Running through his familiar roles of conjuror, ringmaster and pantomime villain, Shane Warne did everything in his powers to stem the inexorable England advance on the final day of the Ashes series on Monday.
Warne, who single-handedly kept Australia in the match on Thursday's opening day, bowled almost unchanged from the Vauxhall End as Australia tried to force the win which would have retained the Ashes.
Licking his fingers regularly and rubbing his right hand in the dust periodically, Warne was the centre of attention in everything he did in his final Test in England.
Acknowledged before the series as the finest exponent of leg spin in the game's most difficult art, Warne's performances over this season's five Tests have encouraged speculation that he may be the best bowler of any type to grace a cricket field.
Using every scrap of guile and appealing dramatically for every remotely marginal chance, Warne took six for 124 from 38.3 overs, completing 40 wickets for the series and lifting his test tally to 623. It was eventually to no avail, though, as England batted Australia out of the match.
"At the end of the day, we didn't do enough," he said. "You have got to give credit to England. We just weren't good enough. England deserved to win, they outplayed us in four test matches."
Warne, who turns 36 on Tuesday, will not play for his country in England again. On Monday, he kept his options open about one more Ashes series at home in 18th months' time.
MOVING ON
"If in 18 months I am still around, then I would love to turn out and win the Ashes in Australia," he said. "If not, then I will move on."
Warne, who enjoyed his best series against England with the bat, has been virtually the only reason Australia were still competitive at the Oval. He said he believed he had never bowled better in a year when his marriage publicly broke down.
"I enjoy it when the chips are down," he said. "I play my best when it's hard. But I don't like to lose."
Warne's theatrical appeals and his complicated personal life have led to his attracting more than an acceptable share of abuse from England supporters.
On Monday, he was given the recognition he deserved from a packed crowd at the Oval, admittedly once the game was safe for England.
Warne, in turn, paid tribute to a country where he announced his presence as someone special by bowling Mike Gatting with the so-called "ball of the century" in his first test in England 12 years ago.
"English supporters love sport," he said. "And if they are England supporters then you are going to have to put up with the odd shout."
