Test Cricket

Few of us made our way to the Oval with any great expectations of an England victory and things didn't improve when England lost their last wicket in the first over of the day Leaving Pakistan with a modest target of 148. At lunch the visitors seemed to be moving steadily towards their target, however immediately after the break Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann took three quick wickets and for 45 minutes the impossible seemed possible. Perhaps that's the great attraction of Test Cricket, the way the game ebbs and flows, how wickets often fall in pairs, how the unexpected happens. It leaves the spectator exhilarated. Pakistan deserved their victory and it means that the series is still alive going to the final test at Lords next week.

The Oval test in recent years has become the sporting highlight of my calendar, over in four days it leaves me wanting more, yet knowing that there is a long Ashes winter ahead.