Fifth Test, third day

Over-by-over: morning session

England 373; Australia 157-0

Preamble Morning. Play will begin at 11am after early-morning rain.

First email of the day "That is the shortest preamble I have ever seen," says James Green. It's called a hangover. "I feel as though today will be a good day, poor light, Freddy was getting a bit of reverse swing before tea, and let's not forget they are still 250 odd adrift, I would like to suggest a ban on pessimism for at least the first ten minutes of play." Can we make it seconds? But I agree, up to a point: in these clammy conditions England may well get a lot of orthodox swing, never mind reverse.

Moment of the morning Sky News reporting live outside The Oval as Paul Collingwood strolls in. "Morning Geraint, how are you?" says reporter. "Name's Paul mate," says Colly. Walks off in disgust. Priceless.

Here we go then "Just had my hair cut by an Australian," says Luke. "When she asked what I was up to over the weekend I gleefully said, "I'll be watching the cricket" and hoped to engage in some gloating banter. She said, "Who's playing?". How rubbish is that?" On a scale of 1 to 10, very.

34th over: Australia 116-0 (Langer 78, Hayden 33) Hoggard has a huge lbw shout turned down first ball! Langer fell over - literally - a sharp inswinger and although my instinct was out - I even said 'out' to nobody in particular, making a complete idiot of myself in the process - Richie Benaud was absolutely convinced it wasn't out. And he was wrong, according to Hawkeye. That wasn't so much shaving leg as clattering right into it. Encouraging early signs for England in these sweaty conditions.

35th over: Australia 116-0 (Langer 78, Hayden 33) A sensible move, I think, to begin with Flintoff rather than Harmison given that the ball should zip around in the air. Langer looks for a quick single off the first ball and is about 7/8ths of the way down the wicket when Hayden sends him back. A direct hit from Collingwood at point and he'd have been gone. Here's the genuinely and mercifully inimitable Richard Jones. "A day of many interruptions - rain, light - none longer than 30 minutes will leave the following EOD score: Australia 292 for 7 off 60 odd overs. Collingwood and Flintoff will have done the damage."

36th over: Australia 123-0 (Langer 81, Hayden 37) Another quick single, another Collingwood chance - a direct hit from short cover this time would have run Hayden out. For a fielder of his considerable strawberry-blond class those are two big chances of a wicket. And there's another: Hayden drives firm-wristedly in the air and just wide of the diving Collingwood - who else? - at short cover. Good over from Hoggard again.

37th over: Australia 123-0 (Langer 81, Hayden 37) Another big shout for lbw as Langer again falls over an inducker - seam rather than swing this time, and Flintoff rather than Hoggard. My instinct was that it pitched outside leg, and in a rare development I was right. "Have you seen the Betfair market on Richie's last words?" says Dan Hare. "Unbelievable... lump on 'Any Othe'", slip the old fella (who incidentally now looks the spit of my Bullseye-obsessed grandma Phyllis) some stimulants in his Horlicks before his last session on air then get Tony Greig to ask him whether Ian Salisbury would feature in his all-time XI."

38th over: Australia 128-0 (Langer 81, Hayden 42) Hayden glances Hoggard fine for four, then Hoggard has a big lbw shout turned down - it was pad first, and a very decent shout. Here's Katy Allen. "Somewhere in Guardian Towers should be a big brown envelope containing cakes specifically for the OBO team. Make sure you lot get it and someone else hasn't sneakily snaffled it. I always think cake is perfect for a hangover. Starchy carb and it tastes nice, goes perfectly with a brew. Ingle printed my email on Thursday about Chris Moyles, but wrongly attributed it to Katy Hill, not me. Muppet. I would be fairly upset to be mistaken for her, as I share nothing in common with her, neither her dodgy dress sense nor her faux-virginal pronouncements. Otherwise I was really chuffed with the mention (hint, hint)."

39th over: Australia 128-0 (Langer 81, Hayden 42) Three overs this morning, three maidens for the man Tony Greig calls Flintorf.

40th over: Australia 138-0 (Langer 86, Hayden 47) Langer clatters a kitchen-sink drive past the vaguely pathetic dive of the cover sweeper Pietersen for four. And then yet another let-off for these Aussies this morning: Hayden drives loosely at Hoggard and the edge flies just wide of Strauss at second slip for four.

41st over: Australia 138-0 (Langer 86, Hayden 47) The umbrellas are going up. We'll have some of that! The umpires succumb to the inevitable, and the players are going off.

11.45am No change in the conditions. "Does faux-virginal mean prissy?" asks Richard Jones. "Or is it an out of tune Medieval musical instrument?

11.53am The covers, like the Emperor's New Clothes at a Menswear concert circa 1996, are coming off. "With all this rain forecast, shouldn't Australia be trying to score quicker? Are they settling for a draw? Surely not? What's the plan? Do you know?" asks Shamini Flint. Well, for now they just want to treat it like a normal game, grind England down, and lay such a solid platform that natural free-scorers like Clarke and Gilchrist can then scoot them to 550/600. Then it will be England and their nerves v Warne and a wearing pitch. I think they've got it spot on in their on-field approach, though they were wrong to come off for light. Spot the man who's never worn a short one from Freddie Flintoff at 90mph in fading light.

Play will restart at 12.05. PM

41st over: Australia 139-0 (Langer 86, Hayden 48) "Never mind the cricket," says Matthew Cobb. "It's let's provoke the strawberry-blond faux-Mancunian time. How many goals will Cole score against United today?" I thought Arsenal were playing Middlesbrough?

42nd over: Australia 140-0 (Langer 86, Hayden 49) Hoggard to Hayden, who inches one closer to a cathartic first fifty of the series. "If England don't win the Ashes, will the media crucify them, or praise them for playing a huge part in the greatest Test series of all time?" says James Green. The latter, surely. "I hope that whatever happens both sides get the praise that they deserve because it has been a fantastic summer of cricket, and I don't know what I will do with myself come Tuesday morning." How d'you think I feel? All I'll have is a few cans of Special Brew, a boxset of Deadwood and a whole lotta memories.

43rd over: Australia 144-0 (Langer 88, Hayden 50) Catharsis of sorts for Hayden, who reaches fifty in his final Test match, and then Langer times Flintoff through extra cover for two.

44th over: Australia 145-0 (Langer 88, Hayden 51) A quiet over from Hoggard to Hayden, the sort which no amount of artistic licence could enable me to make interesting. "Am currently travelling westwards on the train from London to Bath, following your commentary on my crackberry (love the modern world) and it's been raining from Reading to Didcot," says Lawrence Aggleton. "Huzzah!" And, indeed, huzzah!

45th over: Australia 150-0 (Langer 88, Hayden 56) Harmison comes on, and his half-tracker loosesner is pulled with a healthy clump to the fence by Hayden. There is an air of resignation around the ground now; Australia are blatantly going to get 550 here.

46th over: Australia 154-0 (Langer 88, Hayden 60) Wide filth from Hoggard first up, and Hayden lambasts it through the covers for four - that was the Hayden of 2001-2004.

47th over: Australia 157-0 (Langer 91, Hayden 60) That's lunch, after a truncated morning session in which Australia firmed their grip on this contest. Thanks for your emails.

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