0.4 Harmison to Langer, legbye: FOUR, another short one, Langer takes
evasive action, off the shoulder for four leg byes over the keeper
The umpires have offered the light to Langer and Hayden and they
have accepted it.
This is not quite the end of play though
The players have walked off the field, but will have to come back
out in case the light situation improves. But that is unlikely to
happen this time of the year.
Match State: Delay - Day 5 - Bad light stops play
The covers are coming on now
We're being told the match officials and representatives of both
teams are talking, discussing whether this game can be called off
at this stage
That's probably the commonsense way forward so that the England
team and indeed most of the country can celebrate a great victory
The umpires walk out now and are purposefully striding to the
middle
The bails come off, the stumps are pulled out of the ground and
officially this match is drawn and England have won the Ashes 2-1
It's a huge moment for this team, the celebrations can now
officially begin!
Handshakes all round between the two teams, that's good spirit
between the two sides
The England team are gathered on the pavilion steps and they are
now led out by Michael Vaughan ... the crowd roars!
There's plenty of waving and gesturing to the crowds. There are
songs in the air and thunderous applause. Soon the presentation
ceremony will begin.
The Man of the Match is Kevin Pietersen for his magnificent 158 in
the second innings that seasled the match for England
'It's a fantastic day. It's special to me personally to win the Man
of the Match on the last day of a series where we won the Ashes,'
says Pietersen.
The Man of the Series is Andrew Flintoff. He has had a great series
and richly deserves the award.
This was the award for the English Man of the Series, chosen by the
Australian coach John Buchannan
Similarly Duncan Fletcher picks out Shane Warne as Australia's
player of the series. Another great cricketer, another award
richly deserved.
'It's been one of those series ... it was an amazing series.
England were just too good for us in this series, and you have to
hand it to them,' says Warne
'I always enjoy playing in England. The crowds in all the Tests
have been sensational. It's just a pleasure to play here.'
Now the Australian team comes up, in batting order, to the podium
Finally Ponting comes up to have a word
'It looked early on that the game would be set up well. But England
played great cricket all summer. They've outplayed us in every
Test match other than the first one. Congratulations to Michael
Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher,' says Ponting
'We had a few chances but did not take them. Kevin Pietersen played
magnificently. This was one of the best series I have ever played
in.'
There's a new award instituted this series. It's the Compton-Miller
award for the player of the series. Picked by Trevor Hohns and
David Graveney, that man is Andrew Freddie Flintoff
'It's been a great summer. Today is really special,' says Flintoff.
'We've played great cricket over the past five weeks. You've got to
pinch yourself to know you're not dreaming. To play a part in
winning the Ashes for England is something you dream about as a
kid.'
Now the England team comes up, in batting order, to the podium
Huge roar from the crowd as Michael Vaughan comes up to the podium
to recieve a replica of the famous Ashes urn. There's also a
trophy from the sponsors for Vaughan to collect.
'It's been an incredible series. Full credit to Australia and the
way they have played,' says Vaughan '
'Winning the toss and batting on four out of five occasions
certainly helped.'
'We've all aged a few years in the course of this series. The
support we have received has been fantastic and we appreciate
this.'
Vaughan now holds that famous little urn up in the air and the
crowd roars with great gusto
The confetti flies, the bubbly is uncorked, Team England bask in
the adulation as the celebrations begin in right earnest!
That brings us to the end of the coverage of this Ashes series, as
England take a lap of honour around The Oval
It has been a pleasure and a privilege bringing this series to you.
We hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we enjoyed bringing it
to you!
