Live Commentary: The Ashes - Fifth Test, day four - as it happened

Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of day four of the fifth Test match between England and Australia.

Well, all those that were hoping for sunny spells and a full day's play, you are going to be disappointed...

The rain is coming down steadily, frequently, and the full set of covers are out on the outfield at The Oval. It goes without saying that we won't be getting underway at the scheduled 11am start time.

The forecast for the rest of the day isn't too promising either. There appears to be the odd dry spell for later in the morning, but the question will be whether the outfield is fit for play. As for the afternoon, well, lets not talk about that just yet...

So then, while we await an update from the umpires, let's take a lot at the state of the game. Australia recorded a first innings total of 492 after winning the toss on Wednesday, while England have reached 247-4 in their reply.

Ian Bell and Chris Woakes are currently at the crease for England. Bell has struck 29 off 110 balls, while Woakes has recorded three boundaries in is 49-ball innings that has brought 15 runs. Hopefully both batsmen will get the opportunity to add to that later today.

While we are on the subject of Woakes, much has been made of whether England were right to hand the Warwickshire all-rounder his Test debut, alongside bowler Simon Kerrigan. Click here to read what Sports Mole had to say on the subject.

In my opinion, I think Woakes will eventually have a career in Test cricket. He hasn't performed too badly upon his introduction to the one-day scene, and while it might take some time for him to make an impact at Test level, I believe he is someone who is worth persisting with. We shouldn't read too much into his performance with the ball on what is a very flat pitch. Woakes's bowling figures were better than Stuart Broad's during the first innings, so he didn't do all that badly.

Kerrigan, on the other hand, has probably been thrown in a bit too soon. He has taken a nine-for at county level, but that aside, there isn't much difference between Kerrigan and a few others on the domestic scene. His debut was probably dictated by the Monty Panesar "incident", but hopefully we will get a chance with the ball either today or tomorrow.

Well, it's 11am, and I'm afraid there has been no more updates regarding the state of play this morning, which isn't very promising...

Now, I know it's early, but I'm just going to throw open a question. If today was washed-out, what will the two teams do tomorrow? Whichever way you look at it, it looks impossible for there to be a result.

For instance, if England declare straight away, they are already 245 runs adrift, and Australia could potential reach 350 by the end of the morning session to avoid losing the game. Even if they declare, England won't reach 350 in two sessions, and Australia won't take 10 wickets.

If England were to continue in the morning, then are in turn making it even more improbable that either team will be able to take 10 wickets in a day. So, what could happen?

It would be a shame if this series came to an end with everyone fully aware of how things are going to end. Would there be any kind of atmosphere whatsoever?

A leading bookmaker has made it 100/1 that over 40 overs of play will happen today. I think that perhaps says it all?

The scene at The Oval has not changed in the past 45 minutes. The full set of covers are still on. There's a few hardy souls in the crowd though, with their umbrellas firmly up.

While we continue the wait, I will bring a couple of stories that have appeared in the cricket world over the past 24 hours.

Earlier this week, Australia coach Darren Lehmann accused Stuart Broad of "blatant cheating" during the first Test, but those comments have been blasted by former Aussie skipper Ian Chappell.

Lehmann was fined for his outburst on an Australian radio station, but Triple M have revealed that they will cover the fee.

It does look a little bit brighter out at The Oval, but BBC Sport are reporting that an early lunch has already been announced for 12.30pm. We will bring you confirmation of that as and when we get it.

Lunch has indeed been called for 12.30pm. We will be back at around 1pm to provide you with an update, and hopefully bring you much better news from The Oval.

Right then, do we have any positive news emerging from The Oval...

Well, while the covers are still on, it does look considerably brighter than it was earlier this morning. However, there appears to be a bit of light rain falling, and it is apparently bucketing it down at the Fulham vs. Arsenal match, which is taking place nearby.

We have also had some heavy rain during the lunch break, so it's unlikely that the outfield is in a fit state to begin play, should the rain relent.

While we wait for another update, now could be a good time to look back at what has been a dominant series for England.

The first Test at Trent Bridge was easily the most exciting of the series, and maybe the most watched fixture in England for several years. The hosts went into the final day requiring four wickets while Australia were still 137 runs adrift of their target. At one stage, England required just one dismissal and Australia needed 80, but despite keeping the home crowd on the edge of their seat, James Anderson struck the decisive blow as England finally won by 14 runs.

The second Test match at Lord's was won in a much more convincing style by England. Ian Bell struck a fine century to lead England to 361, before Australia were dismissed for 128. Joe Root hit 180 as England set their opponents a target of 583 to win. However, they were realistically never going to challenge that total, and they promptly fell to a 347-run defeat with a day to spare.

Quick update on the weather. The rain has been described as "light, but heavy enough". Like I mentioned 20 minutes ago, there does appear to be a bit of blue sky over The Oval, but there are also several black clouds too.

Back to our roundup of the Ashes so far. England went into the third Test knowing that they could win the Ashes in double-quick time, while a draw would see them retain. However, Australia put up a much stronger fight at Old Trafford, and they never looked like losing the game after skipper Michael Clarke had scored 187 in the first innings as the baggy green made 527. England replied with 368, but Australia hit a quick-fire 172 to set the hosts a target of 332 to win the Ashes. However, Australia soon had England on the ropes at 37-3, but rain intervened to allow Alastair Cook's side to draw the match.

A bit more definitive news coming from The Oval now. There has been no change with the weather, but the groundsmen have indicated that if and when the rain stops, there would need to be a dry period of around two hours before play could begin. Groan...

The fourth Test at Durham provided the stage for England to wrap up the series in style. After winning the toss, England scored a rather modest 238, with Australia doing only marginally better in recording 270. The game swung on Ian Bell's third century of the series, which helped England set Australia a target of 299. Michael Clarke's side appeared as though they would take the series to the final fixture at The Oval, but a scintillating spell from Stuart Broad ensured that England won the Test by 74 runs.

With no prospect of any play until at least 4pm, we are going to leave you for now, but as soon as there is any update from The Oval, we will bring it you here.

The umpires have been out sporadically for the past couple of hours, but we are no nearer any play with the rain continuing to pour down at The Oval. I would predict an abandonment shortly...

There has been no official announcement, but tea is currently being taken. The groundsmen had stated earlier that they would require two hours of dry weather to prepare the pitch for a restart, but that was before heavy rain continued to lash the outfield.

A man has just proposed to his girlfriend via the big screen at The Oval. Luckily, she said yes, or else sitting in the rain for six hours and having a marriage proposal turned down wouldn't have made for a fun Saturday.

There it is. Play has been abandoned for the day.

I'm sure that hasn't come as a big surprise to anyone. We will be back to try again tomorrow, where the forecast looks much better.

That will be all from Sports Mole this afternoon. Thanks for sticking with us through the last six hours. Goodbye for now.