Jofra Archer and Sam Curran - the latter on his Ashes debut - starred with the ball to build a healthy first innings lead in the final Test at the Oval.
England - 294 & 9-0 / 225 - Australia
Jofra Archer's 6-62 give England a strong first innings lead in the final Ashes Test at The Oval.
The tourists were bowled out for 225, despite Steve Smith getting more runs, with Archer supported by left-arm seamer Sam Curran, who took three wickets and had a hat-trick ball in his first Ashes appearance.
Smith stood firm until Chris Woakes pinned him leg before for 80, with the England fans celebrating with the knowledge of how crucial that could be to the outcome of the match.
That this was his lowest score of the series and couldn't make a century , shows how high the standards are for him.
England had earlier moved from 271-8 to 294 all out, before Archer and Curran launched an offensive on the frail batting line-up of the tourists.
Rory Burns and Joe Denly negotiated 20 minutes at the end of the day and closed on 9-0, but the final over of the day could have been worse for England.
Marcus Harris dropped Denly off Josh Hazlewood at gully, while Burns overturned being given lbw off the last ball of the day.
England are well placed to avoid the first home series defeat since 2014 and the first to Australia since 2001, despite the urn already being off the table.
The hosts could force Australia out of the game with the surface likely to be deteriorating by the fourth innings when Australia are batting.
England captain Joe Root had said before this Test that this match must be the start of the rebuilding phase for the next Ashes in 2021-22, with Australia having retained the urn at Old Trafford.
In a bowling attack that is likely to lose James Anderson and Stuart Broad to retirement by then, Archer and Curran may be the ones to step into their shoes in the future.
Their performances stood out on a day when England's near perfect was marred by three dropped catches.
Denly's wife had given birth overnight, and from there the excitement in the capital grew into a frenzy when Smith was dismissed.
Archer and Curran will need to learn the craft of dismissing Smith, who once again showed how much of an obstacle he will be if England are to regain the Ashes down under.
Curran was England's man of the series against India last summer, and one of the best find's by England's selectors for the Test team last year.
The same can be said for Archer this year, not content with starring in a World Cup winning team, he became the first man to take 20 wickets in a debut Test series for England since Dominic Cork in 1995 - the year Archer was born.
With his pace consistently around 90mph, he consistently tested the batsmen who couldn't handle the accuracy of his yorkers or the hostility of his bouncers.
He had David Wanrer caught behind on review while opening partner Harris was caught at second slip and Marnus Labuschagne was trapped lbw.
After tea, Mitchell Marsh pulled to Jack Leach at fine leg off Archer, after Curran had pinned Matthew Wade leg before.
Proving why he should have been in the team for the whole series, Curran had Tim Paine edge behind and off the next ball trapped Pat Cummins leg before.
Smith's dismissal completed a collapse of 4-37, before England were frustrated by Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle.
Archer had Lyon put down by a diving Leach, before the Barbadian-born seamer bowled the off-spinner with a dipping knuckleball.
In his next over, Root didn't moved to catch Hazlewood's edge before Siddle pushed to gully where Burns took a brilliant grab to finish the innings and complete a brilliant bowling performance.
On a flat pitch at a sunny Oval, it seemed certain that Smith would torment England once again.
He did have some early problems against the left-arm of Curran and the continuing battle against Archer, but for the most part, he shuffled and left with comical flamboyance.
He arrived at the crease at 14-2 after Warner's eighth single-figure score of the series, supported by Labuschagne and not many others.
Smith nurdled off the pads, found the cover boundary off the front and back foot and slog-swept Leach for six over mid-wicket.
But Archer and Curran then began to restrict his scoring, before Woakes deceived Smith by keeping one low to hit him plumb in front.
Siddle and Lyon made a 37 stand, before Burns' brilliant catch.
The Ashes Fixtures and Results
1-5 August
First Test, Edgbaston
Australia won by 251 runs (England 0-1 Australia)
14-18 August
Second Test, Lord's
Match drawn (England 0-1 Australia)
22-26 August
Third Test, Headingley
England won by one wicket (England 1-1 Australia)
4-8 September
Fourth Test, Old Trafford
Australia won by 185 runs (England 1-2 Australia)
12-16 September
Fifth Test, The Oval
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 |
| Photo from India.com |
Jofra Archer's 6-62 give England a strong first innings lead in the final Ashes Test at The Oval.
