Australia are all but certain of retaining the Ashes urn, having set England an improbable target of 383 to win and having reduced them to 18/2 on day 4 of the fourth Test, in Manchester.
England, on the other hand, will be hoping for a miracle, like the Ben Stokes innings which helped them win the third Test at Headingley by one-wicket.
Earlier, in the morning, the visitors bowled out England for 301 in their first innings, taking a massive 196-run lead.
Pacers Josh Hazlewood (4/57), Mitchell Starc (3/80), who is playing his first match of the series, and Pat Cummins (3/60) broke through all England's defences, as the hosts avoided follow-on narrowly.
Apart from Rory Burns (81) and skipper Joe Root (71), only Jos Buttler (41) made a meaningful contribution with the bat for England.
In reply, Australia were off to a bad start, with opener David Warner getting out to Stuart Broad again—he had now taken Warner's wicket six times this series for 32 runs in 93 balls—to also pick up his third successive duck in the series.
Marcus Harris, too, followed soon after, falling LBW to Broad for six, to leave Australia struggling at 16/2. The right-arm pacer was ably supported by Jofra Archer, as the duo quickly reduced Australia to 44/4 before they hit the now-familiar roadblock called Steve Smith.
The former Australia captain's counter-attacking 82—his lowest score this series—helped Australia recover from the early setback, as he put on a 105-run partnership with Mathew Wade (34).
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Aussie captain Tim Paine (23*), surprisingly, decided to declare in the 43rd over with one ball left in the over, and the score reading 186/6, with an overall lead of 382 runs.
England, probably, were caught unawares by the sudden declaration. Chasing 383 for an improbable win with a little more than a day left in the match, England got off to a nightmare start. Pat Cummins dismissed opener Rory Burns, who top-scored with 81 in the first innings, and captain Joe Root off successive deliveries in the first over itself.
Australia will retain the Ashes at 2-1 up with one to play in the five-Test series if they win this match at Old Trafford. That is, unless, a certain lightning called Ben Stokes strikes the second time this series.
