World Test Championship

England’s Ashes rivals were not at their ruthless best at the Oval, allowing three chances to go down in the morning session while captain Pat Cummins saw a wicket chalked off for over-stepping for the second time in the match.

But even that was not enough to chip away at their dominant position in the match, Cameron Green making amends for an earlier drop with a stunning take at gully as India were dismissed for 296.

David Warner fell cheaply as the Australians moved to 23 for one at tea in their second innings, leaving Rohit Sharma’s side 196 behind and facing a mountainous task.

Without a fine 89 from Ajinkya Rahane and a battling 51 from a battered and bruised Shardul Thakur, they would be even further adrift.

Australia enjoyed a dream start when Scott Boland scattered Srikar Bharat’s stumps with the second ball of the day, leaving India 317 behind with just four wickets in hand.

Remarkably, and despite a relentless attacking effort from the Baggy Green bowlers, that was the only wicket to fall before lunch.

Boland came close to striking again in the opening over, snaring a thick edge from Thakur which soared high towards Usman Khawaja in the cordon. It was a tough chance and one that squirmed free from the fielder’s fingertips.

Thakur needed plenty of steel to stick around, requiring lengthy treatment after being hit three times by Cummins in a single over – wearing blows on the forearm, wrist and glove.

Having softened him up, the seamer should have got his rewards when Thakur sprayed a chance to gully but this time Green’s handiwork let him down.

With Thakur in a state of almost permanent danger, Rahane gave the vocal Indian crowd something to cheer when he hooked Cummins over fine-leg for six to bring up his half-century.

He passed 5,000 Test runs soon after, the 13th Indian to do so, but he also required a stroke of fortune to reach the break.

On 72 he aimed a flowing drive at Cummins, sending a head-high catch to first slip. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appeared to offer a minor distraction to Warner, but he will still be kicking himself after seeing the ball pop out and land safe.

A handful of boundaries took the partnership into three figures as India began to have some fun, while Australia’s annoyance only increased when Cummins saw his lbw against Thakur overturned by the no-ball call. It was a case of history repeating for Cummins, who had also lost a wicket to over-stepping on day two when Rahane was on 17.

Australia needed a pick-me-up and Green provided it in style at the start of the afternoon session, showing razor sharp reactions and athleticism to take a jaw-dropping catch that ended Rahane’s stay on 89. Cummins was the beneficiary and he made sure to cash in when he cleaned up Umesh Yadav for five.

Thakur reached 51 before being undone by Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc finished things up by bouncing out Mohammed Shami.

India’s fans, whipped up by Virat Kohli, created a hostile atmosphere at the change of innings and Warner lasted just eight balls before nicking off to Mohammed Siraj.

Marnus Labuschagne was woken from a nap on the balcony to dash out at number three, and became the latest batter to take a nasty-looking blow to the hand when Siraj got one to lift aggressively at him.

While the standard of play in a series that ebbed and flowed was widely praised, there were repeated instances of both England and Australia failing to reach the statutory 90 overs in a day threshold.

Ben Stokes’ side were found to be two overs short in the first Test at Edgbaston, nine in the second at Lord’s, three in the fourth at Emirates Old Trafford and five in the final Test at the Kia Oval.

Having gained 28 points – 24 for two wins and four for a draw – in a series that finished 2-2, with Australia retaining the urn as holders, England have lost 19 for infringements in four of five Tests.

That leaves England with just nine points in the third edition of the WTC, dropping them below the West Indies, who have played just two matches and are yet to record a win.

The International Cricket Council last month implemented an overhaul of the sanctions for sluggish over-rates, which was retrospectively applied for the start of the WTC cycle.

Players are fined five per cent of their match fee, up to 50 per cent, and teams lose one point for every over short – although this is not applied if a team is bowled out before the 80th over.

England’s players were penalised 10 per cent of their match fees for the first Test, 45 for the second, 15 for the fourth and 25 for the fifth.

Australia, meanwhile, had 10 points deducted from their tally and players fined 50 per cent of their match fees for the fourth Test after being found to have been 10 overs short at Old Trafford.

Head was the standout performer as the Baggy Greens racked up 327 for three, reeling off 146 not out from just 156 deliveries to put his side in charge of the International Cricket Council’s long-form showpiece.

He arrived at the crease early in the afternoon session with Australia wobbling at 76 for three, India in the ascendancy after picking off David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne either side of lunch.

But he played a gem of an innings, racing out of the blocks and flipping the game on its head as he reached three figures in just 106 deliveries – an innings of daring fluency that left the rest of the top order looking pedestrian by comparison.

Steve Smith did his share of the heavy lifting, but his unbeaten 95 from 227 balls was an anchoring effort in support of Head’s agenda-setting knock.

For Australia, nudging his side one step closer to becoming global champions is a main event in itself, but for watching England fans it was a reminder of just how dangerous the 29-year-old can be.

Head was the breakout star of Australia’s 4-0 Ashes win in 2021/22, taking the Compton-Miller Medal for player of the series after scoring 357 runs at an average of nearly 60.

If there were legitimate questions over whether he could touch similar heights in English conditions, where he averaged just 27 in 2019 and endured a lean spell with Sussex two summers ago, he appeared to answer them in emphatic fashion.

