20th over: England 111-2 (Jacks 48, Brook 52) Shot! The occasional offspinner Matt Short’s first ball is a wide, flighted half-volley that Brook blasts thrillingly over mid-off for six. A two off the pads takes him to a beautifully judged fifty, his first as captain, from 54 balls.

He becomes the eighth England captain to make a 50 before turning 26, a list that also includes Peter May, Ian Botham, Mike Atherton (who did it most often, six times), Marcus Trescothick, Alastair Cook, Eoin Morgan and Zak Crawley.

19th over: England 99-2 (Jacks 47, Brook 41) After two overs from Aaron Hardie, Cam Green comes into the attack. Jacks makes room to drive his first ball over mid-off for four, a controlled stroke, and Brook adds a couple more to deep cover.

England have scored 52 from the last eight overs – nothing spectacular, but the kind of subtle gearchange all good ODI teams need in certain situations.

18th over: England 91-2 (Jacks 42, Brook 38) Four singles from Maxwell’s second over. There’s a hint of evening sun at Chester-le-Street now, and batting looks as comfortable as at any time in the innings. If it stays like this, and that’s a big if, England have a chance of proving WinViz right.

17th over: England 87-2 (Jacks 40, Brook 36) “Just to help pass the time on a train journey from Torquay to Bath I started musing about times when we woz robbed, guv,” says Mark Lloyd. “The obvious one in my lifetime was Port of Spain 1990 – the way that match unfolded marks it as the beginning of the end of the Windies’ dominance in my book – but the one which irked me most was Durban 2004 when the weather denied us a stonking victory after we’d been Pollocked on the first day. Any others you would add?”

Are we including only cases of bad light and timewasting, not poor umpiring or rain? If so, Trinidad 1990 is probably the one; England taking a 2-0 lead in the Caribbean would arguably have been the greatest shock in Test history. Sydney 1995 was also immensely frustrating. Gus Fraser had gone through Australia like a dose of salts but then the light deteriorated and England couldn’t bowl the quicks. Then again, had they won at Sydney we probably have enjoyed that bonkers Adelaide victory a few weeks later.

Quiz question

If Harry Brook makes a half-century today he’ll become the eighth England captain under the age of 26 to do so. That’s across all formats, the men’s team only. Name the seven.

16th over: England 84-2 (Jacks 39, Brook 34) Here comes Glenn Maxwell, Australia’s No1 spinner in the absence of Adam Zampa. Brook skids back to chip his first ball over wide mid-off for four, a slightly risky but remarkably skilful stroke.

Three singles make it another decent over for England, who need 221 from the 34 overs to win. First, time for drinks.

”Kim Thonger’s fishing email and Daniel McDonald’s tale of late night Australian chit chat with his grandmother and great aunt, as part of an OBO liveblog of England playing Australia under lights in Durham in late September, just makes me think ‘where did it all go right, Rob?’,” says Simon McMahon. “It’s what the internet was invented for. That and cute cat videos, obvs.”

HOW COULD YOU FORGET DISPROPORTIONATE ANGER YOU MORON?

15th over: England 77-2 (Jacks 38, Brook 28) Aaron Hardie, on for Hazlewood, is greeted with a majestic extra cover drive from Brook. “That’s as good as we’ve seen today,” says Ricky Ponting on Sky.

England still have loads to do – the required rate is 6.51 – but this has been an excellent partnership, almost a blueprint.

14th over: England 69-2 (Jacks 34, Brook 23) Jacks walks across to clip his Surrey teammate Abbott to the fine leg boundary. That’s a brave shot because he’d have been plumb LBW had he missed.

I forgot to say that Brook’s second boundary in the previous over brought up a mature fifty partnership from two 25-year-olds with oodles of talent.

13th over: England 62-2 (Jacks 29, Brook 22) Brook tops and tails Hazlewood’s over with outstanding pulls for four. The first was pinged through square leg, the second whipped wristily past midwicket.

Lovely batting from Brook, who is playing nicely after a watchful start. The forecast means that, if we get close to 20 overs, England will have to start thinking about DLS.

12th over: England 54-2 (Jacks 29, Brook 14) Abbott has a huge LBW appeal against Jacks turned down by Alex Wharf. It looked high and legsidish*, so I’m surprised it was quite such a vehement appeal. Mitchell Marsh decided not to review and replayed show it would have missed leg.

Abbott’s frustration grows when Jacks edges a drive for four, just wide of slip at catchable height.

* My favourite Radiohead song, since you asked.

