11.11am Innings break England only add six runs to the total. Australia need 384 for victory. They honestly would take that after staring down the barrel at 450 plus yesterday afternoon. But it still will be a record chase at the Oval and 121 more than the current best successful 4th innings chase at the Oval of 263. There have been two teams make more than 400 in the 4th innings of a Test at the Oval to secure a draw.

Jasdev: "So Broad's last ball faced was a towering six, taking on Starc! "

Matt Roller: "Broad finishes with 55 Test sixes - one more than his old mate Brad Haddin"

Murphy is going to bowl from the other end. The whole crowd sings "Happy birthday" to Jimmy Anderson. Field spread. Murphy is around the wicket

Simonwoody1 : "How can you not have any slips. Cummins head has gone"

MikeB: "Have Australia taken the new ball?" No. Still bowling with the old one

ChrisTaunton: "Weatherewise it's horrible down here in Somerset. Damp and chilly and it's heading your way. Might clear up this afternoon and tomorrow is looking better now."

New ball hasn't been taken by the way. Not sure why

The standing ovation has lasted until everyone got to the middle. Starc has the ball and Broad's mood is about to change. The field is spread. No slips. Six on the fence.

10.58am Australia have formed a guard of honour for Stuart Broad as he walks out to bat. He walks down the stairs with Jimmy Anderson to a standing ovation. Broad removes his helmet and walks through the guard of honour.

Thanks Andrew. The Australians are ready to head out.

Nath is feeling optimistic: "I think it would be an incredible final twist for this ashes tale if David Warner hit the winning runs from a Broad delivery "

10.52am RIght, we're about 10 minutes out from the start. Here's Alex Malcolm for the day's opening exchanges. And, seeing as we haven't heard word of a declaration, presumably England bat on!

10.30am Ricky Ponting on Sky has just given his appraisal of Stuart Broad's career, and makes mention of the first time their paths crossed, on the 2005 Ashes tour no less, when Australia played Leicestershire at Grace Road, a week before the first Test. He'd have been 19 back then. Not a bad first Australian wicket to pick off either... a certain Adam Gilchrist!

Broad is now playing PIG with his team-mates, for possibly the last time. He handed over chairmanship of the football group to Ben Duckett last night. Is he a Forest fan too?

Kartik: "This is Jimmy's birthday as well. So a day made for them. Let them Bazball and make half centuries, and take 5fors to bundle Aus out. " Well why not. I mean, it's what the fans want right? The actual result of this Ashes series is clearly voided by Broad's retirement anyway ...

10.25am Broad is out there in his bucket hat, signing autographs on his way down from the pavilion, and getting a pat on the back from Steve Smith as he goes. Australia's batters are in the nets, understandably, as they'll be out there soon enough, but Broad himself is getting his pads on so maybe England do plan on batting on after all.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes has just steamed past off his full run, which is intriguing. I guess he recognises that all gaskets may need to be blown to force victory over the next two days!

Richard: "Surely England have to bat for an over to make sure the Australian openers have to rush off and only have a few minutes to get ready. Keep them unsettled is the motto." This is also true. But that weather is a concern for England.

Mark: "Wouldn't it be just perfect to see Stuart Broad hit a quick 30 or 40 with Jimmy and finish with a red inker, having pushed the target past 400. It would already be one of the top 15 chases in Test history even if they don't add another run."

10.15am So, Broad aside, there was actually some compelling cricket on day three, most of it delivered by England's Bazballing batters, who finished the series with the same rampant tempo that they had started it. Matt Roller reckons they've lost the war for the Ashes urn, but won the argument hands down.

Andrew "Gnasher" McGlashan took the flip side of that discussion, and drilled down into some battered bowling figures from Australia's attack. A fair few wickets in the mix, however, with Mitchell Starc's performance particularly stand-out.

And Vithushan Ehantharajah had the match report to write, complete with a hastily reworked intro at the close of an action-packed day.

10am So, while we wait on news from the ground, and of potential declarations, let's have a quick recap of another breathless day of Ashes action, shall we? Front and centre, of course, was Stuart Broad's close-of-play bombshell. He's retiring from Test cricket after 17 years as an England cricketer, and as so often with Broad, the press hung on his every word when he spoke to them after the announcement.

Can Broad bow out today with one more of those rampant spells with which he made his name? Here's one I wrote earlier... some seven years earlier in fact!

