Welcome to Bowdon for the final day of the GB v USA Test Match. A great day for the USA yesterday, saw them claw their way back to 7-8, meaning that if they win the singles 4-2 today, they will record a historic win.

The GB team were royally entertained by Liz and Rupert last night and hopefully are now fully refreshed for this important day.

I'll be commentating on the "old" matches today.

Mulliner v Bast and Aiton v Grimsley on lawns 1 and 2

One of Mulliners great strengths is being able to the previos days play behind him and I'm confident that we'll soon see him bouncing down the path eager to record a quick win and get the team one closer to 11.

One thing is for sure. GB can lose today. The more interesting question is "can USA win?" i.e. If GB play averagely, can the USA produce their top form and still win. I think the answer may be yes, although I haven't seen much sign of it so far. The USA's best player has clearly been Huneycutt, but Lamm has also been solid.

We have some blue sky today and I'll carelessly not brought a sweater, since it's already clouding over.

The players are starting to mill around in the clubhouse, although 5 of the GB team are yet to arrive??? It's only 4 minutes to practice time

No-one in my "predict the score" competition has guessed more than 9 wins for the USA and if I had to guess the score now, I'd go for GB 12 USA 9.

Meanwhile, let's not forget about Heaton Park, where we have another great Test match. I have to say that if you are a neutral, this has been a great Mac so far. Even if you are extremely biased like myself, it's been pretty exciting/worrying!!

NZ lead 9-6 and the much awaited Chapman v Fletcher match has a late start. Will the Test match still be alive when they start?

I'm often quick to criticise Stephen, but full marks to him today as he is only GB player to be practicing at 9.47

Perhaps more surprising is that Maugham is the second GB player to make a move towards his lawn at 9.48

Apologies to readers, I've got the lawns wrong and Aiton v Grimsley is on lawn 4, so James will be your commentator

Hi, everyone.  I'm all of a flutter, on the exciting fifth day.

Rich Lamm pegged out last night, and the USA team formed a huddle beside Lawn 2 – all high fives and air punches.  Right now, the Americans can do no wrong.  They’ve arrived as underdogs, and any match wins are a bonus.  The Brits come with high expectations, and have just one more day to meet those expectations.

I was chatting to Ian Lines a fortnight ago.  He thinks that psychology is overrated – sometimes you play well, and sometimes you lose.  You’re either naturally good under pressure, or you’re not.  The difference today is that all that pressure is lying on the shoulders of the GB team.

With an 8-4 lead just 48 hours ago, the British win wasn’t looking in doubt.  One bad day later, and the match is on a knife edge.  Counting through today’s fixtures, I’m still expecting the home team to advance to the next round with a victory under their belts, but it could come close.

Keith has the lowliest ranking of the six GB players, but – on paper – should still have the advantage.  Whatever happens, I think this lawn is going to be today’s key battleground.

Keith is off and running already.  His Red went as the trad supershot.  Doug's given a corner 4 response with Blue.  Keith missed it, and Doug's hit the not-double on the fourth turn.  He gets the rush into the fourth corner, and that's that for the next 20 minutes.

Doug's the only one of the tourists on the green, as Brits are having all the play elsewhere.

There's a Black clip on 4-back, as Doug gets his diagonal spread.

Yellow is on the peg, and Red's out west.

Interesting query from one of the spectators:

How are lawns allocated to matches?

The answer comes via referee Brian Storey.  Team captains are asked to pick a domino from the club's games cupboard.  I've always used cards for this purpose, but dominoes are less prone to tampering from unscrupulous players wanting to play on the show lawns.  Top tip for any tournament managers out there.

Keith lifts the Red and takes the short aggressive shot from A-baulk at the oppo.  He misses.

Doug gets a rush to Hoop 1 with Blue off Yellow, but misapproaches.  It's a nasty angled one, but he makes it with an elegant bit of a jump.

The hat is back to front, as Doug lines up the first peel.  Perfect - it takes no wire, and he's got everything placed on a blade of grass.

A failed peel at Hoop 6, and Doug leaves Black and Red close to Penult as he sorts out 1-back.

He jawses the Black, and takes the rush to 2-back.  Another angled hoop, which he jumps.  This time it fails.

Grimsley is for Penult with Black, which is jawsed, and 2-back with Blue, which is also jawsed.  Red is a couple of feet in front of Hoop 1, but not necessarily able to see much of Blue.  Yellow is by 3-back.

Aiton lifts Yellow, and misses the very short lift up to the north boundary behind Hoop 2.

The Assembly Rooms next door is emitting a terrible racket, which sounds like a distuned harmonium orchestra.  Maybe an army of vuvuzela players.

