Summary

  • Australia's tail wags to take tourists to slender 12-run lead

  • Murphy and Cummins put on 49 for ninth wicket

  • Smith narrowly survives incredibly close run-out on 43, but holes out for 71

  • Root, Anderson & Broad all in the wickets as Australia fall from 115-2 to 185-7

  • Broad removes Khawaja and Head in magical post-lunch spell

  • In morning session, Labuschagne spectacularly caught by diving Root at first slip

  1. Goodbye... for now!published at 19:00 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Media caption,

    Did Broad's bail switching lead to Labuschagne wicket?

    Time for us to leave it there for day two.

    I'll leave you with Stephan Shemilt's report from The Oval as England and Australia are locked in a tight battle in the fifth and final Ashes Test.

    Today at the Test is on BBC Two and iPlayer from 19:00-20:00 BST. Please do check in.

    Some of the best clips from the day are below for you to enjoy too. You can scroll back through all the best reaction and analysis too.

    Don't forget to pick your team of the series too.

    We'll be back at 09:00 BST on Saturday. See you then.

  2. 'I love batting at The Oval'published at 18:57 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    More from Steve Smith, speaking to Sky Sports: "There was no set plan, it was just the batters going out and playing what was in front of them. I thought England bowled really well this morning, they didn't give us a lot of freebies. Credit where it's due.

    "If we take it a little bit deeper, make them bowl more overs, it allows us to score runs at the end of the day like we did. But if the batters are in doing that it would make a huge difference for us.

    "It swung a lot and they're obviously very good swing bowlers. The new ball probably didn't do quite as much and there wasn't a lot of seam either. As I said, it was a pretty good wicket. It felt good all day."

    On slow scoring rate creating pressure after lunch: "Potentially. You want to try and keep the scoreboard ticking as much as possible but guys are also allowed to bowl well.

    "It's Test cricket and you've got to respect those periods at times. We could've got rewards back end of the day if we had more wickets in the shed and they're a bit more tired."

    On his innings: "I thought I was in good positions today. There are a couple of things I've been working on this week and I really love batting at The Oval. You get value for your shots and the bounce is pretty consistent. Unfortunately I couldn't capitalise."

    On the surface: "As the game goes on it'll be about bowling that straighter line potentially, in case there is any up and down. As much as we can, we need to challenge their defence and make them play big shots off good balls. Pretty standard stuff."

    On the run out: "Initially I saw it and I saw the bail go up. It was close - I got given not out in the end so I can't do much else!

    "You go back in, get back in the moment and maybe have a bit of freedom thinking, 'I could've been out.'"

  3. Postpublished at 18:55 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Steven Finn
    Former England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    I thought England bowled well. I don't think Australia put England under enough pressure or had that intent. That spell from Stuart Broad just changed that momentum again. It felt there was a little momentum shift then. Joe Root, who is better than a part-time bowler, filled the void that Moeen Ali left.

  4. 'I thought England bowled well'published at 18:53 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Australia batter Steve Smith to BBC's Test Match Special: "It's ebbed and flowed the whole way, we're pretty disappointed, the wicket itself was good, played pretty nice. A few of us got good starts but couldn't go and get a big score. 12 runs in front, it's a one innings game from here pretty much."

    What was the plan for today?: "Just bat normally, nothing in particular. I thought they bowled well. They didn't give us too many boundary scoring opportunities. Marnus was finding it tough to score."

    How did you think you batted today?: "I thought I batted well, if I stayed in, Murph may not have come in and did what he did. "

    What did you make of the run out?: "I only saw what I saw, it looked a close one but it got given not out, didn't it."

  5. 'I was going to open the batting'published at 18:51 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    England bowler Jimmy Anderson speaking to BBC's Test Match Special: "It's a very level game. It feels like it's come down to a one innings match. Getting into the position we did, we're a little disappointed they got past us. Pat and Murphy batted really well in the end. All in all, a really good day for the bowlers. It felt like a slow pitch and we had to slam it to get anything out of it."

    How did you think the team bowled?: "They didn't really try and do anything out of the ordinary in that first session, but we didn't really allow them to get anything from it. From our point of view, we didn't focus on what they were doing, focused on what we do best, hit the areas with our skills."

    The Steve Smith run out?: "It's hard to tell when you're 150 yards away from the screen. It's one of those that Australia would feel is not out and we would. It feels like another close decision."

