Resurgent Australia show Lyth the exit

On 85, with 10 minutes to go, he must have thought his chance had come to rectify that omission on his CV, but then Michael Clarke turned to Steven Smith’s occasional leg-breaks and he produced a jaffa to have Cook caught at short leg. Jos Buttler, who has nightmares dealing with Australia’s Nathan Lyon, has so far battled through 27 overs for an unbeaten 33.

Cook’s vigil came in stark contrast to the frantic madness of so much batting in this series. It took him 27 balls to play his first scoring shot and 43 for a second.

Thus, the series heads into an 18th day and if today proves the last it will equal the record set between England and West Indies in 2000 for the shortest five-match series since five-day Tests were introduced in 1948.

Cook’s application showed that the Ashes-winning captain, at least, still had energy for the challenge, unlike some fellow batsmen for whom this series has been such a trial, and the fast bowlers who have been well down on pace here. An Oval pitch more akin to Lord’s than the three surfaces on which they won appears to have sapped them of what enthusiasm they could muster for a dead game.

This match may not have turned into the hoped-for coronation and celebration, but England will certainly depart nursing a headache from the problems it has left them. They need a new opener after another failure for Adam Lyth while Lyon, and then Smith, have highlighted enough technical flaws against spin to ensure Pakistan pack their side with spinners in October. Ian Bell will go to the UAE but after another brittle innings questions remain about whether he is now in terminal decline.

As far as the next Ashes series goes, it won’t escape planners that Australia have bowled better at the two places that gave bowlers the least obvious assistance in terms of swing through the air and zip off the pitch. Mitchell Johnson proved better at extracting whatever life there was at the two London grounds, hence his figures of 10 wickets at 15.2, whereas elsewhere he took five at 71.6. Similarly Smith – like Cook - has capitalised most when the ball has done least with 416 runs in his three innings at Lord’s and the Oval.

Johnson, too, appears to have benefited from taking the new ball, something he had previously done only in the second innings at Cardiff. He did not strike in his first spell but made an immediate impact when England batted again by rapping Lyth painfully on the right hand.

Two overs later, Lyth carved Johnson for two fours: if he was going down, he was going to do so playing shots. Then Lyon and Peter Siddle joined forces a

nd were so accurate that they put together four maidens before Lyth nicked off to second slip. It was a good ball from Siddle that did just enough off the pitch.

Bell might easily have fallen in the same over, but his edge fell just short of Clarke, and in the second over after lunch the Australians were convinced they had him caught in the slips, only for their review to show that the ball had deflected off his shoulder.

This came at the start of a vibrant spell from Johnson but it was Mitchell Marsh who should have got Bell when Clarke put down a chance above his head. It was not a costly mistake, Marsh soon producing an even better ball to take Bell’s bottom glove, this time the ball looping to Clarke.

If Cook could survive, why could not others? Joe Root might have kept him good company but he is a man in desperate need of a break and after major contributions to England’s three wins he deserves one.

He took his time making the 10 runs he needed to become the first batsman in the world to 1,000 Test runs this year but two balls later Johnson played on his instinct to score off short balls by giving him a bouncer that he hooked straight to long leg. It was the fourth of Johnson’s five wickets to come from the short ball.

Jonny Bairstow gave Cook reassuring company for an hour before yet another bowling change from Clarke worked its magic. Bairstow is a hesitant starter against spin and an outstretched defensive prod gave short leg a regulation catch. Two balls later, Ben Stokes drove loosely to slip.

The die was cast by Friday’s collapse against Siddle and Marsh, two bowlers who had previously played little part in the series. The first task was to keep Australia in the field as long as possible and make Clarke think twice about enforcing the follow on. Even that proved too much. Rather than bat time and put overs into the bowlers’ legs, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood rattled along at a run per ball before Clarke summoned Johnson to remove both men in successive balls.

After a cursory conference with his fast bowlers, Clarke indicated England would bat again and if there was any reason why Cook might have been doubly determined to do well this time it might have been because only one captain in history – Len Hutton at the Gabba in 1954 – had conceded a bigger first-innings deficit than Cook’s 332 after inviting the opposition to bat.

This has been a series to confound analysis and expectation, but perhaps Australia’s dominance here is not especially surprising. In the days when they routinely retained the Ashes with games to spare, they often handed England consolation victories.

England have been in the same position less often, but they still retain a fear of holding a dead-rubber advantage from the time they lost in Sydney at the end of their 1986-87 tour, allowing Allan Border to stay on as Australia captain and to build a great dynasty. Time alone will show how well they regroup under Smith.