GB veterans win 18 golds on day three of the European Masters Champs in Italy, including eight at 1500m

Britain dominated the 1500m races at Eraclea and Jesolo and enjoyed plenty of success elsewhere in hurdles and the field and now stand just a single gold behind Germany in the medals table.

In one of the most successful days in the history of British masters athletics, the team won 18 gold medals, with Zoe Doyle starting the ball rolling for the 1500m runners.

The W40 world indoor champion was not at full fitness after having only been in training for five weeks after injury but she had sufficient speed on the last lap to win in 4:49.09 from Spain’s Raquel Hernandez (4:50.00).

Another multiple world indoor champion, Clare Elms, won Britain’s second metric mile gold in the W55 race.

Elms (pictured above) made her move only 500m out and though well within her comfort zone, she won by 12 seconds in 5:03.71 from Spain’s Esther Pedrosa Carrete, who had followed her home in Poland in the 1500m, 3000m and cross-country.

Christine Anthony gained a second UK medal in 5:23.01 as she won a sprint for third.

Elms’ Dulwich club mate Ros Tabor won the third British women’s gold at the W70 event. New to the age group, she followed multiple past champion Ingerlise Villum’s fast start before kicking away down the back straight to win in 6:14.29 from the Dane’s 6:17.33.

Penny Forse, who was running her 1976 Olympic event, was a close third in 6:17.95.

While the women competed at a quiet Eraclea venue, the men participated at the same time in a fantastic atmosphere at the main track in Jesolo and it brought out the best of British 1500m running as just as in Torun, the UK took the most golds in traditionally their best event of the championships.

M75 Victor Shirley was the first British men’s winner. He took the M75 crown in 5:51.56 to beat Italy’s Giovanni Melis who ran 5:52.72.

Ireland gained an on-two in the M65 1500m through Joe Gough (4:54.14) and Brian Lynch (4:55.21) but it was the other side of the Irish Sea that took the next three golds.

Paul Fletcher, who was third in Torun indoors, had his biggest win to date in an exciting M60 finish which had the top six finish within less than three seconds. He won in 4:43.31 just ahead of Italy’s Aldredo Bonetti (4:43.62).

Guy Bracken won in Torun and in Malaga and he kept his gold run going with a clear win in the M55 race in 4:23.04 three seconds up on France’s Xavier Lefay.

Mark Symes was chasing the same triple as Bracken and he too was less successful though not as convincingly.

Not at full fitness after coming back from injury, he ran a sensible race and though ahead in the last 200m, holding something back in the straight to win in 4:18.51 as Estonia’s Magnus Kirt caught Spanish-based Dave Cowlishaw on the line. The Brit was third in 4:19.45.

A Brit-free M45 followed but the golds returned in the next race – the M40s. Matt Barnes looked strong and in control on the last lap but Francesco Nadalutti sprinted past on the final bend but in the last 30 metres he tied up and Barnes kicked past to win in 4:12.95 from the Italian’s 4:13.66.

In an exciting finish Matt Barnes wins Britain’s seventh 1500m gold of the day with a win in M40 race in 4:12.95 to catch Francesco Nadalutti pic.twitter.com/C7yfdRTVVs

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 7, 2019

In the final 1500m of the night, Mike Cummings, in his vets debut finished second in the M35 race in 3:58.05 as Netherland’s Tom Disveld won impressively in 3:55.87.

Other British medals were won by Lucy Elliott, who bravely tried to front run the W50 event but had to settle for third in 5:00.69 as multiple world champion Eva Trost of Germany kicked to victory in 4:54.63.

Betty Stracey won a W75 bronze in 9:03.55. Similarly, Richard Pitcairn-Knowles won a M85 bronze in 10:03.73 as the race was won by Bruno Baggia’s European record 7:06.03.

British hurdlers almost matched the 1500m runners as they also dominated and won six golds.

Nisha Desai won her first major masters title as she took the W35 300m hurdles crown easily in 61.62, two seconds up on Croatia’s Martina Banovic.

Ed Betts was another British winner. Though down on his 2016 world record form, he still won the M45 at a canter in 57.37 ahead of Slovenian Rok Kocjancic’s 59.91.

The W60 300m hurdles world record-holder Jane Horder won her event by over two seconds in 52.44.

