London, August 26: Bad light and then rain meant only 91 minutes play was possible on the fourth day of the fifth and final Ashes Test here at The Oval on Sunday.

The players came off for bad light 19 minutes before lunch, even though Australia were then using two spinners. But rain followed soon afterwards, making a resumption impossible.

England were 40 for one and still 169 runs behind Australia's 641 for four. But the bad weather had greatly increased their chances of securing a draw Monday that would see Australia fail to extend their 3-1 series lead.

"Obviously we would like the time rain has taken away from us," said Australia coach John Buchanan. "Now only two results are possible: a win for us or a draw.

"It's still a pretty good batting wicket. But there's a different edge to the game now.

"England will want to remain positive but in a sense they've got nothing to play for apart from a draw but if they perceive that to be a win then maybe that is a positive result for them."

Under grey skies Michael Atherton, on nine runs, predictably fell to Glenn McGrath for the 19th time, caught at slip by Shane Warne, leaving England 17 for one in the sixth over.

All summer the 33-year-old Lancashire veteran Atherton has been saying he will make a decision on his international future at the end of the season.

But the way the former England captain waved his bat to the crowd as he trudged off - and the applause from the Australian players - suggested that this was his final Test innings, in England at least.

At lunch Marcus Trescothick was 20 not out and Mark Butcher 11 not out.

England started the day on 409 for eight, 33 short of avoiding the follow-on with Mark Ramprakash 124 not out and Darren Gough 17 not out.

But to his 17th ball of the day in the sixth over, Ramprakash, trying to attack McGrath gave a thin edge through to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.

It was the end of a resilient innings that had seen the Surrey right-hander's 133 runs come off 232 balls, in just over six hours of defiant application, an effort warmly appreciated by his home crowd.

But at 421 for eight, England were still a tantalising 21 runs away from avoiding the follow-on.

They were only 18 runs from safety when Gough, then 23, was dropped by Steve Waugh at second slip of leg-spinner Warne, a rare error from the Australia captain.

But ultimately Waugh was not made to pay a heavier price for his error. Gough on 24, jammed the bat down on a Warne delivery only for Gilchrist to react sharply and stump him.

Phil Tufnell was seven not out and at 432 all out, England had fallen 10 short of the follow-on total of 442.

In the overcast conditions Waugh immediately asked England to bat again.

Warne, who earlier in the innings had become the first spin bowler to take 400 Test wickets, finished with seven for 165, his best Test return in England but simultaneously the most runs he had ever conceded in a Test innings anywhere.

That last wicket also brought up three notable achievements for Australia vice-captain Gilchrist.

Firstly it was his 25th dismissal in the series. It also brought up his 100th Test victim in his 22nd match, Gilchrist beating by one match current South Africa keeper Mark Boucher's century record.

Despite his record Gilchrist, an extraordinary batsman, has been criticised for untidy glovework.

"I remember as a kid Rod Marsh (Australia's great keeper of the 1970s and early 80s, once nicknamed 'iron gloves') got a bit of criticism," said Buchanan.

"Adam is still a player who wants to learn about the game and I'm sure that potentially these figures and statistics will speak for themselves."