The Ashes LIVE: Result and reaction from England vs Australia as Stuart Broad enjoys fairytale retirement

It sounds like Mark Wood may be battling a sore heel. Australia’s defensive approach on the second morning was heavily criticised, but it did put plenty of overs in the home attack’s legs, and England’s fast-forward batting doesn’t afford their seamers as much rest as they might ordinarily like. It feels less than ideal to be going into day five on a flat Oval deck with two of your five frontline bowlers slightly hobbled - England are going to have to work very, very hard, you’d think, if they are to square the series.

A bit of drizzle falling at the Oval, but Stuart Broad has just emerged to a great ovation to begin his final pre-play warm-up.

This is a potentially legacy-defining day for many in this Australian side, lacking the sort of notable away series triumph that normally underlines a very good Test side. While England will always wonder what might have been had the Manchester rain not come, if the tourists do chase down 384 today and secure a 3-1 victory, they would be more than deserving series winners. It’s a long way off yet, though, and if we’ve learned anything in this series, it’s to expect plenty of twists and turns.

“It was a tough day for us. We knew it would be tough because we saw how the pitch got better on day three, and it didn’t really deteriorate yesterday. But we’re still in with a sniff today - one last push, and hopefully the rain stays away.

“We’ve been talking a lot as a bowling group about different things we’ll need today, maybe setting some interesting fields, playing around with the pace of the ball. Yesterday was tough but hopefully we’ll get some more out of the wicket.

“We got it reversing before lunch yesterday, and then it rained and stopped reversing. With that new ball, we might get some conventional swing for a bit - it was tough yesterday without that lateral movement.

[on Mark Wood] “To get the best out of him, we need him to be bowling at 90mph. We didn’t want to bowl him into the ground. He’ll be fresh today - hopefully can make an impact. Mo seems ok - the hardest thing is in the field. He looked ok yesterday with the ball and hopefully he can bowl a bit more today.

[on Stuart Broad’s retirement] “I was a little bit shocked when he told me. I respect his decision - he seems very clear on what he wants to do. Yesterday morning was special, getting to walk out with him onto the field, watching him hit his last ball for six. I felt really lucky to experience it with him.

“We’ve loved playing together. Neither of us could have achieved what we have without the other. It’s been incredibly special and I’ll definitely miss him.

“I’m even more firm that I want to keep going. I’ve had a really disappointing series by my standards, I’ve not felt like I’ve made an impacft for the team that I would have liked and expect from myself. My body is fine, my skills are fine, I’m bowling well enough. With the break we’ve got after this series, I want to go away and keep working at stuff and get back to where I know I can be. Having that hunger and desire to do that makes me feel like I want to keep going.”

England’s bowlers looked a little leggy yesterday, with Mark Wood’s lack of early involvement as Australia set off in pursuit of 384 curious. Marcus Trescothick insisted the quick was fully fit last night, suggesting Wood’s late insertion into the attack was tactical - but his immediate departure from the outfield after a short spell hints at weary limbs.

David Warner and Usman Khawaja played wonderfully well, though, measuring their efforts nicely and picking their moments to score on a flat pitch. They’ve laid a perfect platform - can Australia build towards a famous victory?

While we wait for confirmation of an on-time start, here’s the intended schedule if we do get going at 11am:

It’s dark and gloomy in Kennington, but dry, though we’ve a chance of a delayed start after some substantial overnight rain that has soaked the Oval outfield. The prospect of some more showers later will bring the draw into play - which Australia won’t mind as they seek to seal a first series win on English soil in 22 years.

Here we are, then - one last, decisive day as we reach the end of our Ashes joyride. It’s been glorious fun over these last few weeks, this enthralling series ever unpredictable, but today’s equation is simple: England need ten wickets, Australia need 249 runs - and the rain needs to hold off...

Usman Khawaja and David Warner’s opening wicket stand of 135* is the first 100+ partnership for Australia in England since Warner and Chris Rogers managed 110 at The Oval on 20 August 2015.

It could be a deciding stand that determines whether Australia win a first series here since 2001.

Stuart Broad has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket when the fifth and final Ashes Test Match comes to a close. He made the decision last night after thinking about calling time on his career for ‘a few weeks’.

The 37-year-old has 602 wickets in 167 Tests, making him the second most successful paceman in Test history behind team-mate James Anderson.

“Tomorrow or Monday will be my last day of cricket, it has been a wonderful ride, a huge privilege to wear the Nottinghamshire and England badge as much as I have and I am loving cricket as much as I ever have,” Broad told Ian Ward on Sky Sports at the close of day three.

Stuart Broad has already confirmed he will retire but he is not the only player set to bring their Ashes career to an end on Monday.

David Warner will bow out in January and is 32 runs shy of signing off here with a first hundred in England while Moeen Ali signalled earlier this summer he would go back into red-ball retirement.

The next Ashes is more than two years away and it looks a tall order for 41-year-old James Anderson to feature while Mark Wood, 33, may even struggle and doubts have to be cast over Ben Stokes given his ongoing knee concerns.

Australia’s XI includes several players over 30, with Steve Smith (34), Usman Khawaja (36), Josh Hazlewood (32) and Mitchell Starc (33) unlikely to grace these shores again.

It all contributes to the end-of-an-era feel surrounding day five but with 20 wickets in this series and this ground the scene of his first big Ashes moment in 2009, you would not bet against Broad producing a fairy-tale finish.

No two batters have better highlighted the culture clash between the teams than Usman Khawaja and Zak Crawley, who will end the series as numbers one and two in the run-scoring charts.

Crawley’s classy 73 on day three took his overall tally to 480 runs and left Khawaja with a 57-run target to pip him to the top spot, which he managed in stoic fashion on Sunday and the Australian opener walked off unbeaten on 69.

While Khawaja is seven runs shy of the 500-mark, the eye-catching difference between the duo is the number of balls faced. Crawley needed 541 deliveries to score his tally at a strike rate of 88.72. In contrast Khawaja has taken 1,248 balls with a strike rate of 39.50 to demonstrate the different methods adopted by the teams this summer.