There was further gold for W55 Julie Rogers who was equally dominant with a 51.55 victory over Norway’s Heidi Barth (54.74m)

Ian Broadhurst won the M65 300m hurdles in 47.48, two seconds up on Poland’s Henryk Szymura (49.93).

Jean Fail won the W70 200m hurdles unchallenged in 49.42.

Andy Clements did not win but came close in the M35 400m hurdles with a 54.39 which was narrowly bettered by Poland’s Jakub Adamczyk (54.22).

Lisa Thomas, who is the British W50 steeplechase record-holder, showed good speed with a 50.51 silver medal behind Italy’s Maria Moroni (47.42).

Barry Ferguson won a M75 bronze in the 300m hurdles in 64.63 while Neil Tunstall took M45 silver in 63.65 just under a second down on Frederic Peroni of Italy’s 62.74.

Peter Benedickter was just a few metres from winning the M50 race but had to settle for third in 60.68 as France’s Antoine Abatucci took gold in 60.30.

Darren Towart won M40 bronze in 60.78 as Italy’s Aramis Diaz won in 55.15.

The field was not quite as productive as the track but there were still some exceptional performances with golds for Evaun Williams, Andrea Jenkins, Jane Willoughby and Anthony Treacher.

Williams won her second gold of the championships as she took W80 hammer gold with a 36.88m throw as all her four valid throws were well over seven metres superior to her competitors.

Jenkins won the W40 weight event. Narrowly behind after round one, a 13.62m second throw ensured a clear gold and she also had two more throws well in excess of the opposition.

Willoughby was a clear winner of the W55 triple jump with a British record 10.45m as Melanie Garland finished third with 9.48m.

Treacher won the M80 triple jump title thanks to a first round 7.54m.

John Watts gained a M80 silver in the weight with a final round 15.46m which fell just short of Austrian Walter Krifka’s 15.68m.

Lucy Marshall gained her second medal with a silver in the W35 weight with 17.76m to lead at halfway but she was overhauled by Portugal’s Vania Sofia Sousa Silva’s 18.62m.

George Perkins won a M35 hammer bronze with a 46.10m throw.

Adam Young won a M50 high jump silver as he achieved a final clearance at 1.79m but his main rival Ugis Lasmanis, who did likewise then went over 1.82m at his first attempt.

Brian Slaughter won a M60 decathlon silver with 6205 points behind Italy’s Hubert Indra’s 6425.

Other impressive winners at 1500m included Poland’s W35 Anna Rostkowska (4:36.34) while Germany’s Petra Herrmann won the W60 triple jump in a European record 10.31m.

The medal tables now have Germany ahead on 27 gold, 24 silver, 21 bronze from Britain’s 26, 17 and 25 and host Italy’s 25, 21 and 19. Finland, who were ahead of Britain until Saturday, are now a distant fourth on 12, 6 and 8.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Emerging from a two-lap shoot out to claim the checkered flag, Trans Am-Series driver Rafa Matos captured his second consecutive flag-to-flag victory in the TA2 powered by AEM class at Watkins Glen Int’l on Saturday.

Driving the No. 88 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro, Matos earned the maximum points for the weekend to close the gap on the TA2 powered by AEM points-leader Marc Miller. Matos’ perfect points weekend kept the defending champion’s title chances alive.

Scott Lagasse Jr. in the No. 92 SLR/Fields Racing/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro matched his best result of the season with a run to  second place, with Thomas Merrill in the No. 81 Skip Barber Racing School/ Big Diehl Racing Ford Mustang crossing the line third to match his podium performance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

“Today was one of the hardest Trans-Am races I’ve done,” Matos said. “We were flat out from the start, we were expecting more yellows. When the yellow came with five laps left, I knew it was going to be tough to keep Scott (Lagasse) behind me. I wasn’t sure if I had enough there at the end because our car was set up for the long run, but it all turned out great for us. It was a good day.”

While Matos led the entire race with little contention, there was non stop action happing in his mirrors with drivers fighting for the last two podium spots. Three different competitors held second place and five different drivers maintained third as the TA2 class delivered another highly competitive race all the way through the field.

Early in the race, Miller, starting second in the No. 40 Prefix / Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger, shifted his focus from trying to snatch the lead from Matos to defending his starting position from NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver Ty Gibbs.

