From zeros to heroes

11.25am: Not even Sajid Mahmood could be given the final ball needing to keep the tail-end batsmen to under 19 runs and make a mess of it. England are in the final with a 14-run win. Start revving up the open-top bus, burnish the knighthoods, get ready the Downing Street reception, things look a lot more rosy now.

11.05am: Fleming cuts Flintoff for four but boundaries have been too infrequent in the last dozen overs for New Zealand. They now need 41 off 21 balls to tie and thus make the final. Surely England cannot blow it from here?

10.45am: Oram edges behind off Plunkett and, with almost nine runs an over needed now, England are suddenly looking favourites.

10.30am: Neck and neck between the sides with ten overs to go. England were 192-5, New Zealand are 192-3. Stephen Fleming has just played a nervous last over off Paul Collingwood, sitting on 99 for three dot balls, which could prove costly. Five minutes later, just after Fleming reaches his hundred, Styris chips Collingwood to Panesar at mid-off. With Oram to come out, we should see some fireworks. In the next ten minutes we will know whether England are going to win this game or whether they can start asking about the weather back home.

10.05am: New Zealand lose their third wicket in horrid fashion, Ross Taylor run out thanks to a poor call from his captain, Stephen Fleming. You know that a run really isn't on when the bowler, in this case Flintoff, picks up the ball and is able to run in to the stumps and flick off the bails before the batsman regains his ground. Interesting situation, but with Jacob Oram and Scott Styris to come, New Zealand are probably still favourites.

9.45am: New Zealand need a run a ball off the last 20 overs, still with eight wickets in hand. I'm more worried about the fitness of some of the England players. Paul Collingwood grimaced just now after "doing a Simon Jones", getting his boot caught in the Brisbane turf as he went down to field the ball, while Michael Vaughan, who was out for a first-ball duck earlier, does not look comfortable chasing balls at extra cover. Perhaps England's World Cup hopes would be helped by not winning today and having to play two more matches.

9am: An intriguing couple of hours lie ahead in what could be England's final match on this Ashes tour. New Zealand have just lost their second wicket for 107 in the 22nd over, needing 271 to win. So they are up with the required rate and, with Stephen Fleming still at the crease, you would probably, just, make them favourites to win from here. England are going to have to bowl tight, field with discipline and make every ball count. Not the ideal time for Sajid Mahmood (who had earlier conceded 26 off four overs) to come back on and bowl wide and short first ball, in other words.

Comments

[Peter McGuinness]

While I agree that the headline is good, reliable copy, maybe 'Zeros to Near-os' may be a little more accurate given the circumstances.

[Caro]

I do hope England do lose, so they can finally go home and regroup, They don't look convinceing even if they are scraping through at the moment. The Kiwis are excellent finishers because they are together, something England have lost the meaning of this season.