What happened the last time an Ashes Test was played at The Oval, London?
For the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Ashes series, England and Australia are set to lock horns at the iconic Kennington Oval in London from Thursday, July 27. Australia are currently leading the series 2-1, with the fourth Test ending in a draw due to rain in Manchester.
The Kennington Oval in London hosted its first-ever international cricket match in 1880, played between England and Australia. Since then, the two teams have faced off 38 times at the venue, with the hosts winning on 17 occasions. Australia have registered seven wins on the ground against England.
The most recent Ashes Test between these two teams at The Oval took place in 2019. That match was the series finale as well, with Australia leading 2-1 going into the final game.
After being put in to bat first, the hosts started brilliantly, scoring their first 100 runs for the loss of only one wicket. However, a batting collapse saw them lose their next seven wickets for only 126 runs. Jos Buttler then came to the rescue for his side, top-scoring with 70 and dragging England to 294.
In reply, Australia had no answers to Jofra Archer's exceptional bowling spell. The pacer took six wickets as England bowled out Australia for 225 and gained a slender first-innings lead of 69 runs.
The second innings began on a high note for England as Joe Denly anchored the innings with a brilliant knock of 94 runs. Ben Stokes also made a much-needed half-century as England posted 329 runs on the board.
This meant Australia had an arduous task of chasing down 399 runs in the fourth innings. Stuart Broad wreaked havoc against the Aussie top-order as he picked up four wickets, reducing the visitors to 85/4 in no time.
Matthew Wade then came up with a resounding knock and registered his career-best score of 117, which included 17 boundaries and a six. However, it wasn't enough to save Australia as Jack Leach took four scalps which helped the hosts to skittle out the Aussie unit for 263 runs, thus winning the game by 135 runs.
England to remain unchanged for the fifth Test in London
The drawn fourth Test in Manchester meant that England failed to regain the Ashes urn. However, the Ben Stokes-led unit will be adamant about finishing the series on a high and clinching the fifth Test.
On Wednesday (July 26), England named their playing XI for the final Test. The Three Lions have opted to go with the same team that played the fourth Test in Manchester.
Remaining unchanged from the previous game, England have backed James Anderson, who has largely struggled in the ongoing series. The 40-year-old has only three wickets in the series and averages a dismal 76.75.
As far as Australia are concerned, they will name their playing XI at the toss, which will take place at 3 pm IST.
England XI for the fifth Ashes Test
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.