Washington’s assault, getting to his fifty in 39 balls and clubbing four sixes in total, helped set England a target of 374 to win this fifth and final Test following a last-wicket stand of 39 in 25 balls of which all the runs came from his swishing blade.
Whatever happens – and an India win and 2-2 series scoreline seems the most likely outcome – England have certainly had a good look at their bowling depth in a week that started with captain Ben Stokes being ruled out through injury and Chris Woakes dislocating his left shoulder on the first day here at The Oval.
The Curate’s egg that is Josh Tongue, a fast bowler whose five-wicket haul on this third day did not tell the full story of his up-and-down performance, is almost certain to be on the flight to Australia come November.
This match was his first of the summer following a hamstring injury sustained against Zimbabwe in the one-off Test at Trent Bridge in May.
Here, though, having played little cricket since May save for a Surrey second XI match last week, he looked back to his very best, taking eight wickets overall across 48.4 overs.
For an England team that can no longer call on the retired James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Atkinson is the man to open the bowling for this team in Australia, probably alongside Jofra Archer, all things being well.
The fact he has maintained his pace throughout this Test is encouraging too. Atkinson’s average speed during his first spell of the match was 85.6 miles per hour. That average was only slightly down, at 84.5mph, on the third afternoon.
“With Chris Woakes now out of contention due to his shoulder dislocation, I would start Atkinson in the first Test in Perth,” he wrote in his Daily Mail column on Saturday.
“A lot of people go on about needing express pace in Australian conditions, but look at Glenn McGrath — he wasn’t rapid. He was skilful, but equally he had the requisite speed to cause opposition batsmen problems.
That’s the combination you need to get early wickets in Australia.”
What he did in this fifth Test against India helped keep England in this game when the odds were firmly stacked against them.
Australia’s vulnerable top order will be far easier pray this winter than Gill, who has 754 runs in his first series as India captain.
Indeed, the failure to rest up the likes of Woakes and Brydon Carse left them in a position where they were forced to put out a shadow attack for this deciding match.
In Australia, on juicier pitches that are likely to make five-day finishes far less likely than they have been this summer, there is every chance Atkinson can lead the attack throughout.
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