England are going to come out absolutely annoyed: Mark Butcher expects fifth Ashes Test to be an absolute cracker
Former England cricketer Mark Butcher feels the hosts will come out all guns blazing to try and prevent Australia from winning the Ashes series in the fifth Test at The Oval beginning on Thursday, July 27.
Although England couldn't win in Manchester, letting Australia retain the Ashes, Butcher reckons there's still a lot to play for as the hosts would believe they were the better team at Old Trafford.
Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, here's what Butcher had to say about how both the camps would be feeling ahead of the fifth Ashes Test:
"England have found their mojo again and they’re going to come out absolutely annoyed and bristling with intent to put the cherry on the series from Manchester and level the series 2-2.
"For Australia, none of their players have been on the winning side of a series in England and they’re going to want to put that on their CV. Some of them are not going to be back again and Australia will then be able to say absolutely 100 percent that they have retained the Ashes and won the series."
While England garnered a lot of praise for the way they smashed the Australian bowlers in Manchester, Butcher feels the key moment that put the hosts ahead in the Test was when they bowled out the Aussies for just 317. On this, he said:
"Bowling Australia out on Day One, or Day One and a bit, on that pitch for a very, very small first-innings score for the conditions was also an absolute triumph. I think they will rightly say that could have been the absolute peak Bazball performance ever since this whole thing began.”
Mark Butcher on Australia's mindset ahead of 5th Test
Mark Butcher also claimed that Australia wouldn't have celebrated too much despite retaining the Ashes as the match ended in a draw. He fully expects both sides to go hard at each other and dish out another enthralling Test for the fans.
On this, he stated:
“Do you think Australia are going to be happy about the way they were dealt with in Manchester? For that to be the overriding feeling of how the Ashes was won?
"So they’re going to come roaring back at us at The Oval, and we will roar right back, and I think it’s going to be, if the weather doesn’t follow us South, it’s going to be an epic encounter again."
Australia lost The Oval Test four years ago and squandered the opportunity to win their first Test series on English soil since 2001. The visitors have another chance to set the record straight.