Bad light stops a dramatic ending short and the match is drawn.
England went into the fifth and final day of the fifth and final Ashes Test knowing that getting a result would be difficult due to the rain affected previous days.
However, after Australia had finally dismissed the hosts for 337 and then limped to 111-6 themselves, the visitors declared to give themselves a fighting chance of a win.
Captain Michael Clarke clearly wanted a victory to take back Down Under and rightly so as despite being outplayed for much of the series, the Australians showed many signs of quality.
The destination of the urn was of course decided after three matches but if the Three Lions could win this final Test, it would finish as a 4-0 victory for the first time in history.
The hosts were set a difficult, but achievable, 227 for the win and the English were making a good fist of it as skipper Alastair Cook put on 34 before being trapped lbw by James Faulkner.
Then Jonathan Trott came to the crease, who has had an average series by all accounts and scored an impressive 59 that helped England on their way.
Along with Kevin Pietersen – who notched up 61 – the two South African-born batsmen edged the home side nearer and nearer as the crowd sensed a dramatic conclusion.
As the light drew in both Trott and Pietersen fell and Ian Bell and debutant Chris Woakes scrapped away for more vital runs.
The tension felt in the English capital was like that which is rarely seen in five-day cricket and with four overs left the home side needed 21 runs for victory.
Yet when Bell was run-out by Mitchell Starc, the umpires checked for the light and decided it was too dark to continue.
With the match heading to a dramatic finale this decision was met with boos across the Oval and a sense of farce and hollowness.
As it is the first Ashes series of 2013 finishes with a 3-0 win for England and a realisation that the gap in quality between the two sides is as big as it has been for some years.
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