Australia 295 and 135 for 0 (Khawaja 69*, Warner 58) need another 249 runs to beat England 283 and 395 (Root 91, Bairstow 78, Crawley 73, Starc 4-100, Murphy 4-110)

In all, only 40 overs were possible on the fourth day before rain closed in but they went entirely Australia’s way. When the rain arrived, at drinks in the afternoon session, they needed a further 249 runs to take the series 3-1 and, weather permitting, will have 98 overs to do so on the final day.

James Anderson, too, declined a single when he reverse-swept Todd Murphy and was then lbw missing another three balls later. And so, the final innings of this enthralling series began with Australia needing what would be their second-highest successful chase in history to secure a first series win in England since 2001.

It felt a long way off when Warner and Khawaja first walked the crease, but significantly closer when they headed off for the final time in the day.

Full report to follow …