India took control of fourth Test in part because the hosts have lost the ability to apply pressure when it is urgently needed
One of the criticisms most frequently levelled at this England side is its obsession with Australia. The sense that, however stern or august their current assignment, they are always on some level looking ahead to the next Ashes tour. In this respect day four of the fourth Test was its own neat riposte: a day on which England were able to savour the unique privations of Australia without leaving their own backyard.
On a stickily warm day at the Oval Joe Root’s side could treat themselves to the full, soul-destroying, as-live Ashes experience: a chastening, back-breaking, heel-jarring day in the field; a ball doing nothing and a pitch with all the texture and variety of white noise; Moeen Ali getting through the innings without a single maiden; Shane Warne on commentary, merrily sticking the boot into England’s tactics. The plucky Shardul Thakur even did a passable impression of Mitchell Marsh, helping himself to a second rapid half-century of the match (prior first-class average: 16).
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