England are hoping that retiring seamer Stuart Broad has “one more fairytale left” as they look to salvage a 2-2 draw on the final day of the Ashes.
Australia offered Broad a guard of honour on Sunday morning but went all out to ruin his farewell appearance at the Kia Oval.
Long-time foe David Warner joined series top-scorer Usman Khawaja to put on 135 without loss on day four before rain arrived to wipe out play midway through the afternoon session.
That left the tourists needing another 249 on day five to reel in their target of 384 – a chase that would go down as the second highest by any Australia side and eighth highest in Test history.
England need another 10 wickets to claim victory and take a deserved share of the spoils but failed to generate a clear-cut chance in their first 38 overs, with Broad wicketless from six.
He had already signed off his batting career in perfect fashion, smashing his last ball for six during a brief cameo, and assistant coach Marcus Trescothick is pulling for the 37-year-old to depart in romantic fashion.
“We don’t quite see the fairytales that we want to see at times but it would be lovely to dream of it,” he said.
“If there was one more fairytale left it would be ideal if it was Stuart’s last five-for. One or two wickets to win and he runs in and gets his last five-for…something like that would be brilliant wouldn’t it?
“He’s going out right on top, isn’t he? To think you could hit your last ball for six, it was great. Most people finish when their stumps are knocked over or they’ve nicked one to slip.
“He got a great reception, it was really nice. For Stuart to get a just reward for the hard work and dedication he’s put in for such a long time was really nice to see.”
Trescothick insisted England were always expecting a tough finish despite the size of their lead and brushed aside the idea that the emotion around Broad’s departure had contributed to their tricky time in the field.
“We go about the business in the same way. We’re trying to win an Ashes Test match,” he said.
“We want to win the game for the team but you’ve got that something extra with it being Stuart’s last game. Let’s go out and win it.
“It’s been great watching the tributes that they’ve put on the TV and some of the footage they’ve put out but these guys are very professional about what they’ve got to do and and that will be no different on the last day.
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“The game is in a great position and we’re still pretty positive about the job we’ve got to do. A couple of early ones in the morning and suddenly we’re right back on and right in the mix again.”
Trescothick confirmed that Mark Wood was passed fit, despite England holding their fastest bowler back until the 33rd over of the innings, but accepted both he and spinner Moeen Ali (groin) were struggling through after a draining summer.
“Woody’s fit to bowl, but like pretty much everybody else there are little aches and pains off the back of a big five-Test series,” he said.
“Moeen obviously had the little niggle but it’s been easier over the last couple of days. It’s not 100 per cent, of course it’s not. It probably won’t be for two or three weeks now but we’ve got a little bit out of him and will continue to try to do that again.”
