By Malcolm Conn
Australia dare to dream of a famous Ashes Test and series victory. With David Warner playing for his future, and Usman Khawaja the most productive batsman on tour, they have laid the foundation to chase down what has been a historically unobtainable target.
Set 384 to win the fifth and final Test at the Oval for a 3-1 series triumph, Australia’s veteran opening pair had taken the score to 0-135 when steady rain washed out play midway through the fourth day. Khawaja was unbeaten on 69 and Warner 58.
This has left Australia needing 249 to win. It’s less than the 282 they chased to win the first Test at Edgbaston by two wickets, and less than the 251 England ran down to win the third Test at Headingley by three wickets, which appeared to turn the series.
While Monday’s forecast looks better, either a victory or draw, which would leave Australia 2-1 ahead, is enough to claim their first Ashes series victory in England for 22 years.
Australia’s batting coach Michael Di Venuto, who knows the Oval well as a former coach of Surrey, claimed the conditions were in favour of the batsmen.
“It’s a very good batting wicket out there,” Di Venuto said.
“Absolutely a little swing and seam at times, but generally really good batting conditions. We saw a little bit of spin out of the rough to the left-handers, but you would expect that.”
The highest successful fourth innings chase at the Oval – which has hosted Test cricket for 143 years – was 9-263 by England against Australia in 1902, and the best by Australia was 5-242 in 1972.
There has been just one larger successful run chase in England than Australia’s daunting target – the 3-404 Don Bradman’s team ran down against England at Headingley in 1948.
Khawaja’s half century took him past Zak Crawley to be the leading run scorer in the series (493), and he also passed 5000 runs in Tests, with more than 2000 of those runs coming at an average better than 62 since his recall to the Australian team in January 2022.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja have given Australia the chance to chase a seemingly impossible victory at the Oval.Credit: Reuters
Such productive opening partnerships have been scarce as Warner has struggled for consistency over the past 18 months. Their only other century opening stand since Khawaja’s recall was 156 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi 36 innings and more than a year ago.
It was the fourth time the former junior clubmates have compiled a half-century partnership in this series. But while Khawaja, 36, continues to blossom as an opening batsman in his twilight years, it is just the second time Warner, also 36, has passed 50 on this tour and the third time in 27 innings. The outlier, of course, in this difficult sequence is his double century at the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the MCG last year.
Di Venuto said Warner had taken a positive attitude into this series.
“We have seen plenty of energy,” Di Venuto said.
“He has made some really good starts, and just generally made a poor decision when he has been dismissed. The way he has been playing, it has been a little out of character when he has been dismissed.
“So far in this innings he has looked really good, made some good decisions, and played really nicely.”
Warner has been on four Ashes tours to England and played 18 Ashes Tests in the country over the past decade, passing 50 nine times without yet making a century, leaving this uncompleted innings as his last, tantalising opportunity.
The comfort shown at the crease by Warner and Khawaja on Sunday was helped by Ben Stokes’ curious reluctance to use his fastest and most dangerous bowler, Mark Wood.
Although Wood was not called upon until the 33rd over when Australia was on 0-99, England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick insisted after play the tearaway was not carrying an injury.
Wood sent down just three overs on day four, in which time he managed to strike Usman Khawaja on the back of the helmet before leaving the field at the end of his spell with figures of 0-16 shortly before rain stopped play for the day.
Aged 33, Wood is the youngest bowler in the England line-up, but has endured an injury-riddled 30-Test career over eight years. Although his low workload prompted fears he was playing hurt, Trescothick said his delay entering the attack was 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.”
A Test and series victory would be a remarkable turnaround to cap a tour where Australia won the World Test Championship final against India at the Oval, narrowly won the first two Ashes Tests, narrowly lost the third, and then appeared to unravel.
They were hammered at Manchester to be saved by almost two days of rain, and put in two poor performances in the field during this Test.
That will all fade into distant memory if Australia can do the historically impossible on Monday and chase down the further 249 runs needed for a win.
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