 The final Test at The Oval saw Lindwall at his best. English skipper Yardley won the toss and elected to bat on a rain affected pitch. Lindwall had Compton dismissed before lunch after Morris had taken a difficult catch. After the break, England had struggled to 4 / 35, before Lindwall bowled Yardley with a swinging yorker. He then had Godfrey Evans, Alec Bedser and Jack Young all yorked in the space of two runs. The innings ended at 52 when Hutton leg glanced and was caught by wicket-keeper Don Tallon, who caught the ball one handed at full stretch to his left. Lindwall described the catch as one of the best he had ever seen. In his post-lunch spell, Lindwall bowled 8.1 overs, taking five wickets for eight runs, finishing with 6 / 20 in 16.1 overs. Bradman described the spell as "the most devastating and one of the fastest I ever saw in Test cricket". After Australia had replied with 389, England were bowled out for 188 in their second innings, giving Australia an innings victory and the series 4 – 0. Lindwall took 3 / 50 to give him 9 / 70 for the match. He ended the series as the leading wicket-taker with 27 wickets at 19.62, and scored 191 runs at 31.83. The English were unable to cope with his swing, with 43 of his wickets coming after the batsmen had missed the ball and were bowled. For the entire tour, Lindwall took 86 wickets at 15.68 and scored 405 runs at 24.17. Lindwall's Test haul of 27 scalps equalled the record for an Australian fast bowler in England. Wisden recognised him by naming him as one of its five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1949, citing his ability to allow Australia to seize the initiative in all but one of the Tests by achieving early breakthroughs against their batting. Wisden said that "by whatever standard he is judged", Lindwall must "be placed permanently in the gallery of great fast bowlers", attributing his success to "superb control of length and direction, his change of pace and general skill, the like of which in a slower bowler could be classed as cunning". The ferocity of Lindwall's bouncer often prompted opposing batsmen to retreat onto the back foot even before he had released the ball.
