The Ashes 5th Test Match Prediction: England versus Australia. Who Will Win?

Everyone, apart from those associated with Australian cricket, had been hoping that England would win the 4th Test and level the series heading into the 5th and final Test at the Kia Oval. England completely outplayed Australia over three days of the Test, but the notorious Manchester weather put paid to an Ashes decider, and no matter what happens in London, the Aussies will leave England with the urn. Despite this disappointment, The Ashes have been a great advertisement for Test match cricket, and both sets of players will be eager to put on a show in the final Test. If you want to do some cricket betting on this game, then here is our cricket match prediction.

England Team Preview

It is highly likely that England will keep the same squad that had available for the fourth Test, but we think that Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes will opt to make at least one change to the playing XI.

Jimmy Anderson was given the nod in the fourth Test at his home ground in Manchester, but he was pretty ineffective once again. While he was England's most economical bowler, he just did not seem to cause that many problems for the Australian batsman in the three Tests that he played. In the series so far, he has picked up just the four wickets at an average of 76.75. We think that he will be dropped for the fifth Test, and we expect to see Josh Tongue take his place.

Ollie Pope will be missing through injury once again, so we expect England to stick with Moeen Ali at three. There has been plenty of debate as to whether Ali should even be in the team as his bowling has not been that effective, but he scored a very important half-century at Old Trafford to set England up for a big score. As a result, we expect him to come out at the fall of the first wicket when England are batting at the Kia Oval.

Below are three England players that you should keep an eye on during the 5th Test in London:

Josh Tongue: We really hope that Tongue gets another game because it will be great to see him and Mark Wood go at the Australians with their express pace. Tongue is not as fast as Wood, but he is the second quickest bowler that England currently have available to them. In the one and only Ashes Test that he played, he picked up five wickets, and it will be entertaining to see him in action again.

Mark Wood: When Wood comes on to bowl, everyone stops what they are doing and pays close attention to the action because they know that there is a very good chance that something exciting might happen. He bowls at an average of 93 mph and causes all sorts of issues for his opponents. He has been the pick of the bowlers in the two matches that he has played this summer, picking up a total of 11 wickets at a stunning average of 17.00.

Zac Crawley: The Kent batsman has received plenty of stick during his time as an England opener, and it is stick that he probably cannot complain about. Before the fourth Test, he was averaging somewhere around 28, which is not ideal for an opener, especially one that is clearly talented. However, in the 4th Test, he showed why it is that McCullum and Stokes have decided to persist with him. His 189 from 182 will go down as one of the best Ashes innings. Hopefully he can put on a show in the capital.

Our predicted England XI: Crawley, Duckett, Ali, Root, Brook, Stokes, Bairstow, Woakes, Wood, Broad, Tongue.

Australia Team Preview

Australia were comprehensively outplayed at Old Trafford, and they will be counting their lucky stars that they have already retained the little urn heading into the final Test. Despite the fact that the urn will be heading back to Australia, the selectors have a number of decisions to make before Thursday.

For instance, one thing that they need to decide is what to do with David Warner. He has been a great servant for his country over the years, but he will be disappointed with how things have gone for him in this series. In the eight innings that he has batted in, he has picked up just 201 runs at an average of 25.13. With the urn retained, we think that the Aussie selectors should take a risk and pick Matt Renshaw to open the batting at the Kia Oval. He has played 14 times for his country, and it would be good for him to experience playing in an Ashes test.

Then they have to decide on the players that are going to form their bowling attack. Do they go with a specialised spinner in this match, or an all-out pace attack like they did at Old Trafford? We think they will opt for a spinner as their pace attack was flayed all over Old Trafford, and it is always wise to have some variety. As a result, Todd Murphy will come into the team, probably at the expense of Cameron Green.

Here are three Aussies to keep an eye on:

Usman Khawaja: It is fair to say that Usman Khawaja has been the pick of the Australian batsmen in this series, scoring a total of 377 runs at an average of 47.13. He had a lean Test in Manchester, scoring just 21 runs, but in the first three Tests he was a thorn in England's side. He has faced a total of 961 balls, and the England bowlers will be hoping he doesn't add many to that in the final test.

Steve Smith: He is the player that England would have been most wary about heading into the series, but they have kept him relatively quiet so far. He is averaging just 31 in 8 innings, and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top in this final game.

Mitchell Starc: He has been the pick of the Aussie bowlers, picking up 15 wickets in three matches at an average of 29.40. If you are betting on The Ashes and what to bet on the top bowler for Australia, then you might want to consider betting on him.

Our predicted Australia XI: Khawaja, Renshaw, Labuschagne, Smith, Head, Marsh, Carey, Starc, Cummins, Murphy, Hazlewood.

Toss Prediction

Stokes has won the toss four times in a row, so we would not be surprised if he makes it five consecutive wins. The team batting first has won 36.19% of the time, compared to 27.62% for the team batting second, so the captain that wins the toss will probably opt to bat first.

Pitch Conditions

History tells us that the Kia Oval is a pitch that favours the batsmen. The first three days are usually the best time for batting, which is why we think the toss winner will opt to bat first and try to rack up a score of around 400. Spin usually comes into play towards the end of the match, which is why it is likely that Australia will pick a specialised spinner.

Our Match Prediction

If you are going to be betting on this match at betting sites for cricket, then we suggest that you bet on the Aussies to win. England will be disappointed that the series is not level, and that should play into Australia's hands. Also, Australia can play with less pressure because, even if they lose, they will still take the urn home with them.

Our match prediction: Australia to win.