Uh-oh, the Grim Tweeter is back

11th over: England 47-2 (Jacks 24, Brook 12) Jacks feels outside off at Hazlewood and is beaten. England have been criticised for their approach in this series so it’s right to point out that they are playing with patience and common sense, trying to take the game deep and wait for batting to get easier. Even those two big shots over cover were played for a specific reason, to try to disturb the bowler’s length.

10th over: England 46-2 (Jacks 24, Brook 11) Jacks does the same to Abbott, running down the track to yeeha a boundary through the covers. He tries again next ball and is beaten; Abbott either saw or sensed him coming and dragged his length back just a touch.

9th over: England 39-2 (Jacks 18, Brook 11) Hazlewood changes ends to replace Starc (4-1-17-2). Brook tries to hit him off that Test match length, charging down the pitch to flat-bat a brutal boundary through the covers.

Hazlewood just ignores him and continues to hammer the same length five times out of six.

8th over: England 32-2 (Jacks 16, Brook 6) Sean Abbott comes on for Hazlewood (3-0-14-0). Brook is beaten twice outside off stump, first by some extra bounce and then by seam movement. A really good start from Abbott.

7th over: England 31-2 (Jacks 15, Brook 6) Brook gets his first boundary with a gorgeous off-drive off Starc. As Stuart Broad and Ricky Ponting note on commentary, it was only just wide of off stump and therefore in his arc, but it was still a beautiful shot. He sometimes struggles when it’s a bit wider.

“I’m just walking the dog,” says Kim Thonger, “not fishing myself.”

Don’t worry Kim, I think the point stands.

6th over: England 25-2 (Jacks 14, Brook 1) Hazlewood is bowling a Test match length, knowing that a soupçon of movement could be enough to do the necessary. England take no risks, settling for a couple of singles in the over. That’s okay: the most important thing for now is that they don’t lose a third wicket.

“Growing up in Toowoomba, Qld, Australia, I would often stay with my maternal grandmother during school holidays,” begins Daniel McDonald. “Frequently such stays would be accompanied by visits from my grandmother’s sister, my great aunt. She was a spinster, and my grandmother a widow, and together they could shoot much breeze and chew much fat. I have particularly fond memories of we three staying up late in the winter months of 1989 watching Ashes cricket, them explaining to me the rules and lore of the game amid gossip about neighbours and far-flung family members, elucidating the intricacies of a scorecard and then vociferously complaining that Allan Border should not have been given out and then recalling some long-ago viciously disputed family will.

“For years afterwards I would convince my parents that I should stay with grandma and aunt May for a few days after Christmas, ostensibly to help with chores but in reality to simply sit and watch the Boxing Day Test while shooting the breeze and chewing the fat. Thirty-five years later both are long gone but I’m still staying up late following the cricket, missing their conversation but grateful for their influence.”

What a delightful email. And a cracking premise for a Golden Girls-style cricket-themed sitcom.

5th over: England 23-2 (Jacks 13, Brook 0) Jacks drives Starc over mid-on for two, not the cleanest strike and probably not the best option. If ever there was a time to sit in for five overs, this is it, especially as Australia don’t have Adam Zampa today.

Jacks plays a better shot later in the over, clipping stylishly over midwicket for four when Starc strays onto the pads. He plays some extremely eye-catching strokes.

4th over: England 16-2 (Jacks 6, Brook 0) Jacks’ first boundary is a thing of beauty, driven to the left of mid-on off Hazlewood. There’s a bit of seam movement, so England may have to take their medicine and wait for occasional bad balls like that. There’s also plenty of noise from the slip cordon when the new batsman Harry Brook is on strike.

3rd over: England 11-2 (Jacks 1, Brook 0) The first wicket (come on, you remember) continued a difficult run in ODIs for Salt. Since the Netherlands series of 2022, when he made his only century, he has scored 296 runs at 21.

Like most of this England team, Salt has barely played 50-over cricket in the last five years. It’s one thing for young players to learn on the job about international cricket against Australia, quite another to do so in a format they’ve barely played.

WICKET! England 11-2 (Duckett c Maxwell b Starc 8)

WICKET! England 7-1 (Salt c Short b Starc 0)

2nd over: England 7-0 (Salt 0, Duckett 6) England’s first run is a rare no-ball from Hazlewood, with Duckett clothing the free hit over midwicket for a couple. Duckett is beaten before and after, flailing at good deliveries angled across him.

That’s enough orthodoxy for Duckett, who charges outside off stump and scoops a one-bounce four. It was only fractionally short of going all the way. An eventful over concludes with Duckett running the wicket and missing a hack to leg.

