It should be the climax to a classic contest but instead an air of uncertainty, gloom and confusion hung over Old Trafford on Thursday as England were left waiting to discover whether they will even get the chance to try to square the series.
The news that India were confined to their Manchester hotel and had cancelled training after a fourth member of their backroom staff tested positive for Covid was a potential hammer blow both for the capacity crowds expected here and the game.
That just left England, described by one member of the coaching staff as 'wilting' after a brutal schedule of four Tests in the last month, going through the motions ahead of the final Test and awaiting the results of another set of India PCR tests.
England were left waiting to discover whether they will even get the chance to try to square the series
A fourth member of India's backroom staff tested positive for Covid, and they were confined to their hotel
It is becoming increasingly clear India coaches and players were irresponsible in the extreme to attend a book launch at a London hotel outside their bubble, as revealed by Sportsmail, two days before the fourth Test at the Oval.
That decision annoyed the ECB when it emerged India coach Ravi Shastri and two of his staff had tested positive and, with the latest positive, it is one that could now have dire financial consequences should the outbreak have spread to their playing group.
It will not improve the governing body's mood either to hear the suggestion swirling around Old Trafford on Thursday that India were reluctant to play in this final Test, preferring instead to prioritise keeping their players healthy for the resumption of the IPL.
The decision to attend a book launch annoyed the ECB when it emerged India coach Ravi Shastri was positive
All England could do was train as well as they could for a crucial game, with the returning vice-captain Jos Buttler saying on Thursday: 'At the moment we're expecting the game to go ahead and we're preparing that way. So fingers crossed.'
England have plenty of problems of their own. They are trying to nurse what's left of their over-worked attack, notably Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson, through one more game in a schedule that is not fit for purpose.
Anderson, who has played little part in practice over the last two days to protect his 39-year-old body, was seen in long conversation with captain Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood at nets before undergoing some light jogging around the outfield.
The odds are on him playing on Friday should the match go ahead, not least because there is no Test at Old Trafford next year and it could be his last chance to run in from the end that bears his name for England. Robinson, too, is expected to play.
