Glory or despair

By Scott Heinrich
BBC Sport at The Oval

After 21 days, 5,467 runs, 173 wickets, it all comes down to the number one - one day, one winner.

Andrew Flintoff has produced a tireless effort for England

Monday is the culmination of an extraordinary Test series, when one team will rejoice and the other will be left to wonder where it all went wrong.

Gloomy autumnal weather could have the final say, to England's eternal delight and Australia's regret.

A draw will do for the hosts but not the visitors, who need a win to prolong their custody of the urn.

It would be a sad and inappropriate end to this Ashes series, but try telling that to followers of English cricket who have had to endure their team's subservience to the old enemy since 1989.

England have taken on the number one team in the world and made them look second rate at times. And they've done it with a smile on their faces.

But those smiles have masked a fierce determination a self-belief forged in successful series against New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and Bangladesh.

The journey from Lord's to The Oval is a small one as the crow flies, but in cricketing terms it has been a marathon this summer.

It was billed as the most eagerly anticipated Ashes series for years, but that didn't really prepare anyone for the epic it has proven to be.

England couldn't quite get the job done at Old Trafford

We have never before seen anything like it. We might never again.

After the first Test, a big win for Australia, the knives were out for England in the media.

But they turned it around at Edgbaston, where a two-run victory - the closest in an Ashes Test - prompted even the most grizzled scribes to dub it the best Test ever.

At Old Trafford, a nation suddenly gripped by cricket was united in its agony as England were denied victory by one wicket.

One paper quipped it was "the best Test between these two sides since the last one" - another said "there may never be a day like this again as long as Ashes cricket is played".

How wrong the latter statement was.

At Trent Bridge, the superlatives ran dry. England dominated like never before, but then teetered on the brink of collapse before limping over the line by three wickets.

Now the destiny of the Ashes comes down to one single day, and everything that has gone before matters not a jot.

The prize that means so much to both sides

Overnight, England will ruminate on how since Lord's they have been the better team.

They will draw from the confidence gained from that, consume it and carry it with them to The Oval like an amulet.

Australia, too, will look at recent history and believe they are still in with a shout of keeping custody of the urn for a ninth successive series.

The great British climate makes a draw the most likely outcome in the final Test, but given a full day's play there could be enough time for either side to win the game.

What could separate the teams then is not cricket or rain but character and a sense of purpose to get the job done.

Both teams can show it, but only one can claim the Ashes.