Cricket's oldest and arguably the greatest rivalry is about to hit its crescendo as the hosts England and Australia are set to lock horns with each other at The Oval in the 5th Test of the ongoing Ashes series on Thursday, July 27. Both teams have played some jaw-dropping cricket throughout the series which has kept the fans hooked and on the edge of their seats.
Australia retained the urn after weather had the last laugh at Manchester in the 4th Test and the scoreline of the series now reads 2-1, with plenty to play for in the final game. For the Pat Cummins-led Australia, it's an opportunity to be the first Aussie touring party since Steve Waugh's side of 2001 to win the urn on English soil. The amount of question marks raised on the leadership capability of Cummins is eye-popping with former players like Mark Waugh and Ian Chappell criticising the red-ball captain.
On the other hand, the Three Lions were tantalisingly close to landing an equalizer at Old Trafford but found themselves on the other side of the weather. The Ben Stokes-led side has scripted a remarkable comeback in the series. After being 2-0 down the hosts made some tactical changes and it paved the way for them to announce their arrival in the series. Though England can't regain the urn anymore, they can certainly win the 5th Test and foil Australia's plans of rewriting history. If Stokes and his men manage to gain control at The Oval, it will certainly go down as a befitting reply to all the naysayers who have questioned the need and feasibility of Bazball.
Pitch Report
The wicket at The Oval is known as one of the most batting-friendly surfaces in England. The last Test at the venue was the World Test Championship final of the 2021-23 cycle played between Australia and India and the batters hogged the limelight with Travis Head and Steven Smith scoring match-winning tons. Hence, both batters must be itching to make the most of the conditions on offer. The last time both England and Australia played at the venue was during the 2019 series when the Joe Root-led side won by 135 runs.
The Oval has played host to 106 Tests thus far, with the side batting first winning 39 games and teams bowling first claiming the contests on 29 occasions. The average first innings score at the venue is 344, while the same in the second innings is 304.
Weather Forecast
The chances of precipitation on Day 1 and Day 3 are quite high. With 55% and 88% of rainfall predicted on both days as per Accuweather, weather might very well act as a dampener and frustrate fans and players alike. As per the weather forecast, there will be rain around on all five days and hence a thick cloud cover will be expected for the major part of the game and will keep the pacers interested.
Playing XIs
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc/ Michael Neser, Pat Cummins (c), Todd Murphy, Josh Hazlewood
