Only 39.5 overs of play was possible on Day 4 of the deciding fifth Test match between England and Australia in the ongoing fifth Test match of the Ashes series as the game has come to the final day. Rain denied England a chance to level the series in Manchester in the fourth Test despite taking a 275-run lead in the first innings and the hosts will hope that's not the case at the Oval as well with no play in the second half on Sunday, July 31.
Even though Australia are 135/0, there are still 249 more runs to be scored by the visitors and all three results are still possible. Australian openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja saved their best partnership for the last as the visitors chase a historic Ashes series win in England, having already taken a 2-1 lead in the series.
The forecast for the final day on Monday, July 31 looks a lot better, however, there might be interruptions on Day 5 as well. As per Accuweather, the probability of rain during the daytime is at 25 per cent while increasing to 48 per cent in the evening. Even though it is going to stay overcast for the whole day, the probability of thunderstorms at zero percent during the day and 10 per cent in the evening suggests that the showers might not be strong enough to wash out the whole day but the rain will need to allow England to have enough time to bowl Australia out.
The fifties from Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow helped the hosts score 395 runs in their second innings and set up a huge target of 384 runs to chase down at the Oval. Ashes 2023 has been a memorable series with such quality cricket on show and if rain allows, a thrilling finale is on the cards to cap it off.
