Australia made a good on start on Saturday evening boosting their confidence with a steady opening partnership of 80 knowing that both the target and the prospect of batting more than six sessions to secure the draw were out of reach. Simon Katich and Shane Watson resumed on another fine, hot English summers day with a capacity crowd anticipating an England victory. However this partnership lasted only another six runs and 15 minutes before Katich (43) misjudged an arm ball from Graeme Swann. The Aussie left-hander thrust his right pad out without offering a shot and was given out lbw.

Watson succumbed for 40 in the next over, also lbw, when an off-cutter from the young in form England bowler Stuart Broad thudded into his pads. An early end to the proceedings seemed likely with Broad exploiting the variable bounce and Swann getting the odd ball to grip and turn.

The Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting, was at his most determined, and his Partner in crime Hussey, at his most stubborn , were fighting hard against the powerful  pair who had taken nine wickets between them in the first innings. Australia went to lunch with the score at 171 for two. Both may several errors but stayed at the crease.

Ponting reached his half-century in what will probably be his final Ashes Test on English soil, before edging Swann on to Collingwood’s left boot. Collingwood turned quickly but was unable to gather the rebound. Two runouts in the space of six balls followed and accounted for Australia’s two best batsman. Hussey called for a swift single after driving Steve Harmison to Andrew Flintoff at mid-on. Ponting (66), who hesitated, was run out a magnificent flat throw from Freddie, which struck the stumps at the striker’s end.

Clarke followed to a most bizarre dismissal in the following over without scoring when he played the ball on to the foot of Alastair Cook at short-leg. Strauss, running around to leg from first slip, seized the ricochet and flicked the ball on to the stumps with Clarke scrambling in vain to make his ground.

Hussey on 55 survived a chance to the unfortunate Collingwood before Marcus North was stumped by Matt Prior off Swann for 10. Hussey and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin kept Australia’s hopes alive with a steady   and professional seventh wicket partnership of 91 off of 135 balls. Haddin used deft footwork to cancel he bounce, cutting and gliding his way to 34 before hoisting Swann to Strauss in the unaccustomed position of deep mid-wicket.

Mitchell Johnson fell for a duck caught at second slip by a grateful Collingwood off Steve Harmison. Peter Siddle was out to the same bowler for 10 and Stuart followed next ball to put Harmison on a hat-trick, but it was to Swann that perhaps rightly fell the honour of taking the final wicket as he was the most successful of the bowlers with figures of four for 120 from 40.2 overs. Only Hussey of the Australian batsmen had defied the England attack for any length of time, scoring his 10th Test century. He was the last man out, caught at short-leg by Alastair Cook for 121 in five-and-a-half hours at the crease.

A capacity Oval crowd basking in the late August evening  sun joyfully erupted into scenes mirroring those of The 2005 Ashes Test four years ago when a draw was enough to bring the Ashes back after 16 long years. “It’s a special moment for us, we had to dig deep in a very hard series. It has not sunk in yet,” said the England captain Andrew Strauss. Whilst his opponent Ricky Ponting, the Australian team magnanimous in defeat said “We have not been good enough. Full credit to England and Andrew Strauss for the way he has led the team,”

To borrow the adage from their football colleagues, at the beginning of the 2009 Ashes series, the English cricket supporters were looking for cricket to come home, well due to the magnificent effort put in by all of the 2009 England Ashes cricket squad ,cricket truly has come home and the famous Urn has been returned to home soil.

Trott, who was run out for 41 in the first innings, became the first England player since Graham Thorpe in 1993 to score an Ashes century on debut. Trott and the England capatain, took the overnight total of 58 for three to 157 before the England captain was caught at slip off Marcus North for 75 shortly before lunch. It was Strauss’s second half-century of the match.Trott showed terrific  composure on a pitch which held few terrors after 15 wickets had tumbled for 243 on Friday. He drove the ball handsomely through the off-side reaching his 50 in the morning session from 89 balls.

Matt Prior having run himself out for four, saw the England  hero of the 2005 Ashes series come to the crease – Andrew Flintoff. A sporting handshake from the Australian captain Ricky Ponting and a standing ovation from the Oval crowd welcomed him on this his last Test batting appearance. On a stage taylormade for him, he struck four quick boundaries but was caught at long-off for 22 trying to hit North out of the ground. North, who took four for 98 from 30 overs.

Graeme Swann enthralled  the capacity crowd with nine boundaries in his 63 from 55 balls while Trott steadily acquired runs at the other end before he was eventually  out after cracking  12 boundaries from 193 balls.

At the close of the third day, Australia had reached 80 for no wicket with six sessions remaining leaving England still quite a lot to do but have two days to bowl the Aussies out. The drama builds and England know that the Ashes are there for the taking

 Fifteen wickets tumbled on a hectic day which finished with England 58 for three in their second innings, a lead of 230 runs, after Australia had collapsed to 160 all out. Broad recorded his third five-wicket haul in a Test while Graeme Swann captured four for 38 at the other end after the visitors had reached 73 for no wicket.

Although Broad returned career-best figures of six for 91 in the fourth-Test defeat at Headingley, he was the fifth and final option for Strauss among the front-line attack on Friday.He immediately discovered lift and disconcerting movement, dismissing Shane Watson lbw for 34 with the final ball of his first over and bowling captain Ricky Ponting (8) off an inside edge with the last delivery of his third.

