Series can’t end soon enough for Warner

Can Australia keep their feet and win the Ashes series or do England have one haymaker left to square the ledger.

David Warner is caught behind at The Oval Picture: Getty Images

This Ashes cannot end fast enough for David Warner, who was dismissed in single figures for the eighth time in the series at the Oval.

He could take some comfort that it was Jofra Archer, not Stuart Broad, who took his wicket but none from his decision-making or fortune.

The cross bat shot was unnecessary in the second over but made worse by the fact he’d played similarly in the first. Warner did not look to be out, replays suggested the ball passed the edge of the bat without making contact, but the sound monitoring was of a different opinion and umpire Marais Erasmus was forced to change his decision.

No opener has ever performed as poorly as Warner in an Ashes and the 32-year-old must endure one more innings before leaving his horror stretch behind.

Can Australia keep their feet and win a series? Can England land an unsteady haymaker or two and snatch back points in the last round?

It is churlish to remind yourself that this Ashes is the fourth and fifth best sides in the world, that New Zealand, South Africa and India go better, because in the moment these are the only two most important cricket forces at play. The world contracted thus needs no comparison, all that matters is the contest between this team and that. Between Broad’s arrow and Warner’s vulnerability; between Pat Cummins and Joe Root’s unstable off stump. Nothing else.

Steve Smith — and for a time Ben Stokes — elevated themselves above matters mortal. A wave of Smith’s bat could turn water to wine. Stokes turned it to vinegar in his absence at Headingley, but his powers were exhausted after that.

The Australians arrived at this game promising the same persistence that has them 2-1 in the ­series, the miracle of retention achieved, the rapture at hand — if only they could win one more, but began the match as if they too had drawn down too much.

At times they were the marathon runner with rubber legs, vaguely aware of a finish line ahead, hopeful that a fresher competitor might slip a supportive arm around their sagging shoulder.

The captains are showing the strain. Root has become so dehydrated he whispers quietly through cracked lips. He has played in a winning World Cup and now shouldered the ignominy of failing to restore the urn to its rightful place in a home series.

Tim Paine didn’t have a one-day tournament to concern himself with, but his body has grown quarrelsome. He was sick on the last day of the game at Old Trafford and before the first day of this match.

The captaincy is exhausting. When the opposition bat you must be on at all times, setting fields, changing bowlers, questioning plans. When your team bats there is not only the pressure of your own performance but the anxiety surrounding everybody else’s. Paine acknowledges the rollercoaster nature of this tour has made it excruciating. Justin Langer is doing it even harder.

The teams share a collective long-distance stare, but just as the first four Tests of the contest have proved thrilling despite the contestants’ world rankings, this match will find its own competitive intensity.

There are autumn leaves falling in London, but a lot of these players arrived back in the spring. Warner, Smith, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and co have not been home since May because of the World Cup. Others, like Matthew Wade, had the Australia A series and have been here as long.

Australia have won this contest to date because their plans have been better, their talent deeper and troops fresher.

Depth has — after Smith — proved a decisive factor. To have six fit bowlers, five of whom would be a selector’s first choice, is an extraordinary luxury. They would have liked to have Jhye Richardson fit but there have been enough volunteers to cover his absence. And no guarantee of what he would have provided.

England can only imagine having the option to use Mitchell Starc for only one match when their first-choice bowler, James Anderson, did not last one session. Broad has been enormous, but made to shoulder too much of the load.

The collective wisdom has been that Jos Buttler is one ­England player who had little left after the World Cup. The reality of his poor form with the bat until the last Test of the season suggests that perception is reality.

“It’s been a big test of everything this summer, both mentally, physically — any game against Australia is a massive game and you find something within yourself to do it for your team,” he said after his first innings.

“The more you can remind yourself of that, the more you can find energy to do that. It’s been a long summer but at the same time, with people talking a lot about that, you can start to ­believe it.

“You might not feel that tired or that jaded but you hear it ­bandied around a lot as a reason why you might not be playing that well and you start to believe it.”

The Australians have exploited their reserves by using 16 of the 17 squad members and even calling in Alex Carey to assist during the tour match.

The benefits were on clear ­display with the selection of Mitch Marsh, who waited at the toss ­desperate to get out there and swing a bat and ball in the contest. He was full of admiration for the work done by Cummins who has played all five Tests and Hazlewood who has played the past four.

“If we took our chances in the first session today it could have been a lot different,” he said after a poor start to the first day. “I thought the way we fought back was awesome. Joshy and Patty — they’re incredible athletes the way they’ve bowled.

“Patty bowls 20 overs and you ask him how he’s going ‘yeah I’m fine, I’m sweet’, he just doesn’t get tired. It’s incredible to watch.

“I was glad I could chip in and bowl a few overs for them today.”