England’s success or failure on day five at the Oval serves as a referendum on the wider story of the Ashes summer
There was once a dream that was Bazball. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish. And one way or another, it was always coming down to this.
By the time play was abandoned in the afternoon mulch, with Australia on 135-0 in their fourth‑innings chase, the sense of creeping jeopardy could hardly have been greater. Roll on Monday, final staging point in this five‑Test ride. One day left to save the English Ashes summer; and to save a few other things too.