Michael Hussey was another lbw victim for nought before Michael Clarke (3) scooped a low catch to Jonathan Trott at short cover. Broad’s figures at that stage were four for eight from 21 deliveries.

However Broad  was not the only bowling success for  the hosts.Swann also played a major role when the spinner was switched to the Pavilion end. Marcus North was lbw for eight to a Swann ball which appeared to hit the bat first and opener Simon Katich was caught at short-leg after top-scoring with a gritty 50 in 170 minutes. Mitchell Johnson fell for 11 and Stuart Clark was given out caught at short-leg for six after the ball seemed to evade bat and glove.

Andrew Flintoff completed the rout by bowling Ben Hilfenhaus for six and Broad left the field to a hero’s welcome from an exuberant capacity crowd who could scarcely believe the evidence of their own eyes.

Australia then fought back in an extended evening session, taking the wickets of Alastair Cook (9), Ian Bell (4) and Paul Collingwood (1) to keep their hopes alive in a match England must win to regain the Ashes.

Captain Andrew Strauss (32 not out) stood firm on a pitch which offered assistance to speed and spin but was also by no means unplayable.

England,  unbelievably after the capitulation to the Aussies at Headingly, are on the verge of regain the Ashes – they only have to hold their  nerve !

 The England top four batsmen contributed to their own dismissals with the Australians deciding to leave out off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, bowling with sustained aggression and control. Peter Siddle being the best of the Aussie bowlers with figures of four for 63.

Andrew Strauss won his fourth toss of the series and play began under threatening black clouds, which rolled away during the morning session and gave way to bright sunshine after tea. Alastair Cook (10) was the first of the England top four to gift his wicket when he played the impressive Siddle with angled bat to Ricky Ponting at second slip.

Strauss, England’s key batsman in the absence of the injured Kevin Pietersen, responded with an impressive half century, clipping 10 fours square of the wicket on the lightning fast outfield. However, Bell continually threatened  by Mitchell Johnson, fending unconvincingly at three successive bouncers. He survived to play some superb drives but lost Strauss in the third over after lunch after one further boundary, caught behind from a terrible  defensive shot off Ben Hilfenhaus.

Paul Collingwood made 24 before he also played a terrible  shot, slicing a wide delivery from Siddle to Michael Hussey at gully. Bell then dragged his first delivery after tea, a full delivery from Siddle, on to his stumps and Matt Prior (18) lobbed Johnson to Shane Watson at cover.

Andrew Flintoff (7), on walking on to the pitch was given a standing ovation by the Oval crowd in his final test but ultimately disappointed hugely when he slashed Johnson to Haddin. Trott’s promising start to his  innings was cut short when he was brilliantly run out by a direct hit at the batsman’s end by short-leg Simon Katich.

A late flurry of runs by Stuart Broad (26 not out) and Graeme Swann (18) took the hosts  past 300 before Swann was caught behind to give Siddle his fourth wicket.

There were glimmers of hope for England in the form of Ian Bell, who top-scored with 72 playing at number three, and a confident start for debutant Jonathan Trott who made a useful 41.Also, England can also take heart from the Oval pitch, which after having been baked by the hottest day of the year on Wednesday, was starting to take spin from Marcus North offering real promise to Swann when he takes his accurate spin attack to the Australians. But at the end of the day, Australia will be the happier of the two teams after a full day’s play.

The news from the Australian cricket camp is that they will be targeting England’s middle order that they deem to be vulnerable to their much improved bowling attack. Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood all failed to reach double figures in either innings in the fourth Test at Headingley and Jonathan Trott has been selected to make his debut at the expense of Bopara who’s form has been particularly disappointing.Trott will bat at five with Bell and Collingwood moving up to three and four respectively.

Bell averages 31 batting at number three compared to an overall average nearly 10 runs higher when he bats lower in the order. Hence he is carrying a huge responsibility in what can be considered the pivotal batting position.

“Belly is a maturing character,” Strauss said. “He hasn’t set the world on fire at three but he’s played some important innings. He’s good against pace and he’s good against spin and this is a fantastic opportunity to show his talent.”

Strauss is urging his team to stay calm in the biggest Test match staged in England since the equivalent game in 2005 when the hosts secured the draw they needed to regain the Ashes.

“The important thing about a Test match is that you can’t win on day one, you’ve got to earn the right to win the game and that means playing good, solid cricket for the first three days or so,” he said.

“So it’s not a case of particularly forcing the pace, it’s about wrestling the initiative away over the course of the first three days.”

The manner of the Aussie victory in Leeds together with their all-round superiority looks like it may lead them to play an all-pace attack with Stuart Clark and Brett Lee competing for the final place. Ricky Ponting the Australian Captain and the Australian selectors plan to assess the conditions during their final practice session today before deciding to go with pace or recall off-spinner Nathan Haurtiz.

Once again the weather forecast is not good for Thursday’s start with rain predicted after a week of sunshine however the pitch looks typical of the Oval with pace and bounce and plenty of runs.

So here we are at last the final game in the 2009 Ashes Test at the Oval – the odds are stacked heavily in Australia’s favour. If England can win the toss and amass a good total in the first couple of days then they stand a slight chance of winning back the Ashes but currently this seems unlikely and the Urn looks destined to stay down under. One thing is for sure; before the final ball is bowled we can look forward to some good cricket and drama that only this series seems able to conjure. Let the last battle commence.