Richard Mann provides the lowdown on the Oval, venue for the fifth and final Ashes Test between England and Australia.
Overview:
There will be no Ashes victory for England after rain washed away their hopes in Manchester, but the hosts have really found their stride as the series has gone on and will fancy their chances of levelling the scores at the Oval.
That's precisely what happened on this very ground in 2019, as Ben Stokes helped his side to much more than a consolation victory, and he will be desperate to see that England manage the same again.
The recent wet spell seen across England could complicate matters for punters, but last week's draw at Old Trafford was very much a rarity for this England team and they will continue to force the issue against an opponent who would happily take another drawn match to confirm series victory.
Australia haven't won a series in England since 2001, so avoiding defeat at the Oval will be their sole focus. Don't expect them to push the boat out with their approach.
2019 Ashes: England won by 135 runs
England: 294 & 329
Australia: 225 & 263
Man of the Match: Jofra Archer 6-62
This match will be remembered by many Australians as one that got away, captain Tim Paine winning the Toss but surprisingly opting to bowl despite the Oval historically being known as a bat-first venue.
A handful of solid contributions with the bat, headed by a sparky 70 from Jos Buttler before six wickets from Jofra Archer, handed the hosts a healthy first-innings lead and they were able to keep their noses in front thereafter.
More runs for Buttler in the second innings, along with half-centuries from Joe Denly and Ben Stokes, then set Australia an intimidating target of 399 to win the series.
It wasn’t to be, four wickets apiece for Stuart Broad and Jack Leach dismissing Australia for 263 to ensure their wait for a first away Ashes series victory since 2001 would go on.
Last Test match: Australia v India, 2023 – Australia won by 209 runs
Australia: 469 & 270/8dec
India: 296 & 234
Man of the Match: Travis Head
Australia ran out dominant winners of the World Test Championship final, that after losing an apparently crucial Toss on day one when India elected to bowl first on a green pitch in cloudy conditions.
Australia fought hard in a gripping opening session and things got much easier thereafter, Travis Head blasting a sparkling 163 to haul Australia to a huge first-innings total which put India on the back foot.
A fighting 89 from Ajinkya Rahane led India’s response, but when Australia declared in their second innings to set India 444 to win, there appeared to be a sense of inevitability about how the match would play out.
India were eventually bowled out for 234 as Rahane and Virat Kohli proved to be the last meaningful resistance to Australia’s march towards being crowned Test champions of the world.
Betting pointer:
As alluded to earlier in the piece, the Oval wicket has historically been a good one that is excellent for batting for the first few days, before deteriorating as matches go on, with variable bounce and spin coming into play.
That was again the case in the World Test Championship final – Nathan Lyon claiming four second-innings wickets – but in the County Championship this year, runs haven’t been impossible to make in the last innings.
In fact, Surrey chased down 247-1 batting last in April, while Lancashire later made 293 in the third innings, and Surrey 340 against Nottinghamshire in the third innings of their match.
With the nature of the series demanding a result, don’t be surprised if plenty of grass is left on the surface on day one, but good weather would see that burn off just like it did in the World Test Championship final, and batting could then become much much easier.
Reports are that the pitch at the Oval has offered plenty of pace all year so, weather permitting, this could be a good place to bat on days two and three, with the nature of the two batting line-ups suggesting plenty of runs could be scored, and crucially, very quickly.
From four matches, Steve Smith has scored three centuries and a fifty on this ground an an average of 91.00. Joe Root has two hundreds at the Oval, with an average of 44.80.
As has been the case throughout this series, betting contrarian and taking big prices in-running on the match market could offer plenty of trading opportunities.
More Ashes content:
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