Doug carries on, but has to leave Red uselessly on the west boundary, about 11 yards up.  He rushes Yellow back after 4-back to collect the Red, and splits over to the jawsed Black, which is beckoning to him for the straight double.

He gets southside of it, and has to get a ref to watch him tickle it out of the jaws.  I can't see a finish here, as there are no other balls close by.

The Irish peel is done, but Grimsley is hampered.  He plays a sweep shot, and hits.  He doesn't fancy the ten yard straight roll peel.  He keeps Black close to Rover, going to the neighbouring Red, makes the hoop and puzzles about his next move.

Doug has a reversed B-spread / OSL.  Yellow is tight on the east boundary; Red is a yard south of the peg; Black's a couple of feet off the west boundary, and Blue is on the yardline a couple of yards north of that.

Ghastly.

Still, he's Rover and Peg vs 1 and 1.  Keith lifts Red and takes the shot at Blue from B-baulk.

Middles it.  Only Ian Lines is watching, so a scant round of applause.

Crowds are thin on the ground this morning, as everyone's back at work.  Clan Rothman are watching Lawn 3, and much of the focus is away from Lawn 4.

Keith gets a decent squeeze, putting Black and Blue at Hoops 1 and 2.  Yellow has a tight rush from the middle of the east boundary towards the Blue.  Keith sits in the hut sipping a glass of water, as Doug centre-balls Black at Yellow.  He gets the rush on Red to Rover.

I'm heading off for my graphics directory, as I feel a result coming.

Nope.  A bad rush, and Blue misses the long pegout.  He joins with Black.

Black and Blue are joined north of Hoop 1, with Black's five-foot rush pointing towards Rover.

Yellow is middle of the east boundary (a bit in), and Red is a yard right of Hoop 2.  He shoots Red at Yellow and misses.

Doug gets a good cut rush.

Grimsley beats Aiton +26

Game Two

Doug puts a supershot; Keith goes to long point on the east boundary; Doug hits the 17-yarder from A-baulk.

He's now on Hoop 3.

Keith's got his specs on, and is reading a book up in the hut.

Regular readers will be pleased to hear that Lorna's brought me my morning coffee and biscuits.

A hamper after Hoop 5, and it looks seriously hard.  Chris Irwin, our manager, gets a rare chance to officiate.  Doug has no backswing at all, and does well to wobble to Blue.  His break continues.

Here come the Three Ducks - a three ball pile-up two thirds of the way up the west boundary.  Yellow's still in the long grass by Keith's feet, and it's his go.

Keith's Yellow misses to the north boundary, and Doug is motoring.  He just needs to run Hoop 2 hard and he can pick up the...

...oops.

Yellow is on the boundary behind Hoop 2; Black is at Hoop 3; Blue and Red are six inches apart at Hoop 2.  There's a Blue clip on Hoop 2, and the clang of plastic on metal is echoing around the club.

Keith is doing all that delicate stuff he's good at.  Down here we're all hoping for a trademark Aiton TPO.

A pocketful of clips for the GB captain, as the Black sails easily through 4-back.

Keith goes for a rush on Blue up to the peelee after Hoop 4.  He hammers it into the back of the hoop.  He croquets the Blue up to the other end, makes 5, gets no forward rush, and has to roll up to (the left side of) Black.  The schedule's going to slip, as there'll be no peeling done after Hoop 6.

Bloody heck.  He's managed to get some sort of angle on the out of position Black, and tonks it through Penult with a four foot angled peel.  I'll eat my words.  Two peels done on schedule.

He's having this third peel on the way to 2-back.  It's in the jaws.

Will you just look at this.  Every pioneer placed six inches from the hoop.  This break is a thing of beauty.

I could cry.

Would you believe it's the first time I've used my TPO graphic?

Keith has the Black off and feng-shui's the other balls into position.  The Yellow is four feet north of Corner 4, Red is in Corner 3.  Blue - for what it's worth - is somewhere near the middle of the south boundary.

Doug Grimsley has a contact and is for Hoop 2.

Hell's Bells!

Doug rolls off Hoop 2 from Corner 3.  He gets a 10 foot hoop, and wellies it through to the boundary.  He's trying the same trick again.  Good effort - a straight three foot hoop, with Red on the east boundary.

Grimsley hits Red, rolls it inland, going to Yellow.  He just needs a good rollup from behind Hoop 4, and he's favourite for the match.

A laid three ball break.

Doug's approaching Rover.

Grimsley beats Aiton +26 + 14OTP

USA draw level with GB, at 8-8

Wot no OPT graphic James?

.. or even OTP graphic?