Holy Crap
By Fifth Ashes Test, The Oval, day three (close):
England 332 & 373-9d v Australia 160 & 80-0
Where to begin? New boy Trott scores a century in his second innings, 119 overall. The tail produced, making up for the lethargic approach by batters 2, 3, 4 and 6. Flintoff’s final batting appearance in test cricket a mere 22, but perhaps he shows some heroics in bowling.
England declared after their ninth wicket fell, with a lead of 545. Australia answered with 80 no out before the end of play, but the lead of 466 would still be an improbable world record if achieved — by 128 runs. If I have my facts straight, the highest total overcome at Lords to win is only 263, in 1902.
That said, even with history well against the Australians, why declare at nine wickets? Weather isn’t going to be an issue, there’s two full days of play remaining (and enough play remaining in day 3 for Australia to score 80), so could somebody explain to me why this is a sound strategy? My only guess is that it is an overly cautious approach, and nobody was going to declare anything while Trott was still batting (his was the ninth wicket to fall).
