Capacity crowds have been drawn to the Investec Ashes all summer in anticipation of another high-octane series, but England are juddering to their destination as if Australia have slipped petrol into their diesel engine. It remains to be seen if the damage will be short-lived.
When England are under pressure, they commit themselves zealously to pre-programmed, conservative, risk-free cricket. There will be a computer programme somewhere suggesting that such a careworn approach has improved their victory chances by 5.62% and their chances of avoiding victory by rather more. It might well have done. But the third day of the final Test was drab fare for all but the most obsessive Test cricket watcher.
Excited England pre-match talk of an unprecedented 4-0 Ashes victory was quietened on the first day by a lost toss and Shane Watson's domineering century for Australia. What has followed has been prosaic in the extreme: attritional batting, laggardly attitudes which might usefully waste a bit of time along the way, and a general tedium as England have made grim, and probably successful, progress towards passing the follow-on figure of 293.
They scored at only 2.19 runs per over on the third day, making 215 in 98 overs, while losing only three wickets on a ponderous but reliable Oval surface, one on which Australia proceeded at 3.81 runs per over while making 492.
Australia's attack was disciplined but resistible: Nathan Lyon got the occasional ball to turn and bounce sharply and, if Ryan Harris ever opts for body art, a huge bull nose ring would be perfect; for his unyielding approach alone, he deserves to be named as Australia's man of the series. But England's obduracy triumphed and it arose largely from their own choices.
Perhaps the presence of a debutant allrounder, Chris Woakes, at No. 6, was enough to curb England's ambitions. As it was, Woakes, although only 15 not out at the close, launched his Test career with a ringing square drive against Mitchell Starc and generally looked more comfortable than most. If he has a Test future it may be as a batting allrounder.
Even the umpires caught the slow rhythms. Aleem Dar thought for an age before giving out Jonathan Trott to Australia's first delivery with the second new ball, ten minutes before tea. Trott, who had reached 40 with great deliberation, while bearing the demeanour of a cabinet minister who had just approached the despatch box to announce the banning of Fun, reviewed Starc's lbw decision but the call was a good one. Australia had stifled his leg-side strength to good effect.
Alastair Cook's unproductive Ashes continued when he became the only England batsman to fall on the third morning. Cook's exceptional record - 766 runs in seven innings - was the bedrock of England's first series win in Australia for 24 years three years ago, and he has another series victory to bring contentment here, but he has found little personal glory in his first home series as an Ashes captain.
When Harris enticed him to push woodenly at a wide one, and offer a simple catch to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, it left him with 243 runs at an average of 27 and the prospect of one more innings, at best, to remedy matters.
As for Haddin, he is only two dismissals short of Rod Marsh's all-time record of 28 dismissals in a Test series, achieved against England in 1982-83, which is not the sort of statistic you expect to find when a side is 3-0 down.
Cook has three half-centuries in the series, but his batting for the most part has been characterised by stilted defence. His 28 came from 88 balls, with only 11 added from his overnight total, his pleasure drawn from a solitary square drive against Harris and the only half-century stand that his new opening alliance with Joe Root has brought all summer.
He also survived an Australia review, on 25, when Harris exposed his summer-long tendency to fall too far over to the off side. But it is doubtful whether he was overly concerned. Predictably, replays showed the ball pitching well outside leg stump, continuing the trend in a series in which the DRS success rate of both sides now lies under 25%.
Root did at least find some benefit. Remove his herculean 180 in the second Test at Lord's and all he had to show for his first series as an opener was six scores under 20, but he survived an awkward examination from Starc in particular and by the time he unpacked his first third-man glide of the morning he looked in better order. His half-century was neatly packed away by lunch.
James Faulkner, like Woakes, is a one-day allrounder on Test debut, and his introduction after lunch encouraged Root's most enterprising moments as he twice preyed on width to drive to the boundary. But expectations that Root could inject some life into the day were dashed by Lyon, who had him caught at short fine-leg from a top-edged sweep.
Pietersen's fifty took three hours, his second slowest in Tests for England, and came up with a bottom-edged pull against Faulkner as he was through a pull shot far too early. Ironic cheers rang out from a crowd which had soaked up its punishment patiently. He did not make another run, poking a full-length ball from Starc to first slip.
