England
Australia
Much like the third Test, England were on course to dominate the fourth test as well and prepare The Oval for hosting a great climax to this really engaging Ashes series. Unfortunately, the never-ending love story of English weather and its having a say in the result of a test match ruined this one as well. The fourth Test ended in a draw, and it has ensured that Australia retain the Ashes, and England will have to wait a little bit longer to enjoy that Ashes urn alone.
The drawn fourth Test match brings us to the fifth and concluding match of this Ashes series. The match could have been a dream one for the fans, with both teams having everything to play for, but now the ball is in Australia’s court. England needs to win this match to share the Ashes trophy with Australia; otherwise, a draw or a loss will give the Kangaroos another Ashes victory away from home.
The fourth match was dominated by England completely, and a similar kind of performance will be expected from Ben Stokes and his boys. The last match of the series will be played at The Oval in Southampton. The top bookmakers in India have Ashes odds with them.
EnglandAustraliaThis is a must-win game for England to share the Ashes trophy with Australia, and hence they are expected to play with their full-strength bowling unit. Stuart Broad might be rested, but we don’t expect any changes to the team. The batting unit also played really well in the previous match and would like to continue their performance in this one as well.
England will go with the same playing 11 in Southampton.
Predicted Lineup: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson
The two concerns before this match for Australia were David Warner’s form and Marnus Labuschagne’s form. Labuschagne got a fantastic century under pressure in this match, but Warner could not get a big score, and the team will expect more from him in this match. Another blunder Australia made was not playing a frontline spinner, which they felt during the second innings.
Todd Murphy is going to find a place in the playing 11 in this match, and one of Mitchell Marsh or Cameron Green will miss out.
Predicted Lineup: David Warner, Usman Khwaja, Marnus Labuschgne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh/Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, and Todd Murphy
The four Test matches so far in this series have been really exciting and have kept cricket fans glued to their screens for the most part. Since this is the last match of the series, it is predicted to be nothing short of a blockbuster. We hope the weather allows us to have a feast and not interrupt in between like it did in the fourth match. England are the favorites to win the fifth, given their current form and momentum. We think the English players and their "bazball" will end the series at 2-2.
