The Oval Pitch Report: England and Australia will go head-to-head in the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval. The series, which Australia leads 2-1, will be concluded in London. England will be under immense pressure to level the series after failing to retain the urn for the second consecutive time at home. Australia will be feeling extremely confident and will be aiming for a win to seal the series 3-1 and win the Ashes in England after 22 long years. With the series on the line, Stokes may decide to drop James Anderson after his abysmal run continued at Old Trafford, while Australia may look to bring in Todd Murphy.
The Oval Pitch Report
The pitch at Kennington Oval assists the batters more than the bowlers. The bowlers, especially spinners, come into the match on Days 4 and 5. Due to the lack of grass, the pacers struggle here, but the new ball assists them until it loses its shine. Due to the ever-changing English weather, pacers can be quite a handful with cloud cover or in windy conditions.
Also Read: England Playing XI: Ben Stokes names Unchanged Squad for 5th Ashes Test
The average first-inning score here is 343, proving that it is indeed better than most English grounds for batting. However, that number changes quickly when we look at the average 4th inning score, which is 156.
As the pitch becomes dry, spinners come into the game, and owing to this fact, the majority of teams elect to bat first to ensure that their opponent bats in the trickiest of situations on Days 4 and 5.
Stats
Matches: 106
Match Drawn: 38
Matches Won Batting 1st: 39
Matches Won Batting 2nd: 29
Highest Team Total: 903/7 Declared by England vs Australia in 1938
Lowest Team Total: 44/10 by Australia vs England in 1896
Squads
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Josh Tongue, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Michael Neser.
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