Morning all, and welcome back to Roehampton for the final day of the Australia v. USA test. Today there are six singles, and those of you who were tuned in at the end of our broadcast last night will know that with the USA leading the test by 9-6, they only need two more matches to clinch the win. It will require a comeback on the scale of Lazarus for Australia get the five they need to pull this one out of the fire.

In the wider context of the battle for the Shield, given that GB are in an even stronger position, leading New Zealand 10-5 as they do, a USA win will probably give GB the luxury of not needing to win their final test in order to retain the trophy.

Weather is currently trying to decide whether to be sunny as yesterday, or overcast and showery as for the first three days. Lawnspeed not measured, but unlikely to have changed much from the consistent 11 Plummers it's been all test.

This match has a late start.

GAME 1

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1 U supershot

2 Y to E boundary, very close to C4

3 K misses Y, comes back on in contact on E boundary

4 R misses Y&K

5 K playes, has just run 2 with a ball at 3 and Y 1 yd NW of C4

K running 2b heading for a spread

Spread it is, U&K at maximum point on E boundary

6 Lifts R, the peg ball, and misses long lift into C4

7 U has just run 2 with a ball at 3, R in C4 still

Normally you'd say with US having clinched the test comfortably this is now a relatively dead match. But with events conspiring in the GB v. NZ test the way they are at the moment, should that end as a "Nightmare in Nottingham" from a Brit point of view, a 14-7 win for the US with NZ still to play could arguably install them as favourites for the Shield

U runs 3 with no rush, but takes off the lawn going to the ball in C4. Not sure if that was just a bad shot or if the sun, which is beating down out of a cloudless sky now, has quickened the pace. Probably the former

8 R swiftly turns this position into a 4 ball break. Interestingly, refuses the chance of a standard tpo and has just popped U through 4 after running it himself

That rules out the tpo after a 1b leave option. And the tp is likely to be difficult enough starting from 4 should U hit. Maybe he has some cunning leave in mind

Popping to clips of death has been suggested, but not enough time for that as he runs 1b with no further pops

Making 2b with U & 3b pioneer at 5, so we're going to get one more pop at any rate

K sent to 3b after 2b. Pop goes through to 2yds S of peg and Y rushed to 3b which he makes. Y rushed to C4 and left there

K rushed to middle of E boundary, U sent to 7 yds W of peg. Y in C4, R on E boundary 1 yd N

Basically a very defensive lift, more or less forcing U to play and guaranteeing R&Y another shot even if it hits

9 Danny duly lifts U and Henshaws off the short lift, coming back onto the E boundary between Y & R

10 Y rushes U which cannons R down to 1yd in court from K. Top shot. Robert's last half hour's play nas has all been very Fulfordic

U is croqueted to 2 going to K & R. Y makes 1 off R and now has a standard tp to equalise

Apologies, I mean to win game 1 of course. You'll forgive me if half my mind is on events in Nottingham

4b peel jawsed after 3. Peel completed and rolled to what looks like decent peeling position, but then the rush on the pioneer cannons it away.

Sends 2b pioneer out immediately after 6. At this point I managed to dump a cup of coffee all over my laptop, so missed exactly what happened next. Suffice to say peelee is still fussing around penult as Y runs 2b

Now setting up for penult peel going to 4b. Last 20 minutes has not been so Fulfordic

No forward rush after 3b, but spectacularly good pass roll maintains complete control

Peel rejects, ends up fairly squarely in front of the jaws perhaps protruding into them by a smidge. Penult pioneer is to far N for rush peel and croquet to rover before penult, so opts of Irish peel from middle of the jaws.