Knowing the championship implications, Miller saw Gibbs take the spot on lap 8, but remained relentless in his pursuit of another podium as he pressured Gibbs. The pair eventually made contact entering the first turn in The Loop, which sent Gibbs spinning with Miller dropping four wheels off track into the grass. Both drivers continued but lost several positions, ending their chances at a podium finish. Mechanical issues stemming from the original contact saw Miller lose and regain positions until the race ended on his way to a ninth-place finish.

The battle between Gibbs and Miller opened the door for a prowling Lagasse Jr. The NASCAR veteran driver capitalized on Gibbs and Miller’s misfortune and slid into second where he stayed for the duration of the race.

“These things are fun around The Glen,” said Lagasse Jr. “Hats off to Tyler (Kicera) on his first race. He was fun to race and raced me clean and hard the entire round. I thought I had more for Rafa at the end, but he has raced me so clean for the last two years, I had to return the favor. We raced side-by-side and put on a show those last few laps.”

Starting from fourth, Merrill bounced back to fifth before taking third after the late-race restart.

Merrill made his TA2 debut driving in the West Coast Trans-Am Championship earlier this year and then moved to the national tour after winning the combined West Coast and National championship round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“The race was really exciting, super exciting, and I could not believe we didn’t have more cautions than we did,” said Merrill. “Sometimes there just isn’t enough race track and we only gained one position on the restart, but that was enough for podium today. I am having a great time and I have a lot more to give to these national drivers.”

Recovering from a qualifying incident that damaged the front end of his the No. 4 Carbotech Brakes/Kicera Motorsports Ford Mustang, series newcomer Tyler Kicera showed  his strength behind the wheel, capturing a fourth place finish. The hard work from his crew to prepare him for the race also yielded thee Cool Shirt Cool Move of the race for entertaining Watkins Glen race fans as he entertained the Watkins Glen fans with his veteran-looking drive against the TA2 regulars.

“We had a tough start, and was really at a deficit on the back straight,” said Kicera. “I bobbled a couple times trying to pass Scott (Lagasse) before the yellow and on the restart Merrill caught me on the back straight. But, it was a blast to step up and be here against this level of and to do as well as we did in our first outing is very exciting for our future.”

Doug Peterson in the No. 87 3Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang earned the TA2 Masters Award after finishing the race in seventh.

“It was a great race from my seat,” said Peterson. “The race got a bit dicey with drivers passing me in The Bus Stop and figured that this race could end in tears so I said ‘Grandpa’s had enough of this.’ So I flew by and held it to finish with a top-10 result.”

ROSSBURG, Ohio — Officials from the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series have revealed dates for several marquee events in 2020.

A look ahead to several of the key events on the 2020 tour schedule sees major races spread out over nearly every month next year, including back-to-back $50,000-to-win races, two deep-paying events to open the season, a $30,000-to-win staple in June and a number of $15,000-to-win specials.

The 2020 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series schedule will kick off with the inaugural Battle at the Border at the newly constructed, state-of-the-art Vado Speedway Park in Vado, N.M., on Jan. 2-5.

More than $130,000 will be on the line during the four-night event, opening with a full practice session Thursday, Jan. 2 for teams to shake down their new equipment. Three separate points races will follow, including two $5,000-to-win Morton Buildings Features, culminating with the $15,000-to-win, 50-lap main event on Sunday, Jan. 5. Never before has a World of Outlaws season kicked off as early in the calendar year, or as far west, as this new event.

Volusia Speedway Park’s longest-running racing extravaganza is back again for its 49th consecutive year. The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will join the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, Super DIRTcar Series, DIRTcar UMP Modifieds and Late Models and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All-Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 for a two-week stretch of racing, Feb. 4-15.

The Morton Buildings Late Models will hit the track on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and continue through Saturday, Feb 15, for four 50-lap, $10,000-to-win races, run in conjunction with the three races at Vado Speedway Park to create a best-three-of-seven series at the year’s first two events.

Offering up another special event format for the Outlaws to tackle, Farmer City Raceway will host another 25-lap, $6,000-to-win feature on April 3 before the 75-lap, $12,000-to-win finale on Saturday, April 4.

Pennsylvania’s richest Dirt Late Model race returns to the Lernerville Speedway in 2020, where the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series will come into town on June 25-27 for a three-night racing party.

The Prairie Dirt Classic hits the track for a two-day weekend on July 31-Aug. 1 at Fairbury Speedway, with $50,000 going to the winner. A record-breaking car count in 2019 will foster an even bigger field for the big jackpot next season.

