The biggest surprise of the Ashes so far has been the consistent failure of Australia's top seven batsmen to produce big scores.
They have only managed one century between them in four games, but there is perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel with the news that Simon Jones is injured and out of the vital Oval decider.
Until now, everything has gone smoothly for England.
The pacemen have bowled short, sharp and often destructive spells. Spinner Ashley Giles has bowled with attacking fields and often with the pressure already on the Aussies.
| Who's dismissed who? |
|
| Langer | Hayden | Ponting | Martyn | Clarke | Katich | Gilchrist |
| Hoggard | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Harmison | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Flintoff | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Jones | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Giles | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
Will things change without Jones in the England side?
What the above table does not show is that Jones has been the most effective wicket-taker when it comes to removing the tail-enders.
Here, BBC Sport gives you the lowdown on England's famous five and explains their varied talents.
His series haul of 19 wickets beats Jones by one, though he has a slightly inferior strike-rate and average.
Flintoff's superb control combined with hostility has defeated all the batsmen bar Michael Clarke, the one man in the top seven not yet dismissed by the big Lancastrian.
The left-handers have struggled to cope with Flintoff's angle from around the wicket, particularly if he manages to move the ball a fraction away from them.
And he has refused to spare the tail-enders, with some X-rated bouncers aimed at Australia's less proficient batsmen.
The Durham spearhead has developed a slower ball which memorably accounted for Michael Clarke with the last ball of day three in the Edgbaston Test.
He has not always been at his explosive best and, oddly, is yet to remove either Aussie opener in the series despite taking the new ball in seven of the eight innings.
But they have both felt the force of Harmison, clattered by his bouncers at various times with Langer wearing a number of bruises.
The best wicket for him could be the one coming up at The Oval, where pace and bounce are normally par for the course. Last year he took nine wickets in the Test here against West Indies.
There have been times when the policy of giving Hoggard the new ball seems peculiar, after all both Jones and Flintoff bowl faster than him.
But if conventional swing is on offer, it is best to capitalise when the ball is still shiny and Hoggard invariably finds more swing than the others.
He is beginning to get the measure of Hayden with the ball that swings back into the left-hander's pads.
South Africa's captain Graeme Smith could have told the big Australian opener a thing or two about Hoggard, after suffering at his hands in the same way last winter.
Given that he has not even been required to bowl in two innings, and that the groundsmen - mindful of the Shane Warne factor - are reluctant to provide spin-friendly surfaces, Giles has done well.
His best moment was on the second afternoon at Old Trafford, when he dismissed both openers and then produced a stunning delivery to bowl Damien Martyn as Australia went from 58-0 to 133-5.
As the table shows, he has dismissed every one of the top seven at least once, which former Aussie swing bowler Terry Alderman will be interested to observe.
Before the series began, Alderman said: "If any of our top batsmen get out to Giles in the Tests they should go and hang themselves."
That would certainly help the selectors shake up the side.
At the start of the summer, Jones was the man with the most to prove but he has bowled some of the best spells of the series.
Once he finds a rhythm, particularly with the old ball which is easier to reverse, he can take clutches of wickets.
He had one six-wicket haul and one five-wicket haul and his absence at the Oval will undoubtedly increase the pressure on Harmison, Hoggard and Flintoff.
Incidentally, Jones still finds it difficult to convince everyone of his talents - Vaughan's refusal to bowl Jones at all on the agonising final morning at Edgbaston almost cost England the match.
CONCLUSION
The absence of Jones will clearly be felt, especially if England's bowlers are tiring and the tail-enders are slogging the ball towards the gas holder.
Of the two possible replacements, James Anderson's form has gone through some terrible troughs in the last two years, and Paul Collingwood is more of a batsman.
However, if Harmison reaches his very best form, and Hoggard and Flintoff continue the good work, England can still produce the best possible result - a win and a 3-1 series verdict.
MMIX
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