Australian captain Pat Cummins claims he is right to play his sixth Test in eight weeks despite concerns about his most recent performance, and declared that spearhead Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh had overcome fitness concerns ahead of the final Ashes Test at the Oval.
Victory would achieve a 3-1 triumph while even a draw would ensure Australia’s first series victory in England for 22 years.
Starc has been struggling with a shoulder problem after landing awkwardly during last week’s Old Trafford Test, which ended in a rain-soaked draw, while Marsh spent time off the field with “soreness”.
“Everyone should be alright,” said Cummins, who also hinted that young spinner Todd Murphy would return to the side. This puts pressure on all-rounder Cameron Green to hold his place. While he has bowled well on occasions, Green has been struggling with the bat, averaging only 20 for the series, and he missed the third Test with a minor hamstring strain.
Cummins claimed Marsh was “feeling pretty good.”
“We’ll give it another 24 hours, but we expect he’d be able to bowl,” he said.
Pat Cummins arrives at a nets session at the Oval ahead of the fifth Test.Credit: Getty
Marsh has become a vital part of the team since being recalled for his first Test in four years at Headingley, scoring a run-a-ball 118 then following it up in Manchester with an equal top score of 51 in the first innings and an unbeaten 31 in the second across more than two and a half hours, keeping England at bay until the rain arrived.
Cummins pointed to the injured Nathan Lyon’s record at the Oval for the reason to consider Murphy. Lyon, who suffered a serious calf strain during the second Test at Lord’s, has 14 wickets at 24 in four Tests at the venue. His best there, 4-41, came less than two months ago when he helped bowl Australia to a comprehensive victory in the World Test Championship final against India.
“Nath Lyon’s got a very good record here, so I think that’ll be part of the conversation this week,” Cummins said.
The captain will be the only one of Australia’s bowlers to play all six Tests, including the WTC final, but says he feels in better shape now than during the last Ashes tour four years ago, when Australia played the World Cup before the Test series.
“I remember turning up here in 2019 for the fifth Test, and I was wrecked,” Cummins recalled. “It’s probably the only time in my career where I thought I genuinely might not be able to play. But I still did a decent job then. And I feel in a much better position now.
“There have been a couple of little breaks. Two matches on, bit of a break, two matches, bit of a break. I feel really well-placed. Starcy and Bolo [Scott Boland] and Joshy [Hazlewood] have all missed games. I feel like we’ve managed the resources really well and everyone is a pretty good spot.”
Cummins is particularly delighted with the way Starc, 33, continues to front up as the oldest of Australia’s fast bowlers, having played 81 Tests over almost 12 years for 325 wickets at an average under 28 and a strike rate of just 49. His strike rate is second only to Cummins (47) among the 39 bowlers who have claimed 100 wickets or more for Australia.
Fifth Ashes Test at The Oval
Likely teams
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Josh Hazlewood, Todd Murphy.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c) Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue.
Pitch: Captain Pat Cummins believes the Oval pitch is similar to the one Australia played India on less than two months ago in the World Test Championship final. Australia won by 209 runs, with the now injured Nathan Lyon claiming 4-41 in the second innings on a surface that encouraged increasing turn. This should open the door for Todd Murphy to return to the side.
Weather: Mild weather has been forecast with the chance of a shower on Thursday, day one of the match. There may be plenty of cloud about, which will encourage both captains to bowl first. However there should be few interruptions across the five days, should the match last that long.
Key players
Australia: Steve Smith was the star of the 2019 Ashes series, scoring 774 runs at an average of 110 across four Tests. Now across four Ashes Test in this series he has 248 runs at an average of just 31. However, Smith started this tour with a century at the Oval against India in the World Test Championship final and would like to finish the series that way.
England: The express pace of Mark Wood since his recall for the third Test at Headingley has changed the complexion of the series. Wood has 11 wickets at 17 and a strike rate of just 31 across the past two Tests. He can only bowl short spells for maximum impact. The Australians need to keep him bowling and wear him out.
“He’s got something going on there,” Cummins said of Starc’s shoulder. “But he’s come out and bowled [at Old Trafford]. We weren’t really sure about it. He’s got a history with it right now.”
Cummins pointed out that Starc has played the second-highest number of Tests for any Australian fast bowler (81) behind Glenn McGrath (124).
“You don’t do that without being extremely tough,” he said. “Especially the way he bowls at 150ks. I reckon his pain threshold is high as I’ve ever seen. And his resilience, not only through injuries but everything he goes through.”
Remarkably Starc played just one Test on the 2019 tour of England. This series he’s played four for 15 wickets at 29 on largely batter-friendly surfaces.
“He hasn’t lost any of that pace but his consistency … he really nails that back of a length really well across the right-handers. He’s added a few more tricks.”
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