Which goes to 4ft SE of rover, so not all over. Forward rush after penult and good rush to conservative peeling position, 3ft dead in front

R takes lots of wire and doesn't go through Y cannons off R to completely un-runnable position 1 ft due E of rover

Decides there's no useful scater and runs off to C4. R is on the wire, rover unrunnable. U is 6" S of rover, K is 3 yds S of rover

11 U runs 6 rushing R to 7 yds E of peg. Picks up Y in C4 and croquets it to the peg getting a rush on K to 6. Rushes it 5 yds beyond the hoop, decent take off but clangs hoop badly across to R. That was an awful shot, at least one, if not both, feet off the ground before he'd hit the U

12 R roquets U and sends it to rover getting a rush on Y to rover. Rushes to 4ft peeling position dead in front, not so disimilar ro last time. Peel sticks in jaws, but R is far enough back to half jump. Jumps it clean to S boundary and misses 10 yd return back to near 4b

13 U rushes Y out of the jaws of rover to 5 yds S of 1b. Takes off to K and rushes it in front of 4b. Peels it getting a rush on R to 6. Collects K after 6, sending it to 2b. Misapproaches 2b from a 3yd backward take off, runs away to E boundary level with 4. Didn't seem any reason not to join with K at 2b there

14 R misses 18 ydr at Y by 1b

15 U hits Y from 2b, rushing it off N boundary behind 1b. Takes off well to get some sort of rush on R. Gets it to S boundary 2 yds W of C4. Takes off and gets a cut rush on K to penult playes well to 5ft dead in front.

Runs penult but roquets U. Rolls it to just off E boundary level with 4 going to R. Good shot. With Y still on N boundary behind 1b, croquets R to within yard line 2 yds N of C1 (eek!), retires to U leaving it a 1yd rush pointing at R

16 Y shoots at U&K, hits penult bouncing 4 yds E

17 U rushes to W boundary 1 yd N of R. gets K out 2 yds with good rush to 1b

When I say 1b, obviously I mean Y. Stuffs R towards penult and makes 1b off Y. If he makes 2b he must finish this time, surely

Rushes Y to N boundary and sends it to 3b getting a close rush on R to middle of W boundary. Cuts it to W boundary level with 3

Great take off gets 1ft dead rush to 2b from 8 yds away. Makes 2b and sends K just beyond rover. Rushes R to S boundary, sends it to 4b. Should be a straightforward straight rover peel for the first now. It is still the first, isn't it? Yes, Philip, it is

Runs 3b, picks off his 5 ydr at at K by Rover, nicks it into peeling position, and peels it going to the 3b escape ball. So what do I know?

Rushes K back very close to in the jaws of 5. Has to play some cunning croquet stroke bouncing K off the wire of 5 so that it bounces to a position rushable to the peg. This leaves a 4 yd roquet on his rover pioneer, which he rushes sufficiently weel to be able to cannon K further of the hoop line to eliminate any possibility of roqueting in running the hoop. Finishes

Fletcher lost to Huneycutt -3

Test Score
	7	13

Match Score
	o	1

Distinct case off snatching defat from the jaws of victory for Robert there.And yes, I know it's an "o", not a zero, for Australia

GAME 2

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1 K supershot

2 Y 2 yds off E boundary level with peg

3 U misses Y from B baulk into C4

4 R snicks K from A baulk. Now running 2 with Y at 3, U in C4 still

Picks up U going to 4. Goes to 4b with a spread, Y 3yds off W boundary not much N of peg high

5 K misses long lift into C4

6 Y makes 1 of U with R at 2. Rolls U to 3, so delayed tp for the match

Negotiates take off from 3 to C4 this time

After 4 sets up for 4b peel going to 6

Great roll from 5 putting out 1b pioneer and getting 1 ft rush on peelee at 4b. Who needs forward rushes? Jawses 4b peel, completes peel after 6 and sends peelee to 2b

Rushes peelee to no more than 5 ft dead in front of penult after 2b. Top shot. Peel goes through by 2 yds. 3b pioneer is about 3 yds SE of the hoop, so care needed here

Great take off gets 3 ft rush to 3b. Makes 3b but puts penult pioneer 3 yds N. Elects to croquet peelee to rover before 4b

Tidies up peelee after 4b, so has to take off back to penult pioneer from rover. Copes

Peeling rover straight from 8" dead in front

Irishes it through by 7 yds. Finishes

Fletcher lost to Huneycutt -3 -26tp

Test Score
	7	14

Match Score
	0	2

Th th th that's all folks!