For Australia, the series is lost, the intensity is not what it was and expectations could not be much lower. Shane Watson's bountiful form has come far too late to challenge the outcome of the series, but there was no denying the gentle brutality of his strokeplay as he took a century off a reshaped England attack in the final Test at The Oval.
In the morning, Watson feasted upon the vulnerability of two England debutants, amassing 80 from 77 balls as Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan between them leaked 58 runs in seven overs, Kerrigan's confidence collapsing markedly under the strain. The afternoon session was more painful for Watson as he was struck behind the ear on 91 by a well-directed short ball from Stuart Broad, but he buckled down to be 121 not out by tea.
England, who dismissed David Warner in the fifth over of the day - a simple catch for the wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, as he fenced at James Anderson - followed up with the wickets off Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke in the middle session. Rogers' laborious stay - 23 from 100 balls - ended when he nicked Graeme Swann to first slip. Anderson accounted for Clarke, bringing one back to bowl him off the top of his pad to pass Bob Willis and go second in England's all-time list of Test wicket takers.
Broad's combative post-lunch spell disturbed Australia's equilibrium. Watson's blow was sickening and left him kneeling on the floor for a lengthy period in obvious pain. Not for the first time in this series, Clarke also seemed to have problems picking up Broad's short ball and he was lucky to survive on more than one occasion.
Watson, who needed painkilling tablets, could plead disorientation when he took a single and collided shoulder to shoulder with Anderson in his follow-through - he seemed in too much of a trancelike state for it to be presented as a deliberate physical statement.
It was a careful cover drive off Anderson which brought him his first hundred for 25 Tests, since he took a century off India in Mohali in 2010, and the third Australian hundred of the series to follow those made by Clarke and Rogers. He was dropped on 104 off Anderson at first slip, an inviting chance, knee high to Cook's right, off the shoulder of the bat.
England fielded two debutants in an Ashes Test for the first time since the Hollioake brothers in 1997 and, if Watson met Woakes' first spell in Test cricket with contentment, he treated the Lancashire left-arm spinner Kerrigan dismissively.
Kerrigan conceded 28 in his first two overs in a humbling introduction to Test cricket, with Watson helping himself to six boundaries. The first boundary, a low full toss, revealed Kerrigan's uncertainty and he repeatedly dropped short in his second over as Watson overawed him.
Kerrigan had also been treated dismissively by Watson in the Lions match against Northampton and initial indications were that his 50th first-class match could be his most pressing of the lot. He returned for two distinctly nervy overs before tea, his faltering belief exaggerating an unanimated approach to the crease.
Watson's move to No. 3 had not delighted all observers but, at the end of a series in which Australia's pick-and-mix batting order has left them 3-0 down , he produced the most domineering top-order batting of the summer. There were no devils in the situation or in a slow Oval pitch and Watson responded to an unpressurised situation by taking charge of the opening morning.
The series was already settled and as much as Alastair Cook, England's captain, had spoken of their desire to set new standards by winning an Ashes series 4-0, the sense of experimentation was apparent.
The inclusion of Woakes and Kerrigan also markedly changed the balance of the side as England switched from a four-man attack to five and fielded two spinners in a home Test for the first time since the Ashes Test against Australia in Cardiff four years ago.
As Watson purred along, they looked as if they would need every one of them. There was a hint of swing with the new ball, and even a semblance of turn for Swann, but England were already preparing for reverse swing long before the interval.
The inclusion of Kerrigan, Lancashire's slow left-armer, was a clear indication to Monty Panesar that his Test career can no longer be taken for granted, while suggestions that Woakes would bat at No. 6, ahead of Prior, emphasised that he will be expected to make runs aplenty if he is to hold down a Test career.
Such a balance was forced upon England by a slow, dry pitch, the sort of conditions in which England have repeatedly dominated in this sun-drenched summer. But Watson bestrode the morning, striking the ball with conviction from the outset and including nine fours and a six in a 61-ball half-century, awash with pulls through midwicket and powerful blows down the ground.
Broad, England's matchwinner in Chester-le-Street, had been subjected to belated and pointed criticism by Australia's coach, Darren Lehmann, about his failure to walk in the opening Test.
Suggestions that Anderson would be rested proved wide of the mark, although after experiencing this sluggish surface, he might have wished he had been.
Broad looked fresher, but after his 11 wickets in the previous Test, conditions were no longer as encouraging. He found the edge of Rogers' bat in his first over but the ball died well short of Cook at first slip, and Warner's only boundary came from a thick inside edge as he conjured up some inswing, but there would be no repeat of his hit-the-pitch aggression here.
Swann was on by the 12th over. His contest against Rogers came close to stalemate, but there was no stalemate at the other end as Watson showed England's two debutants a few home truths. Cook kept them away from him for most of the afternoon session but as the overs totted up for his three senior bowlers he could not hope to do so for ever.
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