Down but not out

Never bet against world champions is the sage ringsider’s timeless rubric. Certainly not when they look to be cornered and groggy. In what is already the most imperishably thrilling cricket series staged in this country since the whole motley began 123 years ago, to regain the Ashes England need only to draw the final match, which begins at the Oval on Thursday, while Australia, strutting world champs for the past dozen years, must win it.