy. Their line and length hadn’t been that great. There’s another example of it there.”
Duckett and Crawley have once again made a quick start, tracking towards a 50-run partnership before the 10th over.
Shortly after another chance goes begging for the Aussies, with Zak Crawley edging to a vacant third slip.
Steve Smith made a valiant effort to his right, but was unable to make the grab.
8:15PM: CRAWLEY SURVIVES … JUST
Opener Zak Crawley has had a nervy start to the fifth Test, surviving a close LBW appeal from the Aussies.
Crawley failed to offer a shot as a ball from Mitch Starc nipped back to clip him on his back pad.
Neither Starc or skipper Pat Cummins seemed very confident in the appeal, yet sent it upstairs to be referred.
Hawkeye showed the ball missing the wickets, meaning Australia are already one review down three overs into the game.
Cummins has elected not to take the new ball himself, with Starc and Josh Hazlewood opening up the game for the Aussies.
Hazlewood has looked particularly threatening to Ben Duckett, squaring Duckett up multiple times.
7:30PM: THE STREAK IS OVER! AUSSIES TO BOWL IN LONDON
In scenes reminiscent of when Brock Lesnar took down the Undertaker at WrestleMania, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins has ended England’s streak of toss victories.
Australia have elected to bowl with the skipper seeing the lighter side of finally making the right call.
“I had to double-check that. We’ll have a bowl. A bit of cloud overhead. Wicket looks like a good wicket,” Cummins said.
Should Cummins have lost, he would have become the first Australian captain since Joe Darling in 1905 to lose all five tosses in a five-Test series, according to Scott Bailey of the AAP.
England skipper Ben Stokes agreed with the overhead conditions that his side also would have bowled.
7:00PM: AUSSIES TURN BACK TO SPIN
Australia have turned back to off-spinner Todd Murphy as they look to secure a 3-1 series win and claim what prominent UK commentator Piers Morgan labelled as the “moral Ashes.”
In yet another rant on Twitter about this series, Morgan claimed England would have this series won “without rain and Aussie spirit-breaching.”
Murphy was dropped for the 4th Test in Manchester after being used sparingly at Leeds, and will replace Cameron Green, with the all-rounder spotted not warming up with the rest of the side.
Green struggled in his return to the team in Manchester, posting only scores of 16 and 3 as rain saved the Aussies from a precarious position.
Mitch Marsh will keep his spot as the team’s all-rounder, with Australia opting for a spinner after not playing one in Manchester, something an Australian side had not done for a decade.
‘CHEATING CONVICTS’: PIERS MORGAN ATTACKS AUSSIES IN FRESH RANT
Loudmouth English broadcaster Piers Morgan has had a fresh crack at Australia’s cricketers in the wake of their Ashes retention, labelling Pat Cummins’ team ‘cheating convicts’ in another unhinged rant.
Speaking on the UK Telegraph’s Vaughany and Tuffers podcast, with former England cricketers Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell, Morgan continued his vicious attacks on the Australian team.
Australia retained the Ashes following the fourth Test washout in Manchester, which ensured the urn would return to Australia with the tourists holding an unassailable 2-1 lead heading to the fifth Test at the Oval.
And Morgan is not happy, believing England would’ve not only won the fourth Test had rain not intervened – but that they’d have sealed the series in London this week.
“This was building to one of the all-time great series — forget Ashes — of any cricket series, internationally, in history,” Morgan said.
“To be 2-0 down and then roar back to 2-2 and then go to the Oval, which is exactly what would have happened had we been able to play more than two hours at the weekend … it would have been, really, the greatest comeback in cricket history internationally and the greatest series there’s ever been.
“We should have won at Lord’s, we should have won every Test, let’s be honest. We’re a better team, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
“We were dudded by the rain, and I think at the Oval we’re going to flatten them. We need to.
“I don’t want to lose 3-1 – to lose 3-1 to this Australian team of cheating convicts would be extremely annoying.”
Originally published as Ashes cricket 2023 live: Aussies hunt 3-1 series win in England
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