Neal: "He's big, he's bad, he's retired, like his Dad. Stuart Broad. Stuart Broad. Well played, son. "

Adam: "I have to say, I am going to miss Broady. Not only has he been a skillful and whole-hearted cricketer for a long period of time, he is a cracking character that has made the game of cricket more fun."

Neal: "Morning Andrew, bat on for a few runs and a guard of honour, or declare and get into it? " Heart says GoH, head says 'gerronwivit!'

Oli Jones: "My parents have delayed going out for a walk today because my Mum specifically wants to see how the England innings end. I'm predicting just one ball, but how will it end? Majestic hoon down the ground? Marnus forward defensive and call? Anderson getting Mankaded? Switch hit leave? It's all possible with Stuart!"

9.55am Right, hello again. Where we were? Ah yes, weather-watch. It does seem as though the forecast has improved a touch in the past hour. Still a definite threat of rain, but the first session seems clearer for now. Either way, you'd suspect after the woes of Old Trafford that England won't dally - 377 is a hefty amount of runs in the bank, and they may need all the time they can get, given Australia have set their stall out for the long haul in this Test already.

VK: "Oh this British weather!!!.. it is nice and sunny now in Surrey but Met is saying rain after 12PM. I hope we get at least one and half sessions today."

john taylor: "looks like a lot of rain from 2pm , so of course lunch will remain at 1pm and they will come back just in time for play to be abandoned for the day " Yes, exactly this. Because cricket...

8.22am Good morning all. Don't worry, I'm not really here yet. It's far too early and the dog needs to be walked. But here's an early weather warning that might just have a bearing on how this day - these two days - pan out.

In his ideal retirement plans, Stuart Broad would come out this morning to a guard of honour, a standing ovation and a few quick boundaries to push England's up towards 400. But the heavens might have other plans... maybe it's their way of celebrating James Anderson's 41st birthday...

Of course, it could all blow off through Croydon, and we don't get a drop of rain... we'll be back in an hour or so for further news.

7.30pm: We'll close this up for the day, with the official announcement of Stuart Broad's retirement from cricket. It's been a storied career and he'll have the chance to write one last chapter when England look to bowl their way to a 2-2 series draw tomorrow. It could be quite an Ashes finale, so make sure you tune in. Good night!

6.45pm: As if this day wasn't full enough already... Stuart Broad has just announced his RETIREMENT! "Tomorrow or Monday will be my last game of cricket. It's been a wonderful ride," he tells Sky Sports. "It's been such a wonderful series to be a part of and I've always wanted to finish at the top." Huge news from The Oval, Broad choosing to go out on a high, retiring from cricket completely a couple of weeks after taking his 600th Test wicket. Says he only made the call last night, but he's "content with everything he's achieved in the game". This is breaking news, announced pitchside in front of his new employers (assuming he slips straight into the Sky team as expected), and we'll have the full story up shortly... Wow, another thread to this epic series. You can bet Broad will come in with knees pumping tomorrow

Here's some more of what he had to say: "I made the decision about 8.30 last night. I've been thinking about it for a while, a few weeks. England versus Australia has always been the pinnacle for me - I have loved the battles with Australia that have come my way and the team's way, I have a love affair with the Ashes and I think I wanted my last bat and bowl to be in Ashes cricket.

"I told Stokesy last night and told the changing room this morning and to be honest it just felt the right time and I didn't want friends or Notts team-mates to see things that might come out so I prefer to just say it and just give it a good crack for the last Australia innings."

6.36pm: Bosh. England have plundered close to 400 runs in the day, and you suspect they'll be looking to crack on with the ball first thing. The lead is 377, well in excess of the highest-successful chase on this ground - never mind that Australia will have the best part of two days to try and get them (weather permitting). Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow struck high-tempo half-centuries, and England managed to bat the whole day, meaning a decent rest for the fast men, who will have to do most of the work with the ball - unless Moeen Ali's groin has improved sufficiently to tweak a few. Either way, Australia know they'll need a huge effort in the fourth innings if they are to seal that first win in England since 2001. Anyway, that's for tomorrow, thanks for all your comments. We'll be back in the morning, for the final act of the Bashes. Cheerio!

Anderson's wagon wheel has a bright red diagonal across it

This will be the final over of the day, with the clock reading 6.29pm

"Was Anderson still waiting in readiness for a broken f**king arm?" cackles Jim. "It's been nearly 10 years!"