by bigfluffylemon » Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:11 pm
And so to the traditional finale of the English summer at the Oval. Has an English cricket summer finished so late? 16th of September seems awfully late. The 2005 series finished on 12th September, and that match was plagued (or blessed, depending on your perspective) by bad light. Still, the weather is set fair, and we should see a result.
Still a lot to play for, despite the Ashes already being retained. A 3-1 win for Australia will likely be judged by history as an overwhelming win, while a 2-2 draw would have Australia leave these shores unsatisfied, and with a record of still never having won in England since 2001. Oh, and apparently there are 24 test championship points to play for. So there's that.
Team news - Ben Stokes is unfit to bowl, so will be played as a specialist batsman, with Jason Roy making way at 4 and Sam Curran to slot in at 7. Meanwhile Craig Overton is dropped for Chris Woakes, because, hey, why not. It's not as if we should expect any consistency or logic behind England's selections any more. Although in theory this is dropping a batsman for another allrounder, Curran has a test average decently over 30, and Woakes isn't far behind with a test match ton to his name, so this should actually strengthen England's batting, given Jason Roy has struggled all season.
On the Australian front, Travis Head makes way for Mitchell Marsh, the main reason seemingly his medium pace to give a break to the quicks. Pat Cummins especially must be exhausted after a long summer. In theory, this should give England a bit of a chance, as the pressure on the batsmen may not be so relentless. On the other hand, this is the England batting line-up we're talking about. David Warner keeps his place, despite having apparently become Stuart Broad's bunny.
It's tempting to conclude that Australia have been overwhelmingly dominant in this series, but to be honest, all four tests could have gone either way at various points. Australia have seized the key moments more often than England, but the biggest difference between the two sides is the runs of Steve Smith. If England can find a way to get him out cheaply, they have a shot. Of course, we've been saying that for nine tests on the bounce now, so any suggestion that Smith is due a failure, or it may happen now, have to be taken with a pinch of salt.