Australia has edged closer to victory in the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval with England closing play at 6 for 203, still 129 runs away from making Australia bat again.

On a slow day of cricket, England’s intentions were made clear from early on, with the lure of rain on days four and five enough to ensure the batsmen focussed entirely on survival.

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Captain Alastair Cook led the way with a patient 85 off 234 balls, but fell only minutes from stumps to part time leg spinner Steve Smith.

Jos Buttler remains not out on 33 at stumps alongside nightwatchman Mark Wood who is yet to score, with Australia only four wickets away from a face-saving victory.

Peter Siddle said it was a tough day for the bowlers, but believed their patience had paid off and hoped the second new ball – which is almost immediately due in the morning – will help wrap the Test up.

“We’re in a good position. It was a long day for us, but I think we got some rewards throughout,” Siddle said.

“It was handy for Nathan and Smitty to use their skills with the spin to get a couple later in the day.

“Tomorrow morning, new ball, I think that should help us out. As we’ve seen throughout this match with the new ball, it has done a little bit in the air and off the deck and has been hard to play, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage in the morning.”

Ben Stokes fell for a duck to Nathan Lyon after tea on day three. Getty.

Australia toils to dislodge stubborn England

Australia wrapped up England’s first innings early on day three, but not before Wood swung his way to some handy tail-end runs.

He would fall for 24 going after one too many, skying a Mitchell Johnson short ball to Mitchell Starc at mid-wicket, before Moeen Ali fell the very next ball, presenting Peter Nevill with a tidy diving catch to complete the innings.

But if Australia was expecting to roll through the England top order before lunch, some poor bowling quickly put paid to its plans.

Johnson and Starc started far too wide of the batsmen, allowing Cook and Adam Lyth to leave a large proportion of balls, while Nathan Lyon failed to threaten early.

Fortunately for the tourists, Peter Siddle continued his fine form with a run of five consecutive maidens, which included the wicket of Lyth who was again undone by an outside edge to the slips cordon.

But England successfully passed its first test, reaching the lunch break only one wicket down and with relative ease. Cook was at his resilient best through the day, reaching a half-century mid-way through the afternoon session.

Australia could only manage a further two wickets before tea, with Ian Bell edging Marsh to second slip for 13 and Joe Root badly miscuing a hook shot off a Johnson bouncer to Starc on the fine leg rope for 11.

The pace refused to pick up after tea either, with the unconvincing Jonny Bairstow fighting hard along with a defiant Cook as Australia struggled to find a way through.

But in four balls, Lyon gave the match some spark. He caught the inside shoulder of Bairstow’s bat to present Voges a catch at short leg, although controversy remains over whether the ball hit Voges’s helmet as he juggled, which should mean the delivery becomes a dead ball.

Bairstow’s dismissal was compounded by the loss of Ben Stokes only two balls later, as the all-rounder haphazardly pushed at a full and wide delivery, edging to the safe hands of Michael Clarke at first slip for a duck.

Buttler’s presence at the crease calmed England though, with he and Cook looking like taking England to stumps with momentum and the loss of no further wicket.

But Clarke’s gamble paid off, with Smith unexpectedly finding a rare edge from Cook, with Voges hanging on to the ballooning catch under the helmet.

Cook’s dismissal looks like making England’s job incredibly hard, but the poor weather on the horizon will be enough to keep the hosts interested as the series winds down to its conclusion.