As is the norm, the Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte will close out the year on Nov. 5-7. The annual event will again feature the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and Super DIRTcar Series.

INDIANAPOLIS – For nearly every season of Jimmie Johnson’s spectacular career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, he has been a central player in the championship battle.

This year, however, he may not even make the NASCAR playoffs.

Johnson enters Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard 18th in points with one race remaining to determine the 16-driver playoff field. He is 18 points below the cut line, so the only way Johnson can guarantee himself a place in the field of 16 is to win Sunday’s 400-mile race – a contest he has won four times in his career.

“It would be a heck of a story to tie Jeff (Gordon) with five (wins) here and to come through a drought and all the things that we all know,” Johnson said in response to a question from SPEED SPORT Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “You guys (media) had to write about it and talk about it. To have all that come to a conclusion and lock myself into the playoffs would be one hell of a story. Hopefully, that is the story.”

Johnson hasn’t won a Cup Series race since Dover on June 4, 2017 – 84 races ago.

He was a Cup Series rookie in 2002 and has been part of the championship conversation practically every year since, winning seven titles to tie NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most series championships.

There is a very slim chance that Johnson could make the playoffs based on points, but the drivers ahead of him, including Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman, would both have to experience major setbacks in the race for that to happen.

The top 14 drivers are locked into the lineup based on wins and points. Positions one through 10 are race winners, with Busch leading the standings with four victories and 983 points and last week’s winner at Darlington, Erik Jones, the last winner to be locked in with a victory. He is currently 10th.

Positions 11-14 are locked in based on points.

Clint Bowyer has position No. 15 with 625 points, Suarez is tied with Newman with 617 points each, but Suarez gets the position based on a tiebreaker. Johnson has 599 points.

Luckily for Johnson, the must-win situation comes at one of his best tracks.

“I don’t mind coming here at all,” Johnson said. “I love the history of this track and love being here. Making a lap here is really special. It’s a place that drivers all aspire to come and compete. But, if I could pick a track, it would probably be Dover. So, it would be different if I had a chance to pick myself. I love it here. It’s a great place. The car is really fast, and we’re excited about the weekend.

“Of course, I’m going to be aware and of course I’m going to be fed information. So, we’ll just see how it unfolds. But, it’s pretty simple with just a couple of guys to worry about. And, I know that I need a lot of points in one afternoon. So, we’ve only discussed about how fast we’re going to be and how aggressive we’re going to be. Hopefully we have a victory and just eliminate any need for points. We know that the best plans don’t always play out, so we’ll see. But there will be some information coming in at times. But hopefully we have a fast-enough car that we won’t have to worry about it.”

Earlier in the day, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott said it was important for the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization to get Johnson into the playoffs. He remains the senior driver on the team and has the greatest history in the organization.

Cliff Daniels took over as Johnson’s crew chief before the Watkins Glen race on Aug. 4. Since then, he has been experimenting with ways to get more speed and performance out of the No. 48 Chevrolet.

“It’s pretty amazing to see the time and effort,” Johnson said. “And all of that has added up over the last couple of weeks, where our guys have been able to spend more time on the car that we brought here.

“So, it’s hard to just look at any given week and say hey, we’re going to do more because you don’t have the time. The truck’s got to load and leave and all that stuff. But, weeks back, things started clicking, which have allowed really every car that’s gone to the track in the last three or four weeks to have more detail and more time spent on it.”

Story continued on the next page.

Everyone has heard of Keith Kunz and his powerhouse Keith Kunz Motorsports team, but we thought we’d introduce you to Keith Kunz himself! Ralph Sheheen caught up with Kunz at the BC39 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to talk all things midget racing!

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European champions Portugal got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign back on track with goals from William Carvalho, Goncalo Guedes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva helping them to a pulsating 4-2 Group B victory in Serbia on Saturday.

The victory lifted the Portuguese to second place in the group on five points from three games, eight behind runaway leaders Ukraine who have 13 from five matches after their 3-0 win in Lithuania earlier on Saturday.

- Euro 2020 qualifying: All you need to know

Third-placed Luxembourg and Serbia in fourth both have four points from as many games while Lithuania are bottom with one point from four matches.

Portugal dominated the opening half and Carvalho fired them ahead in the 42nd minute when he poked the ball into an empty net from three metres after Serbia keeper Marko Dmitrovic spilled a Bruno Fernandes cross from the right.

