It has been an intense series and the past six weeks have tested the focus and fitness of everyone involved – and not just the players. Simon Finch, the Barmy Army trumpeter, has been so overworked that on Saturday he came down with a potentially series-ending injury, leading to the Oval being distressingly free of the Great Escape theme for much of the day. “After 20 days of parping, plus blasting it out at Barmy Army evening parties, my bottom lip developed a slight callus on the middle where the mouthpiece is on my lips,” he said. “So I thought I’d better rest it up while we were batting – we don’t really need my help when we’re batting because the crowd do it on their own – and save it for the big push on Sunday.” Happily he declared himself “nicely Blistezed up and ready for action” as England took to the field at the start of the fourth day and prepared to push himself – and perhaps a few of the people sitting around him – through the pain barrier to encourage England in their pursuit of wickets.
End of an Oval era
This is the final Test to be played here before the famous Oval gasholder submits to redevelopment – being Grade II listed it can’t be knocked down so it will be filled with a circular apartment block, with work starting early next year. The designs of it and several neighbouring blocks have been oriented around the cricket: residents of more than 100 homes will be able to see into the Oval once it’s done. The gasholder has been an almost unchanging backdrop to games here for nearly 150 years, so familiar that even a fresh paint job in the 1950s – “a cheerful but unobtrusive blend of green and aluminium” chosen “with cricket in the minds of those who envisaged the work”, according to the Gas Board – made nationwide headlines.
Thanks to entirely sensible health and safety legislation it is a while since these views have been enjoyed but there could soon be a more pricey but less hair-raising reenactment of the scenes at the 1892 FA Cup final. “There were frantic races to all parts of the ground where seats or standing room could be obtained,” the Guardian reported. “The top of the mighty gasholder adjoining the ground was covered with men, and its iron supports were festooned with enterprising lads careless about the safety of their necks. Had the fate of the Empire depended on the result of the game there could not have been more anxiety to see it.” It was wisely decided that this was all a bit much, and the Cup final was never played at the Oval again.