“Good afternoon Rob,” begins Kim Thonger. “Today, in the spirit of Stars in Their Eyes, I’m role playing a roving OBO fishing correspondent, watching a man of similar age on the other bank fly fishing for something slippery in the glorious River Tweed at Melrose, in the style favoured by Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer. Meanwhile I, on the opposite bank, am trying to stop my dachshund Spitz fishing for ducks. He very nearly caught one just now, rather like a non-sporty gentleman in the third row of the Hollies Stand failing to catch a six that’s caught him by surprise by landing almost in his lap while doing the cryptic crossword.”

If you had told me, when I was doing work experience at Wisden Cricket Monthly, that 25 years later I would be a cricket writer for a national newspaper whose main job was to write blogs for a readership that included a man who was fishing on the River Tweed with his dachshund, I think I would have cried. I just don’t know whether those tears would have stimulated by joy, excitement, confusion or existential terror.

1st over: England 0-0 (Salt 0, Duckett 0) Make that 1.5 per cent. Mitchell Starc’s first ball swings back into Phil Salt, the reddest of red lights when Starc is bowling in white-ball cricket. Salt defends that, is beaten by one that goes straight on and decides to take no risks for the remainder of the over. A maiden. I bet Salt hasn’t played out too many of those in white-ball cricket.

“WinViz has England at 59 per cent to win,” begins Michael Meagher, “which seems to me to lie somewhere between optimistic and bonkers.”

This is blatant algorism, and I heartily agree: I’d give England maybe a 15 per cent chance. Never mind bonkers; we’ll both look like plonkers when England win inside 40 overs.

England’s over-rate was slow which means a shorter break than usual. Ben Duckett and Phil Salt are about to assume the position.

“Last time there was really a Big Two in Tests was presumably the Strauss captaincy, when Australia were in a rut and England’s 2011 series against India was seen as pivotal,” says James Davey. “Before that I recall the Saffers with Pollock and Donald having some ding-dong battles against Waugh’s Australia.”

I thought about both of those but I’m not sure they quite fit. In the early 2010s there were at least three really good teams; South Africa drew 1-1 with India in 2010-11, then went top by winning in England in 2012. And while late-90s South Africa were a brilliant, granite-nosed side (hello Brian if you’re reading), who I’m pretty sure were top of the original Wisden World Championship, they always lost to Australia. They had the opposite problem to late-1980s Pakistan, who were the equal of West Indies in their head-to-head contests but were nowhere near as good against the rest.

England need 305 to win

50th over: Australia 304-7 (Carey 77, Abbott 2) Australia sneak past 300, which should be more than enough on this pitch. England started pretty well but were a seamer light and lost their way towards the end, with Australia scoring 55 from the last four overs.

Alex Carey played another gem of an innings: 77 not out from 65 balls with seven fours, one six and heaps of intelligencee. England can learn from Carey that you don’t need to smash the ball to all parts to score at a strike rate of 120.

WICKET! Australia 294-7 (Hardie run out 44)

49th over: Australia 294-6 (Carey 70, Hardie 44) After bowling either length or short stuff for most of the day, Archer has started firing in yorkers. The first two are spot on, but when he misses his length Hardie makes room to slash the ball past backward point for four.

A difficult day for Archer ends with a low full toss that Hardie launches over wide long-on for six! Archer’s last two overs disappeared for 31 and he finishes with figures are 10-0-67-2. But what a superb shot from Hardie. This is comfortably the highest score of Hardie’s fledgling international career: 44 from 26 balls.

48th over: Australia 280-6 (Carey 68, Hardie 32) After a scratchy start, Hardie is playing like a proper batter. He drives Potts for four with the help of a Duckett misfield, then pulls another round the corner.

Carey, who was originally looking for the scoop, reacts smartly to guide a wide full toss to third man for a couple. It would have been four but for Livingstone’s scrambling stop. Carey steals a second run off the last delivery to make it 14 from the over and 31 from the last two overs.

47th over: Australia 266-6 (Carey 64, Hardie 23) Jofra Archer’s penultimate over is really expensive, costing 17. Carey pulls Archer wide of mid-on for four; Hardie raises him with a sweet pull into the crowd at square leg.

“In a world full of uncertainties, an Australian win under any circumstance is indeed a miracle,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “They outscore you, outbowl you, outfield you – in short outplay you whether they chase or defend. Australia is to cricket what Federer was to tennis and Nadal was to Roland Garros a while ago.”

They’re not that dominant, are they? This feels like a Big Two era in all formats, and I won’t insult your intelligence by naming the other team. When was cricket’s last great Big Two era, let’s say just in Test cricket? I’m tempted to say West Indies and Pakistan in the 1980s but, though I really love that Pakistan team, you couldn’t really make an argument for them being No1.