The tourists were bowled out for 225, despite Steve Smith getting more runs, with Archer supported by left-arm seamer Sam Curran, who took three wickets and had a hat-trick ball in his first Ashes appearance.
Smith stood firm until Chris Woakes pinned him leg before for 80, with the England fans celebrating with the knowledge of how crucial that could be to the outcome of the match.
That this was his lowest score of the series and couldn't make a century , shows how high the standards are for him.
England had earlier moved from 271-8 to 294 all out, before Archer and Curran launched an offensive on the frail batting line-up of the tourists.
Rory Burns and Joe Denly negotiated 20 minutes at the end of the day and closed on 9-0, but the final over of the day could have been worse for England.
Marcus Harris dropped Denly off Josh Hazlewood at gully, while Burns overturned being given lbw off the last ball of the day.
England are well placed to avoid the first home series defeat since 2014 and the first to Australia since 2001, despite the urn already being off the table.
The hosts could force Australia out of the game with the surface likely to be deteriorating by the fourth innings when Australia are batting.
 |
| Photo from The Telegraph |
In a bowling attack that is likely to lose James Anderson and Stuart Broad to retirement by then, Archer and Curran may be the ones to step into their shoes in the future.
Their performances stood out on a day when England's near perfect was marred by three dropped catches.
Denly's wife had given birth overnight, and from there the excitement in the capital grew into a frenzy when Smith was dismissed.
Archer and Curran will need to learn the craft of dismissing Smith, who once again showed how much of an obstacle he will be if England are to regain the Ashes down under.
Curran was England's man of the series against India last summer, and one of the best find's by England's selectors for the Test team last year.
The same can be said for Archer this year, not content with starring in a World Cup winning team, he became the first man to take 20 wickets in a debut Test series for England since Dominic Cork in 1995 - the year Archer was born.
With his pace consistently around 90mph, he consistently tested the batsmen who couldn't handle the accuracy of his yorkers or the hostility of his bouncers.
He had David Wanrer caught behind on review while opening partner Harris was caught at second slip and Marnus Labuschagne was trapped lbw.
After tea, Mitchell Marsh pulled to Jack Leach at fine leg off Archer, after Curran had pinned Matthew Wade leg before.
Proving why he should have been in the team for the whole series, Curran had Tim Paine edge behind and off the next ball trapped Pat Cummins leg before.
Smith's dismissal completed a collapse of 4-37, before England were frustrated by Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle.
Archer had Lyon put down by a diving Leach, before the Barbadian-born seamer bowled the off-spinner with a dipping knuckleball.
In his next over, Root didn't moved to catch Hazlewood's edge before Siddle pushed to gully where Burns took a brilliant grab to finish the innings and complete a brilliant bowling performance.
On a flat pitch at a sunny Oval, it seemed certain that Smith would torment England once again.
He did have some early problems against the left-arm of Curran and the continuing battle against Archer, but for the most part, he shuffled and left with comical flamboyance.
He arrived at the crease at 14-2 after Warner's eighth single-figure score of the series, supported by Labuschagne and not many others.
Smith nurdled off the pads, found the cover boundary off the front and back foot and slog-swept Leach for six over mid-wicket.
But Archer and Curran then began to restrict his scoring, before Woakes deceived Smith by keeping one low to hit him plumb in front.
Siddle and Lyon made a 37 stand, before Burns' brilliant catch.
The Ashes Fixtures and Results
1-5 August
First Test, Edgbaston
Australia won by 251 runs (England 0-1 Australia)
14-18 August
Second Test, Lord's
Match drawn (England 0-1 Australia)
22-26 August
Third Test, Headingley
England won by one wicket (England 1-1 Australia)
4-8 September
Fourth Test, Old Trafford
Australia won by 185 runs (England 1-2 Australia)
12-16 September
Fifth Test, The Oval
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