But Pietersen had most difficulties of all against Lyon, who found turn from around the wicket and enough harum-scarum moments against bat and pad to keep the short leg, Steve Smith, in perpetual hope that a deflection might fall within his range. His impatience was apparent when he gambled on a risky single to mid-on and was spared by David Warner's inaccurate shy.
With storms forecast for Saturday, there was a sense of a series meandering to a climax, a series which has sporadically brought great entertainment, but which has been of inconsistent quality. Roy Hodgson, the England football manager, was in the crowd and, in his terminology, he must have felt that the third day remained goalless, with only a couple of shots on target.
Tea England 181 for 3 (Pietersen 29*, Bell 4*) trail Australia 492 for 9 dec by 311 runs
Capacity crowds have been drawn to the Investec Ashes series all summer in anticipation of another high-octane contest, but England are juddering to their destination as if Australia have slipped petrol into their diesel engine. England might be holding a 3-0 lead in the series, but as the sides jockey for position ahead of the return series, it is Australia who have possessed the spark.
Only 149 runs in the first two sessions, at a rate of 2.30 runs per over, while losing three wickets, has represented sober England batting fare on the third day on a slow but reliable Oval surface, one on which Australia proceeded at more than three an over while making 492. Nathan Lyon has got the occasional ball to turn and bounce sharply and England's eyes have been set grimly on the follow-on figure of 293.
Even the umpires have caught the ponderous rhythms. Aleem Dar thought for an age before giving out Jonathan Trott to Australia's first delivery with the second new ball, ten minutes before tea. Trott, who had reached 40 with great deliberation, reviewed Mitchell Starc's lbw decision but the call was a good one. England need another 112 to save the follow-on and do not look as if they are enjoying the experience.
Alastair Cook's unproductive Ashes continued when he became the only England batsman to fall on the third morning. Cook's exceptional record - 766 runs in seven innings - was the bedrock of England's first series win in Australia for 24 years three years ago, and he has another series victory to bring contentment here, but he has found little personal glory in his first home series as an Ashes captain.
When Ryan Harris enticed him to push woodenly at a wide one, and offer a simple catch to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, it left him with 243 runs at an average of 27 and the prospect of one more innings, at best, to remedy matters.
As for Haddin, he is only two dismissals short of Rod Marsh's all-time record of 28 dismissals in a Test series, achieved against England in 1982-83, which is not the sort of statistic you expect to find when a side is 3-0 down.
Australia's pace bowlers have put in a game effort in decent batting conditions, with Harris forever purposeful and Starc improving on his second-day effort as he regularly touched speeds of 90mph. Although conditions were stacked in England's favour, the presence of a debutant allrounder, Chris Woakes, at No. 6, was enough to stir Australian optimism.
Cook has three half-centuries in the series, but his batting for the most part has been characterised by stilted defence. His 28 came from 88 balls, with only 11 added on the resumption, his pleasure drawn from a solitary square drive against Harris and the only half-century stand that his new opening alliance with Joe Root has brought all summer.
He also survived an Australia review, on 25, when Harris exposed his summer-long tendency to fall too far over to the off side. It is doubtful whether he was overly concerned, however. Predictably, replays showed the ball pitching well outside leg stump, continuing the trend in a series in which the DRS success rate of both sides lies under 25%. But perhaps the review, in a curious way, contributed to Cook's dismissal as lengthy contemplation of his tendency to get too far across was a factor in his dismissal in Harris' next over.
England's emphasis on the second evening had been on survival: 32 runs gleaned from 18 overs with Cook and Root concentrating on stability. The mood remained entrenched until tea. It was to be hoped that the spectator watching the ground from precarious vantage point on a nearby rooftop was not about to nod off.
With storms forecast for Saturday, there was a sense of a series meandering to a climax, a series which has sporadically brought great entertainment, but which has been of inconsistent quality. Roy Hodgson, the England football manager, was in the crowd and, in his terminology, he must have felt that the third day remained goalless, with few incidents to speak of.
Root did at least find some benefit. Remove his herculean 180 in the second Test at Lord's and all he had to show for his first series as an opener was six scores under 20, but he survived an awkward examination from Starc in particular and by the time he unpacked his first third-man glide of the morning he looked in better order. His half-century was neatly packed away by lunch.
