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Inside the JM Finn Stand at The Oval, opposite the pavilion, is a staircase that leads up to the Test Match Special commentary box. It is used by media and spectators alike.
In the hours after the sensational fifth Test between England and India ended, with the ground emptying, on that staircase was found a left shoe, then some underwear, then a right shoe.
Because of their size, they presumably belonged to a man. Quite how the owners misplaced them, or when they realised their loss, is unclear. However, it raises the prospect that someone left this famous old ground both shoeless and pantless.
It would have been entirely in keeping with the mayhem that had already played out on Monday morning.
There had been 57 minutes of the most intense, dramatic and emotional sport you could ever wish to see.
Twenty-five days of gripping Test cricket came down to a one-armed man painfully scampering 22 yards of south London turf. One wonders how the productivity of the UK was affected at the beginning of the working week, or how many offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru closed early.
There had been an element of farce to the previous evening. Players went to the dressing rooms because of rain and bad light when the game was on a knife-edge, then stayed there as the gloom turned to evening sunshine.
Any frustration over the events of Sunday turned into anticipation of what might be possible on Monday. Thirty-five runs or four wickets. The Oval was sold out, but would anyone bother to turn up?
India began the day with a huddle that seemed to have every member of the touring party included. Security, chef, bus driver. England, naturally, played football.
Fittingly, it was Surrey v England. When Jamie Overton took fours off each of the first two balls of the day, England had almost a quarter of the runs they required. It was the best it got.
Jamie Smith has looked increasingly frazzled in his first five-Test series as a wicketkeeper. He wafted at two deliveries, then edged the third. The dhol drum of the Bharat Army beat out the rhythm of We Will Rock You, and rocked England were. When Overton was struck on the pad, umpire Kumar Dharmasena paid his own 2005 tribute with the slow finger of Rudi Koertzen.
Josh Tongue had a scattergun game with the ball and found himself as the last line of defence before the stricken Chris Woakes.
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Earlier this year, Woakes had a tattoo inked on his left tricep in memory of his late father Roger, who died last year. Now the same arm was strapped under his England sweater as he descended the pavilion stairs, putting his broken body on the line for the Three Lions on his chest.
History will remember Woakes as a World Cup winner in both formats, an Ashes winner and one of the finest seamers in English conditions. This will trump them all. The Wizard will always be the man who tried to help England win a Test with only one functioning arm.
How painful it must have been for Woakes to run three times between the wickets, his shoulder jolted by every step. Mercifully, he never faced a delivery. While Woakes played Jack Leach, Gus Atkinson could not ape Ben Stokes. Atkinson was bowled attempting to hit the six that would have levelled the scores and won the series.
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The last word went to Mohammed Siraj, who personified the unbreakable spirit and never-say-die attitude of a young India team. He carried the torch of the retired Virat Kohli, with the ability to get into a fight in a phone box.
There was barely a time in this Test when Siraj was not bowling, haring in with the pavilion behind him. Thriving on responsibility, both Siraj’s average and strike-rate are better when he is not playing in the shadow of Jasprit Bumrah. India’s two wins in this series came in matches Bumrah did not play.
A series level at 2-2 was a fair result, even if England will feel aggrieved they were denied in the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford. If they had caught Ravindra Jadeja on nought in Manchester, or any of the six they dropped in India’s second innings here, it might have been different. The sight of India great Sunil Gavaskar leading his TV production staff in song on the Oval outfield said much about which side would be happier with the result.
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Whisper it quietly, but there is a chance this was the last home Test for the England team as we know it.
There is certainly a scenario where a poor Ashes leads to one of captain Stokes or coach Brendon McCullum walking away. Stokes may simply decide he has had enough of rehabbing from injuries.
As cruel as it sounds, Woakes’ heroics may be his last act in an England shirt. Mark Wood is 36 in January. England’s next home Test is in June.
There was a moment on Saturday morning of this Test, when England were fielding and contemplating a potential DRS review. In the conversation were Smith, Atkinson, Zak Crawley, Jacob Bethell, Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett. It was a window into what the senior England players will look like the next time India tour this country.
If this is the end of something, England went out playing the hits. Attempting the unthinkable, stirring the emotions like few other teams can. They are exhilarating and infuriating in equal measure, never boring, and responsible for the rebirth of Test cricket in this country.
Crucially, the Bazball era is still to claim a top prize. The full home series against Australia and India played under Stokes and McCullum have been drawn 2-2. England have beaten neither since 2018, when Alastair Cook was still in the team. Trips to both countries have recently ended in shellackings, regardless of who has been in charge.
The next chance to change that record comes quickly, starting in Perth in November.
Related topics
- England Men’s Cricket Team
- India
- Cricket
