England’s chances of squaring the Ashes series to record yet another moral victory are still alive but rain is again threatening their chances of finishing off the Aussies.
After day four belonged to Australia at The Oval with the final England wicket falling quickly and David Warner and Usman Khawaja producing an unbeaten century partnership, there are plenty of nerves among the host nation.
Ben Stokes held Mark Wood out of the attack for the majority of the play before the rain came and he only got three overs in before the wet weather intervened.
Former England captain Geoff Boycott in the UK Telegraph said “it was ominous that England could make no headway” on the fourth day.
“I bet England are ruing, even cross with themselves, for the late-order batsmen the day before who got themselves out – Woakes, Ali and Wood for giving their wickets away.
“There have been collapses and there always will be when you’re chasing totals but from what we witnessed today, England didn’t look like getting a wicket.
“They are clutching at straws. Something dramatic has to happen to get England over the line.”
Nick Hoult at the UK Telegraph thought Stokes had erred with his choices on day four.
“For some reason England held back Mark Wood until the 31st over, raising fears of an injury, but more likely they were waiting for reverse swing. The wet weather has probably taken that out of the equation now.”
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But assistant coach Marcus Trescothick insisted injury fears were not a factor, and claimed the decision to hold Wood back was simply tactical.
“He’s fit to bowl,” Trescothick said.
“I think pretty much like everybody, there’s little aches and pains that are going off the back of a big five-Test series.
“Both teams will be travelling in the same way at the moment. But, yeah, everyone is fit to bowl. It was a tactical decision.”
Hoult sensed the home side is looking more fatigued than the Aussies, particularly the ageing pace attack.
“Australia will claim their methods have been vindicated if they get home on Monday, flogging jaded Englishmen. The contrasting approaches to batting have had the biggest effect on the bowlers,” he wrote.
“England’s attack has bowled 196 overs more, and counting, than the Australians, and all apart from Anderson, who turned 41 on Sunday, are playing at least their third match in a row.
“In Wellington last February, England’s attack ran out of legs in a tight finish after New Zealand followed on and scored 483. The cumulative effect of the batsmen giving them so little rest could yet be a decisive factor in this Test.”
Much of the day was taken up with plaudits for the retiring Stuart Broad and his father, match referee and former England batter Chris Broad, said his 37-year-old son was making “a brave decision”.
“Because we had already talked about it, it wasn’t that emotional for me. I just thought it was sensible,” he said in the Daily Mail.
“When you think about it, it is absolutely the right thing. That is easy for me to say, but for him as well, he just feels that he is doing the right thing at the right time.
“It’s a brave decision when you are still fit enough to play. But he has got to feel in his gut what the right thing to do is, and he has made that decision and I think it is the brave and correct one.
“He loves the occasion and there is no bigger occasion than an Ashes match in England for him to be able to say goodbye. It is brilliant.”
Veteran columnist Scyld Berry in the Telegraph said that when it came down to comparing Broad and James Anderson over the course of their record-breaking careers, it was a case of horses for courses.
“Anderson would have to be chosen for most Tests abroad, as he has eventually conquered every frontier, and maybe for most matches in England too.
“But for a Test against Australia, home or away, it has to be Broad, as he has never been subdued by the oldest enemy: even when he was booed by the whole of Brisbane, Broad took a five-fer.”
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