LONDON (AP) — England announced an unchanged team on Wednesday to play Australia in the fifth and final Ashes test at the Oval.
England record wicket-taker James Anderson, who turns 41 on the fourth day, retains his place in the side despite a disappointing series so far while pacer Mark Wood and all-rounder Chris Woakes have both been passed fit.
The fifth test starts Thursday.
Australia takes a 2-1 lead into the match and has already retained the urn but England is looking to level the series after the final-day washout at Old Trafford in the drawn fourth test and has kept faith in Anderson.
“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.
___
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
