3 things Australia need to do to win 5th Ashes 2023 Test on Day 5
Well, it all comes down to the final day of the Ashes series to find out which team walk away with bragging rights. While Australia have already retained the Ashes, a win here would cement their domination with a 3-1 series win. However, an English win could once again awaken questions about the drawn fourth Test being the reason for the Aussies walking away with the urn.
As things stand, Australia enter the final day of arguably the most closely fought Ashes series since 2005, garnering hopes of pulling off a miraculous run-chase at the Kennington Oval. Tasked with chasing 384 to secure an outright series win in England for the first time since 2001, the Aussies batted with tremendous intent and smarts to reach 135/0 before the heavens opened up to prevent any further play on Day 4.
While much of the headlines during the day was surrounding the retirement of champion pacer Stuart Broad, the Aussie openers kept the English bowlers at bay with their assured batting. Usman Khawaja continued his resurgence in Test cricket, overtaking Zak Crawley to become the leading run-scorer in the series. He remained unbeaten on 69 off 130 deliveries.
Meanwhile, David Warner put behind his nightmarish run in Test cricket this year and overcame his nemesis Stuart Broad to finish the day on 58.
Stumps on Day 4! 🌙
Australia in a dominant position, needing 249 runs to win with all 10 wickets in hand. Unfortunately, rain played spoilsport after lunch, preventing any further action on the field. 🌧️
#ENGvAUS #Ashes #Cricket pic.twitter.com/WCtTw0kq6G
Despite the scintillating start, the visitors will be well aware that history is not on their side, with the highest successful run-chase at the venue being only 263 by England back in 1902. It will also be the eighth-highest run-chase in Test cricket and the second most by Australia in their decorated cricketing history.
With the prospect of an exciting finale to culminate a fantastic series between the Ashes rivals, let us look at three things the Aussies must do to cap off the stunning run-chase on Day 5.
#1 Not lose a wicket in the first hour of the day
Australia's chances of winning the Oval Test will take a massive upswing if they remain unscathed after the first hour of play on Day 5. While Usman Khawaja is renowned for his ability to play time and score big, all eyes will be on David Warner at the start of play.
The veteran opener has thrown away several starts and has been dismissed after getting well-set throughout the series. The ongoing innings is just his second half-century of the English summer. With Day 5 set to be Stuart Broad's finale in international cricket, there is little doubt he will look to dislodge Warner one final time.
There have also been nine 40+ scores in the game thus far without any of the batters converting it into a three-figure score. The duo must guard against a repeat of the same and must keep their wickets intact as long as possible.
It is also noteworthy that the Duke's ball generally moves in the air after the 25-30th over and in the first session of play. This series has also seen numerous batting collapses once a substantial partnership is broken.
Hence, it becomes imperative for Australia not to lose a couple of quick wickets first thing on Day 5 to restore belief in the England camp.
#2 Maintain the same tempo throughout the innings
The Aussie batters must continue batting at a similar run rate throughout their innings to keep the English bowlers on their toes and have Ben Stokes thinking of changing the fields.
In the first innings, the top three batters got stuck without strike rotation, enabling the England bowlers to pin them down and eventually dislodge them. While the usually aggressive Warner himself batted at a strike rate of less than 50, Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne fared even worse with strike rates of 30 and 10, respectively.
It was an uncharacteristic innings by the Australians, who seemed hell-bent on not losing their wickets than keeping the scoreboard ticking. They have thus far corrected their approach in the second innings, with both openers going at a good clip of over 3.50 runs per over.
This must continue for the visitors even if they lose wickets to avoid the English bowlers from pinning down the new batter by stalling the run flow.
#3 Ensure to keep the in-form duo of Chris Woakes and Mark Wood at bay
Although Stuart Broad is England's leading wicket-taker in the Ashes, the injection of Chris Woakes and Mark Wood into the playing XI has been the sparkplug behind England's dominance since the third Test.
The duo starred in the hosts' lone victory at Headingley and put in another magnificent performance in the drawn fourth Test at Manchester. They also picked up half the Aussie wickets in the first innings and ensured the total stayed below 320 for a fifth consecutive time in the series.
While Wood has provided England with the cutting edge thanks to his extreme pace and skiddy bouncers, Woakes has extracted the most seam movement among the bowlers in this series to trouble the Aussie batters. Further, they were highly under bowled on Day 4, combining for just eight of the 38 overs thus far.
With 28 wickets between them in two and a half matches at an impressive bowling average of 20, the two Ws will be looking to make inroads in the Aussie batting lineup early and often on Day 5.
Therefore, it is paramount that the visitors overcome the threat of the dynamic pace duo to emerge victorious in the match and the series.