Fifth Ashes Test. The Oval.

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Denly inside edges Cummins past the stumps for 4.

England 1/75 (23).
The lead is 144.

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Marsh comes on.

Root drives through midwicket for 4.

A bit of confusion. A shy at the stumps. It misses but the nonstriker was back.

Lloyd: "He's got the ball to move..."

A play and a miss by Root.

Botham: "He's doing it again."
Lloyd: "He's about the same pace as Sam Curran."

Is that the optimal pace for swing?

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Siddle from the other end.

Lloyd: "Two medium pacers. ... He and Mitchell Marsh are very similar bowlers."

Except that Marsh is swinging it and Siddle is not!

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Nasser shows a compilation of English batsmen getting hit in the gonads.

It culminates with the infamous Lloyd hit, where he ends up down and rocking back and forth.

Botham says Thommo wasn't all that fast. Lloyd responds that getting hit there by Marsh would be an absolute pleasure in contrast.

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The England lead is over 150.

Lloyd says the field is becoming defensive.

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Lyon gets Root caught at slip.

Lloyd: "Ball that didn't spin. Batsman played for spin."

England 2/87 (27.2). Stokes in.

Lisa: "Yeah, really important phase..."

Lloyd: "Good off-spin bowling, bringing outside edge into play."

Lloyd: "Tricky time for Ben Stokes. Ten minutes before lunch."

There are cries of oh...

Wicket maiden.

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Lloyd returns the the theme of Marsh and Siddle being "the same bowler". He talks about Starc...

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Lyon is around the wicket to Denly.

Slip, short leg, mid on... but he has protection in the deep too.

Lloyd: "Lunch I think after this."

He defends. Paine runs... They stare at the clock...

Lloyd: "The captain wants one more. Nobody else."

England 2/88 (30). Lunch.

Healy: "We didn't get the three or for wickets we were after."

But he says "that was honest bowling". He talks about Denly's slow scoring. Yeah, I felt that too.

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Cummins beats Denly.
It's just the odd one that does something, Warne says.

But two balls later Denly drives for 4.

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Lyon from the other end.

Warne: "They really need Nathan Lyon to be at his best."

Botham: "Pretty sure Ben Stokes will look to attack him at some stage."

Warne: "I like this move to bat pad on the off side."

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Warne & Botham talk run chases.

Botham on Smith: "There'll be panic in the camp if he goes cheaply."

Meanwhile, Cummins complete another maiden.

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Botham: "Close to falling back on his stumps."
He wonders if Denly cramped up.

He was hopping a bit after an awkward pull for a single.

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Denly tries to pull a short ball and misses.

Botham says Cummins's high workload is the reason for his success.
Not that this is a totally crazy idea, but when it comes from someone like Botham it sounds like just another rant against "sports science". And then they are nowhere to be seen when the bowler has a stress fracture of the back or breaks down in some other way.

Stokes hooks in the air. It bounces safely. Botham thinks it was a no ball. As Holding keeps saying, they should be called, for the bowler's sake.

They show a replay. It looks very tight.

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Now Stokes comes down to Lyon, opens the face and hits it over straight mid off for 4.

Lyon beats Stokes.
Warne: "Nice comeback from Nathan Lyon."

And now Smith drops Stokes at slip.
Yet another drop by Oz. Smith's second drop, I think, and he had about five bobbles at one catch he did take.

I'm beginning to dream of Healy/Taylor/Border/M. Waugh...
We miss your safe catching, guys!

[K]

Denly clips a 4 to bring up his 50.

I detest Denly.

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On cricinfo, they are grumbling about all the Oz drops. "Catches win matches", etc. Yup!

[K]

Hazlewood beats Stokes.

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Meanwhile, on cricinfo, the flu excuse is being used for Smith's two dropped catches.
How do you catch a flu in summer?? It's not Siberia.