An Ashes series that has lurched and swerved like a caravan careering down the pacific highway now heads into its final day with only a couple of things guaranteed: Pat Cummins will lift a replica Ashes urn at the end and Stuart Broad will hang up his boots.
Beyond those small matters there is glorious uncertainty as to the result of the fifth Test at the Oval and thus the final scoreline of a series Australia lead 2-1. It follows a rain-shortened fourth day in which a touching guard of honour for Broad first thing was as far as Australia were prepared to go in terms of accommodating his grand farewell.
Instead, still lasered in on securing a first outright series win on English soil since Steve Waugh’s class of 2001, the tourists set off in pursuit of a record 384 in impressive fashion. Unbeaten half-centuries from Usman Khawaja and David Warner took them to 135 for no loss from 38 overs, exploiting an attack that appeared to be running on fumes and a pitch still playing true. Perhaps the rain will juice one or both up.
This is already the highest opening stand of the series, while the hardy perennial that is Khawaja also overtook Zak Crawley’s haul of 480 runs to ensure he will finish top of the scoring charts. The left-hander has 493 to his name so far, has faced 1,248 balls across the five Tests, and if these numbers swell significantly on what looks a dry day five, English backsides will start twitching about a target many fancied to be impenetrable.
After all, the highest successful fourth-innings chase on this ground in Test cricket is the 263 that England reeled in with one wicket to spare back in 1902; the match where Gilbert Jessop scored the record for the fastest century by an Englishman (76 balls) and set the bar that the current generation keep trying – and failing – to limbo.
Such stats are always slightly misleading, of course. There have been two fourth-innings totals in excess of 400 in drawn Tests here, plus one of 369 for six by England in 2007. And Australia, defying the diagnosis of departure lounge syndrome on the third day, can rationalise that it will be a new innings when they resume on day five, with 249 runs needed but, perhaps crucially, a Dukes ball they have already significantly dulled.
They put a few more miles in already weary English legs, too, once Broad brought some early cheer. He had gambolled down the steps to a well-earned ovation and hooked Mitchell Starc for six off his final ball as a batter in professional cricket – this final-ball status only confirmed when Jimmy Anderson fell lbw to Todd Murphy in the second over of the morning as the hosts were bowled out for 395 in 81.5 overs.
But very soon the atmosphere in the Oval turned from celebratory to frustrated to slightly foreboding as Khawaja and Warner chiselled away. Broad hared in for his first spell, inducing a couple of “oohs” and “ahhs” in this last dance involving himself and Warner. This was as good as it got, however, the opening pair calmly steering Australia to 75 for no loss at lunch and then their final total when the rain started at 2.45pm.
Warner has made batting look like a struggle for much of this series and there are many in Australia wondering if his own desired farewell in Sydney next January will come to pass. But he started to become more fluent, less jerky, as he went on here. He needed his wits about him at one point also, Anderson letting slip an accidental beamer that took the left-hander off his feet but was also ramped for four in the process.
Khawaja was once again serene, albeit more proactive than the blockathon he and Marnus Labuschagne undertook on the third morning. Neither opener offered a genuine chance, this a weirdly flat performance from England with Mark Wood held back until the afternoon and, while typically all-effort, down on pace when he eventually caught the eye of Ben Stokes.
All four seamers looked jaded. And though Moeen Ali took the field, defying the groin injury that has scuppered what is likely his final Test, both he and Joe Root could only induce the odd moment of uncertainty bowling into the footmarks. As such, England were the side to welcome the rain that led to play being abandoned at 4.48pm and now hoping an extra night’s rest and wagyu massages can coax the quick men back into life.
Perhaps it will help that some of the focus on Broad will have dissipated a touch. Because England now find themselves in a battle it looked like they were not expecting and if Australia pull off what would be the second‑highest run chase in this country, the final scoreline will render all talk of what might have been slightly irrelevant.
