England decided to stick with the same combination that nearly vanquished Australia in Old Trafford for the fifth and final Ashes 2023 Test that begins Thursday at The Oval.
Which means senior pacer James Anderson retains his place in the team despite a relatively modest outing in the fourth Test in Manchester. Anderson had been benched for the third Test in Headingley, which England ended up winning by three wickets to keep their hopes of an unlikely series victory alive.
England were on course for a commanding series-leveling win, riding on Zak Crawley’s brilliant 189 and contributions from Chris Woakes (5/62) and Mark Wood (3/27) in the first and second innings respectively.
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That was before incessant rain played spoilsport, allowing just 30 overs of play on Day 4 and washing the entire final day out as the Pat Cummins-led Australian team retained the Ashes for a fourth time running.
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England, though, will be eyeing a series-leveling win in the finale in London to preserve their two-decade unbeaten record against the ‘Old Enemy’.
“Jimmy Anderson is the greatest fast bowler to play the game,” England captain Ben Stokes said. “He’s not had the impact and the wickets he’d have liked to in this series, he’s come under a bit of flak, but he’s a quality performer.”
Australia arrived in south London with an insurmountable lead as holder of the Ashes, but a similar scenario in 2019 saw the team come unstuck in the final Test and forced to settle for a drawn series.
The tourists have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001 so there is plenty on the line still.
Australia captain Pat Cummins believes the circumstances are completely different from 2019 and says his side is determined to end the 22-year wait.
“It feels really different here, this group has been really motivated to win the series,” Cummins said.
“We know that it wasn’t our best week last week and at the end of the game it was a bit of a pat on the back, ‘Well done, we’ve retained the Ashes,’ but really it feels like the job’s not done.”
The next five days could prove to be the end of an era for this Australia team, most of whom are aged 30 or above and may not be in contention for the next Ashes series in England in 2027. Opening batter David Warner, who turns 37 in October, on Tuesday quashed rumors he is set to retire imminently and intends to stick to his initial plan of finishing on home soil early next year.
The 30-year-old Cummins has no desire to see any player finish prematurely.
“It’s a hard one,” Cummins said. “I certainly don’t want to rush anyone out of the door. I think this is about the fourth Ashes series where Jimmy Anderson has said it’s going to be his last one, so you never quite know. It is just an age.”
England team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.
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