James Faulkner, like Woakes, is a one-day allrounder on Test debut, and his introduction after lunch encouraged Root's most enterprising moments as he twice preyed on width to drive to the boundary. But expectations that Root could inject some life into the day were dashed by Lyon, who had him caught at short fine-leg from a top-edged sweep.
This series has been fought out on some of the most consistently slow pitches ever known in Test cricket in England. While this has benefited the likes of Ian Bell, who does not chase the ball, it is more problematic for Kevin Pietersen who constantly gave the impression that he would prefer some pace on the ball and the chance for a spot of counterpunching.
He had most difficulties of all, however, against Lyon, who found turn from around the wicket and enough harum-scarum moments against bat and pad to keep the short leg, Steve Smith, in perpetual hope that a deflection might fall within his range. His impatience was apparent when he gambled on a risky single to mid-on and was spared by David Warner's inaccurate shy.
Lyon preferred an over-the-wicket approach against Trott as Australia sought to stifle his leg-side game and it was 78 balls before Trott finally produced his trademark clip off his hips behind square, against Harris, to register his first boundary. As boundaries go, it was not all that exciting.
Lunch England 97 for 1 (Root 52*, Trott 9*) trail Australia 492 for 9 dec by 397 runs
Alastair Cook's unproductive Ashes continued when he became the only England batsman to fall on the third morning of the final Investec Test at The Oval. With England holding a 3-0 lead in the series, the sense of jockeying for position ahead of the return series in Australia is growing apace and Cook, no doubt to his immense frustration, is showing no signs of escaping a fallow period.
Cook's exceptional record - 766 runs in seven innings - was the bedrock of England's first series win in Australia for 24 years on their last tour, and he has another England series victory to bring contentment here, but he has found little personal glory in his first home series as an Ashes captain.
When Ryan Harris enticed him to pushing woodenly at a wide one, and offer a simple catch to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, it left him with 243 runs at an average of 27 and the prospect of one more innings, at best, to remedy matters.
As for Haddin, he is only two dismissals short of Rod Marsh's all-time record of 28 dismissals in a Test series, achieved against England in 1982-83, which is not the sort of statistic you expect to find when a side is 3-0 down.
Australia's bowlers put in a game effort in decent batting conditions, with Harris forever purposeful and Mitchell Starc improving on his first-day effort as he regularly touched speeds of 90mph. England mustered barely two runs an over and had edged to within 196 runs of avoiding the follow-on by the interval. Although conditions were stacked in their favour, the presence of a debutant allrounder, Chris Woakes, at No. 6, was enough to stir Australian optimism.
Joe Root did at least find some benefit from a largely uneventful session. Remove his herculean 180 in the second Test at Lord's and all he had to show for his first series as an opener was one knock of 30 and five scores under 20, but he survived an awkward examination from Starc in particular and by the time he unpacked his first third man glide of the morning he looked in better order.
Cook has three half-centuries in the series, but his batting for the most part has been characterised by stilted defence. His 25 came from 88 balls, with only 11 added on the resumption, his pleasure drawn from a solitary square drive against Harris and the only half-century stand that his new opening alliance with Joe Root has brought all summer.
He also survived an Australia review, on 25, when Harris exposed his summer-long tendency to fall too far over to the off side. It is doubtful whether he was overly concerned, however. Predictably, replays showed the ball pitching well outside leg stump, continuing the trend in a series in which the DRS success rate of both sides lies between 20 to 25%.
But perhaps the review, in a curious way, contributed to Cook's dismissal as lengthy contemplation of his tendency to get too far across was a factor in his dismissal in Harris' next over.
England's emphasis on the second evening had been on survival: 32 runs gleaned from 18 overs with Cook and Root concentrating on stability. The mood remained entrenched as the subsequent morning session brought only xx. It was to be hoped that the spectator watching the ground from precarious vantage point on a nearby rooftop was not about to nod off. England, for more times than a 3-0 series lead might suggest, were once again up against it.
With storms forecast for Saturday, there was a sense of a series meandering to a climax, a series which has sporadically brought great entertainment, but which has been of inconsistent quality. Roy Hodgson, the England football manager, was in the crowd and, in his terminology, he must have felt that the third day remained goalless, with few incidents to speak of, after half-an-hour.
WICKET- Cook c Haddin b Harris 25 (Eng 68-1)
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