England enjoyed one of their best fielding days of the 2019 Ashes series on Friday with Jofra Archer and Sam Curran showing a glimpse of the future.
They start day three with a 78-run lead, with Joe Denly and Rory Burns at the crease and England 9-0 at stumps. England could set up the push for victory following Archer’s 6-62 which gave England the upper hand in the fifth Test, despite yet more runs from Australia’s Steve Smith on day two at The Oval.
Pace bowler Archer was supported by three wickets from left-armer Curran – including two in two balls – as the tourists were bowled out for 225.
Through it all, Smith stood firm, and it was his wicket – lbw to Chris Woakes for 80 – that England and their supporters celebrated the most.
It says much about Smith’s stellar summer that this was his lowest score of the series and the inability to reach a century felt like a relative failure.
Follow all the action from The Oval right here with our live score.
