The fifth and final test match of what has been a thrilling Ashes series between England and Australia gets under way at The Oval on Thursday, the Aussies will retain the urn whatever the outcome but England can still square the series.
Heading into last week's fourth test at Manchester England were 2-1 down with two to play and they gave it everything to keeps their hopes of regaining the Ashes alive only to be denied by the weather and the match ended in a draw.
England put Australia into bat and bowled them out for 317. Lots of Australian's got starts but Mitch Marsh's 51 was the top score with Chris Woakes taking 5 wickets.
England then took control, replying with 592 with Zak Crawly (189), Bairstow (99 and Root (84) all scoring big. Hazlewood cleaned up the tail to end with 5 wickets.
Weather forecasts suggested much of the final two days would be interrupted and so it proved. Australia were 214/5 heading into the final day but no play was possible. Marnus Labuschagne made 111, easily his best knock of the series and Crawley was named Man of the Match.
Earlier in the series Australia won the first test at Edgbaston by 2 wickets and then made it 2-0 with a 43 run win in the second test which was staged at Lords whilst England won the third test at Leeds by 3 wickets.
This was how the teams lined up in the fourth test.
England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, 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, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood
Leading Series Run Scorers
Zak Crawley 7 innings 385 runs
Usman Khawaja 8 innings 377 runs
Ben Stokes 7 innings 360 runs
Joe Root 7 innings 316 runs
Travis Head 8 innings 315 runs
Leading Series Wicket Takers
Stuart Broad 4 matches 18 wickets
Pat Cummins 4 matches 16 wickets
Mitchell Starc 3 matches 15 wickets
Josh Hazlewood 3 matches 13 wickets
Chris Woakes 2 matches 12 wickets
Recent Ashes Series
In Australia in 2021/22 England lost 4-0 (1 draw)
In England in 2019 a 5 match series was drawn 2-2 and Australia retained the urn.
In Australia in 2017/18 England lost 4-0 (1 draw)
The Venue, Kennington Oval, London
Over the course of the last decade England have won 5, drawn 1 and lost 3 of 9 test matches at The Oval
Three of those matches came against Australia, a draw back in 2013 an innings and 46 run win for Australia in 2015 and 135 run victory for England in 2019 where Steve Smith scored a double hundred in the first innings.
The most recent test match at this venue saw Australia beat India in the World Test Final in June this year by 209 runs. They scored 469 in their first knock (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121) and 270/8 declared in their second innings (Alex Carey 66, Mitchell Starc 41). India posted totals of 296 (Pat Cummins 3-83) and 234 (Nathan Lyon 4-41).
In September last year England beat South Africa by 9 wickets at this venue.
The weather forecast is available here
5th Test Betting - Get a 100% Match Bonus +20 Free Spins on Deposit
England are 5/4 to win the fifth test with a draw at 11/4 and Australia are 16/10
Root is 11/4 to top score for England in the first innings and Steve Smith is 11/4 to do likewise for Australia.
The Verdict
Rain saved Australia at Old Trafford but prior to that the first 3 matches could arguably have gone either way late in the match. This could be a swan song for a number of England's bowlers and whether they can get Australia, who are aiming for a series win, on the back foot is open to debate.
Steve Smith has a terrific recent record on this ground which makes his price boost for a 1st innings century with Sportingbet worth an interest. Travis Head also made a big ton against India is taken to score a 50 in the first knock.
Back to the price boosts and Zak Crawley gets the vote for a half century in the first innings.
Bets: Price boost, Steve Smith to score a 1st innings century at 5/1 with Sportingbet
Price boost, Zak Crawley to score a 1st innings 50 at 11/4 with Sportingbet
Player To Score 50 (1st Innings), Travis Head at 2/1 with Sportingbet
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Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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