Ronaldo, looking subdued in the opening half and given a hostile reception at Red Star stadium as Serbian fans jeered him every time he touched the ball, twice came close early in the second half.

He fired inches wide from the edge of the penalty area after cutting in from the left and then curled a free kick narrowly off target before Guedes doubled Portugal's lead with a fine individual effort.

The forward capped a flowing move as he sidestepped a defender and rifled in an unstoppable shot past Dmitrovic into the far corner from 12 metres to silence the raucous home crowd.

Centre back Nikola Milenkovic pulled one back for Serbia in the 68th minute, heading a Dusan Tadic corner past keeper Rui Patricio, who was two minutes later forced to tip a fierce Adem Ljajic shot from 20 metres over the bar.

Taunted by chants of "Messi" from Serbia's die-hard fans, Ronaldo demonstrated his class in the 80th minute when he took a Bernardo Silva pass in his stride and coolly dinked the ball over the advancing Dmitrovic.

Serbia refused to roll over as Aleksandar Mitrovic drove a shot from inside the penalty area into the roof of the net after a defensive blunder in the 85th minute but Silva sealed the contest with a clinical finish barely 60 seconds later.

Trevor Bayliss has called on England's batsmen to "put their hand up and be the hero" on the final day of the Manchester Test.

England go into the fifth day requiring a miracle - another miracle - to sustain their hopes of winning back the Ashes. Set an improbable 383 to win in the final innings - their more realistic target is to bat out the final 98 overs on the last day - they lost two wickets within the first four balls of their reply.

While they scraped through to stumps without further loss, the fact that Joe Root and Rory Burns were the men to go will do nothing to increase optimism in England's chances of survival. Root, who was bowled first ball by a perfect delivery from Pat Cummins, has become the first England captain to register three ducks in a series. If Australia win the game, they will take retain the Ashes whatever happens in the final Test at The Oval.

But Bayliss, the England coach, insisted his team could bat out the final day to claim the draw that would sustain their hopes.

"It'll take a couple of our guys to make good hundreds but as we saw in the last Test, anything is possible," Bayliss sad. "It's a big challenge, but we've got two guys out there who are very good players. We've certainly got some players in the sheds who can make hundreds.

"I think we can do it. We've had a chat in the changing room and we're certainly not thinking it's all over. There's no use playing at this level if you don't believe you are good enough to bat for 98 overs and save the game."

Also read: Smith transcendent as Cummins puts one hand on the Ashes

While Bayliss could, realistically, hardly say anything else, England's slim hopes have some substance while Ben Stokes remains. He has already pulled off two near miracles this summer - the World Cup final and the Leeds Test - and is England's leading run-scorer in the series. England's supporters will hope he can snare a hat-trick of miracles on the final day.

The form of the other remaining batsmen provides less reason for optimism, however. Jason Roy is averaging 12.42 this series, Joe Denly 23.00, Jos Buttler 13.71 and Jonny Bairstow 25.50. But Bayliss hopes Stokes' success can inspire them with greater belief.

"Stokes' record probably gives the rest of the guys belief," Bayliss said. "If one guy can do it someone else can do it as well. We've already spoken about who is going to put their hand up and be the hero. We know it is going to be hard work, but we're going out there with the aim to do that."

While Bayliss leaves his role as coach straight after The Oval Test, he does have advice for English cricket: ensure home advantage by preparing pitches that suit their side. England were underwhelmed when they arrived in Manchester to find a slow track with very little grass covering. As a result, there was relatively little help for England seamers - who are, with the exception of Jofra Archer - slower than the Australian trio - and they could find no answer to the excellence of Steve Smith. He also had words of mitigation for England's seamers, who struggled in trying conditions on the first day.

"I'd have liked to have seen a bit more green grass on all of the [Test] wickets this year," Bayliss said. "We certainly had that in the Ashes here four years ago - except for the one where Australia won at Lord's. And we won the series.

"What's got to happen in England is that we either play on Test wickets that have some green grass on, like in county cricket, or we play county cricket on flatter wickets with not a lot of grass on so we actually learn how to bat and bowl on flatter wickets.

"Why did England's bowlers not manage the same intensity in the first innings? It was probably the 300mph wind and the minus 10 degree temperature. They were probably the toughest conditions I've ever seen cricket played in. That will take a fair bit out of you, those conditions. The wind was very, very difficult."

