No dead rubber for The Oval's Ashes finale THE Oval is chronologically the oldest of England's Test grounds, having hosted the very first of all Anglo-Australian encounters in this country; it is also by convention the venue of the last match in each Ashes series here. The latter being so, it is no stranger to notionally "dead" Tests, often demonstrating that reports of their demise have been exaggerated. If it comes to it, Donald's Bradman's farewell was in a "dead" Test, and seemed no less dramatically vibrant because of it; likewise the triumphs of Derek Underwood in 1968 and Dennis Lillee in 1972, and even Phil Tufnell in 1997, none of which could influence custody of the urn.