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“I can’t handle the pressure. I’m going to bed. But I have a feeling that there are still a number of unexpected twists to come…” – Rowan Sweeney sent this message before the incident.
“I don’t know enough about cricket to understand this, but why do players often throw the ball in the air or drop it on the ground after catching it? Maybe you can explain it to me? It feels like something a youth team coach would teach their players. Keep it in your hands for a few seconds. Remove any doubt.”
Yes, it’s a celebration thing, Mike Ward. As I mentioned earlier, there was a famous incident during the 1999 World Cup when this happened. After that incident, cricket legend has it that Steve Waugh told Herschelle Gibbs, “You’ve just dropped the World Cup” – I didn’t see Smith say anything to Stokes… it’s not his style and the moment spoke for itself.
I think we’ll be seeing this moment on Ashes montages for years to come.
Updated at 13.48 BST
BIG MOMENT: Smith dropped by Stokes, take a look for yourself. LUNCH: Australia 238-3 (Australia needs 146 runs to win)
Ben Stokes has dropped Steve Smith! Drama right before lunch – Moeen gets one to grip and it hits Smith’s glove and flies to Stokes at leg-slip… he catches it cleanly above his head but then the ball slips out of his grasp as he brings his hand down and it flicks his knee. Reminiscent of Herschelle Gibbs in the 1999 World Cup. The crowd can’t believe it. Stokes can’t believe what he’s done – his body language gave it away, he didn’t have full control of the ball as it fell from his grasp like a bar of soap in the shower. Wow. A huge let off for Smith and Australia. Scenes here at the Oval. Moeen bowls four dot balls as the crowd is still reeling from the replay. Smith gets a single off the last ball. That’s lunch.
What a morning of cricket.
66th over: Australia 238-3 (Smith 40, Head 31)
Updated at 13.36 BST
65th over: Australia 237-3 (Smith 38, Head 31) Wood bowls a short over which limits Australia to a single. There’s some drama coming up here…
64th over: Australia 236-3 (Smith 38, Head 31) Moeen bowls too straight and it’s flicked away extremely fine for four runs. A quiet descends over the Oval. Australia has regained momentum and this partnership is going strong.
63rd over: Australia 231-3 (Smith 33, Head 31) Shot! Smith drives emphatically for four. Wood changed it up and Smith took advantage. England is reeling a bit here while Australia looks increasingly comfortable with every ball.
Updated at 13.19 BST
62nd over: Australia 225-3 (Smith 28, Head 30) A couple of singles off Moeen. England has set the field back, clearly worried about how quickly this pair has been scoring. Lunch won’t be until 1.25pm by the way, due to the late start.
61st over: Australia 223-3 (Smith 27, Head 29) Mark Wood bowls for a final burst before lunch. England seems a bit tired, they’ll be glad for the break. Australia looks confident, collecting runs easily. Ouch! Wood hits Head’s glove, but he manages to keep it down and take a single to rotate the strike. Smith pulls one to the boundary for a single. I don’t want to make English fans nervous before they have their sandwiches, but Smith is looking ominously strong here.
60th over: Australia 221-3 (Smith 26, Head 28) Steve Smith hits a great shot, leaning on a full-ish ball from Moeen and threading it perfectly between two fielders in the deep. Close! The ball turns sharply back into the pads, Smith would have been out if not for an inside edge saving him. There’s a tense hush over the ground as Moeen approaches to bowl. More spin and movement, this one goes down the leg-side and the Aussies take a couple. The target is down to 163 for Australia.
59th over: Australia 215-3 (Smith 21, Head 27) Oh my days. Broad fools Head with a delivery that leaves him at the last moment, but the next ball is nonchalantly flicked away for four. Cat and Mouse. Stu and Trav. Head tries to hook a bouncer and almost gloves it to Bairstow. The crowd groans, it’s been an exciting morning of cricket. Moeen Ali will bowl some spin before lunch.
58th over: Australia 211-3 (Smith 21, Head 23) Another accurate over from Anderson, four dot balls on a good length followed by a great diving stop by Mark Wood at mid-on to keep Head to just a single. He hit that shot hard. Smith gets an under-edge off the last ball that trickles to Bairstow. You feel that collective sinking feeling when that happens. What even is this game?
57th over: Australia 210-3 (Smith 21, Head 22) Broad bowls a bit too full to Smith and he dispatches it through extra-cover for four. These two batsmen are looking settled and dangerous, and the pendulum swings once again in this series.
Not now weather!
Updated at 12.50 BST
56th over: Australia 206-3 (Smith 17, Head 22) What’s that fluttering sound? It’s the butterflies in the stomachs of 20,000 English cricket fans at the Oval. Travis Head goes on the attack, hitting two boundaries in a row and taking Australia past the 200-run mark. FlutterFlutterFlutter…
Updated at 12.46 BST
55th over: Australia 198-3 (Smith 17, Head 14) Another good over for Australia. Those three wickets put England back in the game, but it’s far from over. Head reminds everyone of that fact by hitting Broad down the ground for four. We have 30 minutes left and a crucial period of play before lunch.
Travis Head of Australia hits the ball…
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Ben Stokes looks dejected after Head hits a boundary.
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Updated at 12.54 BST
54th over: Australia 191-3 (Smith 16, Head 8) Australia is fighting back here. Anderson delivers a ball that turns like an off-break. It beats Head’s bat by a large margin. And again! Anderson beats the edge and the slips, and most of the crowd groans in unison. Head survives the over and puts two runs on the scoreboard.
According to our Expected Wickets model, Chris Woakes’s spell is the most threatening by any bowler in the 2023 Ashes so far. He’s getting substantial movement and attacking the stumps. The England seamer has stepped up at a crucial moment in the Test.
52nd over: Australia 183-3 (Smith 15, Head 1)
Jimmy Anderson comes on to replace Woakes. You’d expect the old master to work some magic with the ball here. Shot! Steve Smith drives the ball through mid-on for a confident four. Anderson strays onto the pads and concedes four leg-byes. Eight runs off the over, Anderson is still finding his rhythm.
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