It may well go down as the moment Australia truly believed they were set to win the Ashes on English soil for the first time in 18 years. At the very least, Pat Cummins' top-of-off-stump pearler to defeat England's captain Joe Root first ball has set down a definitive blueprint for what the Australians will be attempting on day five at Old Trafford, according to no less an authority on batting than their talismanic run maker Steven Smith.

There was a period on day four when England looked capable of elbowing their way back into the contest, as Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer delivered two of the most compelling spells of a series dominated by the bowlers on both sides. However Smith emerged as Australia's' bulwark yet again, cuffing 82 with help from Matthew Wade and Tim Paine to grant the visitors a handsome lead and the chance to bowl in murky light during the final half an hour.

Cummins responded by drawing an error from Rory Burns in the first over, and followed up with a ball that could not have been bettered to flick Root's off stump. He had copped a similar delivery from Ryan Harris at Durham in 2013, but this one will be remembered not only for the quality of the ball but the importance of the moment. Smith said that it made crystal clear what the Australians needed to do on the final day.

"I think it will be difficult, particularly while the ball is hard. I found when I first went out to the middle, when you bowl a good length, there was enough up and down and sideways movement. My first 20 or 30 balls, I felt pretty vulnerable when they were bowling that good length," Smith said. "Patty hit it beautifully tonight, I think that ball to Root is a blueprint of what we need to do tomorrow, first thing in the morning, and the quicks to keep hitting that top-of-the-stump length and let the pitch do its thing.

"Mixed in with a good bouncer to play with their feet, and maybe get a bit of up and down as well. It's the length we've been trying to hit on Root, particularly early in the innings. It's worked a few times. He's got out first ball a couple of times and early on a few time with a very similar ball. That's the sort of length we tried to hit. Fortunately Patty did it first ball. I have no idea if it moved, kept low or what but I think it's the length that's the most important thing. That was a good length."

Bowlers on both sides have been able to dictate terms with seam more so than swing, and Smith believed this was deliberate: a scrambled seam delivery that can move either way off the pitch being far harder to adjust for than something that moves through the air, though as Mitchell Starc demonstrated to Johnny Bairstow, it can make for a devastating variation if conditions are right. At the same time, David Warner's struggles have been unprecedented in his career, leaving him asking Smith, among others, for answers.

"I think it's off the pitch, that's the key to try and hit that," Smith said. "I don't know what it does when they scramble it, but I guess it just hits the ball in a different spot then can move sideways, there is no doubt in my mind that the seaming ball is the hardest thing to play in the game. You don't have time to react so you have to play the line and if it goes in, you are a chance of hitting the stumps and getting lbw, and if it goes away you are a chance of nicking it.

"A couple of our guys have exploited that pretty well on this wicket and if they do that again and hit the top of the stumps, that same length as the Root ball, hopefully we can see a lot of bowled, lbws and caught behind the wickets. It's been tough on the new ball for both sides. The ball's probably done its most when it's new. When it gets a little bit softer it doesn't do quite as much, it gets a little bit easier. They've bowled pretty well with the new ball. They're both particularly good bowlers to left-handed batters, both Broad and Archer. It's not been easy for Davey and Marcus but they're trying their hardest.

"We've talked, a few different things here and there. Just trying to form a plan to get through Broad. He's admitted himself that Broad's had the wood on him throughout this series and he's been talking to myself and Justin and Hicky, I think, about ways he can play. He's tried a couple different ways and they haven't quite worked. but Davey's a quality player and he hasn't had a great deal of luck this series either, hopefully he can turn it around and get a big one for us at The Oval."

As for his own incredibly prolific series with so much chaos around him, Smith said he had wanted to be involved when the games were at their most difficult, using his singular skills to turn numerous scenarios back around to Australia's' favour. "I think when it is tough you want your experienced players to step up," he said. "I've played quite a lot of cricket now. I like to get into those situations and try and be the one to take the team through.

"I was able to form a really good partnership with Matty Wade, who I thought played really well today as well. That partnership was really handy for us at that stage. England were really up and about with us four down but a good half an hour of batting and things got a bit easier for us and we were able to form a nice partnership, and hopefully one that will set us up for this game.

"I'm not in the game for personal accolades, I'm here to do my job and score as many runs for the team as I can and fortunately this series I've been able to score quite a few and help the team as much as I can. Hopefully I can do that again next game."