Joe Root scored only his second fifty of this Ashes after Australia captured the prize wicket of England captain Alastair Cook on the third day of the fifth and final Test at The Oval today.
England, who at 3-0 up had already won the five-match series, were 97 for one at lunch.
Root was 52 not out, with the only other occasion the 22-year-old Yorkshireman had past fifty this series coming when he made his Test-best 180 in England's crushing 347-run win in the second match at Lord's.
Jonathan Trott was unbeaten on nine.
England, however, were 395 runs behind Australia's first innings 462 for nine declared, a total built on Shane Watson's Test-best 176 and Steven Smith's 138 not out -- his maiden century at this level.
And the hosts needed a further 196 runs to get to a total of 293 that would avoid the follow-on.
On a sunny day promising good overhead conditions for batting on a sound pitch, England made a solid start to their morning's work in a match where victory would see them win four Tests in a home Ashes series for the first time.
Root clipped Ryan Harris off his legs for four while left-hander Cook square-drove the fast bowler for a boundary.
Peter Siddle then saw a good length ball stylish cover-driven to the boundary by Root.