Head finished the day with 22 fours and a six, an effortless uppercut off Mohammed Shami, and reached his first overseas hundred – and sixth overall – shortly after taking a glancing blow to the helmet.

By stumps, India may have been harbouring a couple of distinct regrets, first about winning the toss and choosing to field and second over their omission of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

The world’s number one bowler was left out in favour of an extra seam option in Shardul Thakur and, although there was no appreciable turn on offer from a first-day pitch, the decision to leave the 36-year-old and his 474 wickets on the sidelines looked misguided after 85 overs of toil.

India started promisingly with the new ball, challenging Australia’s top order during a tough first hour.

Shami kept Warner honest during a fine opening burst with the new ball, working over the left-hander from round the wicket in a way that will not have escaped the attention of his old nemesis Stuart Broad.

Warner survived the examination, with a couple of fortuitous moments along the way, but Usman Khawaja banked a 10-ball duck when he nicked the quicker Mohammed Siraj to Srikar Bharat.

There was an early scare for Labuschagne, who dramatically dropped the bat in pain when Umesh Yadav rapped him on the left thumb with a sharp, lifting delivery.

England fans would be forgiven for having the Ashes on their minds as Labuschagne received treatment and popped a couple of painkillers, but he resumed his innings and even wore another blow to the hand.

Warner, who has set his sights on a January retirement, began to warm up as he clubbed Umesh Yadav for four boundaries in a single over but he departed tamely before lunch when he gloved a leg-side ball from Thakur to the diving Bharat.

An unconvincing stay from Labuschagne ended on 26 early in the afternoon when Shami forced a full delivery through a wayward drive and uprooted off stump. The majority Indian crowd roared their approval but their rising momentum dissipated in the face of Head’s counter-attack.

He scored 28 off his first 20 balls, instantly putting India back on the defensive, and continued to dictate terms as the attack tired.

With Smith grinding his way towards a gentler hundred at the other end, India will need a sharp change of fortune on day two.

With 30 centuries, 8,792 runs and an average of just under 60, Smith is always a prize target whenever he steps on to the field.

But while he reasserted his class with a thoroughly composed innings of 95 not out at the Oval, it was Head who took centre stage with a dashing 146 not out.

Australia ended the day in charge of the showpiece on 327 for three, a huge position of strength given Head arrived at 76 for three.

Speaking after an unbroken stand of 251 with Smith, Head said: “We don’t talk too much out there but I do really enjoy batting with Steve, because of how much attention he receives in terms of the bowler’s plans.

“Whenever I bat with him I always feel like I’m in the shadows, that you can sneak under the radar and go about your business because he draws so much attention.

“I felt like that again today, I knew he wasn’t going to go anywhere once he got in that rhythm.

“He loves batting over here and he’s unbelievable in these conditions. We’re completely different but the partnership works really nicely.”

Head’s sixth Test hundred was a bruising affair, comprising 22 fours and a six, but it was most notable for being his first away from Australia.

With an Ashes series coming hot on the heels of the WTC final, he could hardly have timed the landmark better having been dismissed for 90 in Ahmedabad in March.

“It’s a nice feather in the cap, I’ll look back in the future on a nice little moment,” he said.

“I missed the chance in India a couple of months ago, but it doesn’t bother me too much. I just want to contribute and play well, if that’s a hundred great, but it doesn’t faze me in the slightest.

“This week is hugely important to us for the last two years of hard work but as we move to the Ashes if it’s a low scoring series I just want to contribute, even if that doesn’t mean hundreds.

“All you can do is be around your peers, see what they’re doing and try to excel. We’ll see where that leads us in the next six weeks.”

With 30 centuries, 8,792 runs and an average of just under 60, Smith is always a prize target whenever he steps on to the field.

But while he reasserted his class with a thoroughly composed innings of 95 not out at the Oval, it was Head who took centre stage with a dashing 146 not out.

Australia ended the day in charge of the showpiece on 327 for three, a huge position of strength given Head arrived at 76 for three.

Speaking after an unbroken stand of 251 with Smith, Head said: “We don’t talk too much out there but I do really enjoy batting with Steve, because of how much attention he receives in terms of the bowler’s plans.

“Whenever I bat with him I always feel like I’m in the shadows, that you can sneak under the radar and go about your business because he draws so much attention.

“I felt like that again today, I knew he wasn’t going to go anywhere once he got in that rhythm.

“He loves batting over here and he’s unbelievable in these conditions. We’re completely different but the partnership works really nicely.”

Head’s sixth Test hundred was a bruising affair, comprising 22 fours and a six, but it was most notable for being his first away from Australia.

With an Ashes series coming hot on the heels of the WTC final, he could hardly have timed the landmark better having been dismissed for 90 in Ahmedabad in March.

“It’s a nice feather in the cap, I’ll look back in the future on a nice little moment,” he said.

“I missed the chance in India a couple of months ago, but it doesn’t bother me too much. I just want to contribute and play well, if that’s a hundred great, but it doesn’t faze me in the slightest.

“This week is hugely important to us for the last two years of hard work but as we move to the Ashes if it’s a low scoring series I just want to contribute, even if that doesn’t mean hundreds.

“All you can do is be around your peers, see what they’re doing and try to excel. We’ll see where that leads us in the next six weeks.”