Last Man Out is the third episode of the nineteenth series of Midsomer Murders and originally aired 11th January 2017. It features the return of DI Ben Jones.
Leo Henderson, star player of the Lower Pampling Panthers, is murdered following a one day tournament called C10, a format disapproved of by committee members St John Beachwood and retired player Germaine Troughton. Barnaby is mystified by the unexplained amount of cash in Leo's account and the appearance of an unshaven Ben Jones, calling himself Jack Morris and with Leo's widow Melody when her house is burgled. New captain Fitz Theara, who is taking bribes to throw matches, is the next victim, leading Jones to explain that, with Germaine's cooperation, he is investigating match fixing. - a possible key to Leo's new-found wealth and the financial problems of C10 organizer Elliot Luthando. Whilst a twenty year disappearance is resolved, Jones' new role as the leading player makes him a likely target and, unless Barnaby unmasks the killer, the last man out.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Barnaby, flustered after seeing his ex-Sergeant, calls Winter 'Jones' by mistake.
- Artistic License – Biology: Dr. Karimore says at one point that she used "Carbon Dating" to determine the age of the cuts in a tree. Carbon dating is usually not accurate to more than 50 years and dating of objects grown since the start of nuclear testing are unreliable due to the change in background radiation levels.
- Ball Cannon: Leo Henderson is killed by being tied in the cricket nets in front of a bowling machine, which is then used to bowl twenty cricket balls at him at high speed and batter him to death.
- Batter Up!: Jones gets knocked out with a cricket bat, and the killer would have beaten him to death with it had Barnaby not showed up.
- The Bus Came Back: Jones, having left after the end of Series 15, makes a guest appearance in this episode.
- Cricket Episode
- Down to the Last Play: An undercover Jones wins the cricket match for his team by hitting a six off the last ball, despite having been knocked unconscious with a cricket bat earlier in the game.
- Pinned to the Wall: Fitz Theara is nailed to a tree with a cricket stump.
- Throwing the Fight: A match-fixing ring is rigging the outcome of games in a semi-professional cricket tournament. The match fixers are initially suspected when two cricket captains are murdered, but the match fixing is a Red Herring and has nothing to do with the killings.