    Do you think you have enough as a team to win this match?: "We want to get a challenging total to make it hard for them to chase down. I can't see us going and batting differently, we've got very positive players who want to go and show their skills."

    Do you feel you have bowled well in this series, just without getting the wickets?: "I think so, I think today in particularly I bowled well and could've got a couple more wickets. You hope not to have one of those lean patches."

    What score do you need as a batting line-up?: "I think realistically, I can't see it deteriorating much, we're without Mo which is a big blow. I would love to see us put on 300+, I want to see."

    Who is batting at No.3?: "I was going to open the batting which I was excited about if there was one over left."

    Genuinely?: "Yes, it would've been me and one of the openers."

  6. Postpublished at 18:49 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Ben Stokes then turned to Joe Root with less than 10 minutes left in the day and he was rewarded first ball.

    It was Stokes who brilliantly took the catch on the long-on boundary and it rounded off the Australia innings.

    They hold a 12-run lead on first innings and England will resume with the bat on day three.

  7. Postpublished at 18:48 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Todd Murphy batted brilliantly for Australia and hit Mark Wood for three sixes. His 34 off 39 played a key part in getting Australia a lead.

  8. Postpublished at 18:47 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Steve Smith and Pat Cummins then put another 46 runs on before the former had a wild swipe and was well caught by Jonny Bairstow, who made up good ground before settling him under the catch.

  9. Postpublished at 18:45 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    There was then a potentially controversial moment as the third umpire decided Steve Smith was not run out.

    England thought they'd got their man, but Nitin Menon disagreed.

  10. Postpublished at 18:43 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey and Mitch Starc all fell in the afternoon session as well as England got themselves back on top in the game with Australia 185-7.

  11. 'Disappointed we couldn't get a bigger lead'published at 18:42 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Australia batter Steve Smith, speaking to Sky Sports: "You look at the two scorecards and they're pretty similar. It would have been nice to have got a bigger lead.

    "The wicket was pretty good, there was a bit of swing around throughout the day with the overheads but the wicket itself was quite nice.

    "A lot of us got in, had good starts and weren't able to go on with it.

    "A couple of partnerships at the end helped. I thought at that point it was time for a bit of a counter-punch. Obviously it didn't come off and it might have been a little bit early that I pulled the trigger, particularly the way Pat Cummins was batting.

    "But if I hadn't got out then maybe Todd Murphy wouldn't have come out and got 30-odd. It wasn't a bad end to the day but overall we're a bit disappointed we couldn't get a bigger lead."

  12. Postpublished at 18:41 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    The pressure that England built was eventually rewarded when Stuart Broad removed Usman Khawaja and Travis Head in the first three overs

  13. Postpublished at 18:39 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    England eventually broke the mundane partnership of Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne when the latter was superbly caught by Joe Root at first slip.

    How much did the mind games of Stuart Broad affect Labuschagne too?

    Media caption,

    Did Broad's bail switching lead to Labuschagne wicket?

  14. Postpublished at 18:39 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    It was a strange batting display from Australia.

    They started the day 61-1 but meandered along to 115-2 at lunch.

    There was practically zero intent to score and could it cost them the game and an Ashes series victory?

  15. Postpublished at 18:38 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Glenn McGrath
    Ex-Australia bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    I think Australia got themselves into a hole. They couldn't get themselves out. It's pointless, you bat like that, you score no runs, sooner or later, you are going to lose wickets and you are going to be in trouble. I thought Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers and I'm surprised they didn't go with him first at times.

  16. 'Never seen Australia bat with so much fear'published at 18:37 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Michael Vaughan
    Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    I've never seen an Australian batting line-up bat with so much fear. I don't know whether that was because they are so close to actually winning this series.

  17. Postpublished at 18:36 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Here's that brilliant Ben Stokes catch that wrapped up the Australia innings.

  18. 'England need to bat the whole day for their bowlers'published at 18:34 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    Michael Vaughan
    Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    I think England bowled beautifully, in the last hour we saw a bit of tired legs. England need to make sure that they give some rest to their bowlers when batting, but if they bat for the whole day, they score 400. That is the way they play.

  19. Postpublished at 18:33 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    James Anderson and Steve Smith are doing the interviews today.

    Stay with us all the best quotes, analysis and clips from day two.

  20. Postpublished at 18:32 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

    It's been quite the day at The Oval again.

    At the start of the day England would have been delighted to bowl Australia out.

    But at 185-7 - still 98 ahead - they'd have wanted a lead.

    They now face a 12-run deficit.