Ashes 2019, 5th Test: Preview, Dream11 and more
England and Australia face each other for the fifth and final Test match of the ongoing Ashes 2019 series. Australia, who won the fourth Test, lead the series 2-1 and have successfully retained the urn. They will want to derail England and win the series 3-1. England have a lot to fight for. Here is the complete match preview.
England to play for pride and World Test Championship points
England will want to provide a stiff fight and try to equal the series 2-2. Although the urn is gone, there will be pride at stake to eke out something from the series. Moreover, there are 24 ICC World Test Championship points on offer. There's everything to play for. Skipper Joe Root needs to rally his troops and give everything on offer.
Australia are the favorites to pocket the fifth Test
Australia have been the better team in the series and they enter the fifth Test as the favorites. They have played much better cricket throughout the series. Steve Smith continues to be the main focus. He has already amassed three tons and two fifties to lead the show. The bowling led by Pat Cummins has done well. There are issues surrounding David Warner's form.
Dream11: Smith, Broad lead a strong unit on offer
Rory Burns opens the batting with Joe Denly in this Dream11 side. The in-form Marnus Labuschagne follows suit. Steve Smith gets the captaincy nod and is joined by Travis Head and wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler in the batting unit. Ben Stokes is the main all-rounder. Stuart Broad gets the vice-captaincy nod. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Jack Leach are the other bowlers.
View point: What have the coaches said?
"Sometimes you can only be as good as the players you've actually got in the team. We're probably still looking for a number of players to make that XI as strong as it possibly can be," said England's outgoing coach Trevor Bayliss. "There is a good feeling in the group, but they know there is still unfinished business," said Aussie coach Justin Langer.
Conditions, pitch report, timing and TV listing
According to a report in ICC, cloudy conditions are expected for the first, second and fifth days of the Test. However, the third and fourth days are set to have sunny weather. There is no rain predicted. The Oval will support fast bowlers at large. The match will be telecast live on the Sony Ten Network. It's scheduled for a 3:30 PM IST start.
