August 2015 – Liam Richner

For many, the result at the Oval in the final Ashes test of the current series will seem irrelevant, with England already regaining the Ashes up in Nottingham two weeks ago.

But Alastair Cook’s men can’t be complacent on the field, as Australia will look to seek little consolation with victory. It will also be the final test appearances for both Michael Clarke and Chris Rodgers. Both will look to end with a flourish.

Clarke is disappointed with his performances this summer, but is grateful to the Australian Cricket Board for what has been a glittering career.

“I would have liked to have played better in this series, admitted the Australian skipper.

“But I think it’s the right time for me to walk away.

“I’ve given my heart and soul to Australian cricket and every time I’ve walked on I’ve given everything I had for the team.

“I’m very fortunate to be the 43rd Australian cricket captain and I’m very proud and honoured to have had the opportunity.”

England will be attempting to win a fourth home Ashes test in a single series for the first ever time. They will have to do that without James Anderson, who isn’t 100% fit. But with an unchanged side named for the Oval, you can expect England to attack with a similar ferocity as at Trent Bridge.

A win would also see Cook and Co. rise to second in the ICC world rankings, ahead of Australia. Draw or defeat would see Australia retain their ranking of second, with England just behind in third.

For most of the team though, the main reason to put in another top quality performance is so they can carry momentum with them to the UAE this winter, where they face Pakistan.

Players like Adam Lyth and Mark Wood will hope to catch the eyes of the England selectors with solid displays. Lyth has struggled with the bat, scoring the second-lowest average for England in this Ashes series (12.28).

Joe Root will look to cement his place at the top of the batting rankings with a big score at the Oval, with Stuart Broad (rank 2^nd) also looking to edge ever closer to Dale Steyn (rank 1^st) at the top of the bowling rankings.

Finally, if England win it will be the sixth test victory of the calendar year, the first time that has happened since 2011, when they were ranked the best test team in the world.

So with so much at stake, and a chance for a little bit of payback for the stick and abuse the side suffered down under 18 month ago when they were whitewashed 5-0, why should England ease off?

Australia are on the ropes, with players now calling it a day and injuries, England have never in my lifetime had a better opportunity to rub salt into the very deep Australian wounds.

With a green pitch, fans can expect another wicket-fest like the other test matches this summer. With bounce and swing, the fast pace bowlers can once again commence a fierce attack at the stumps.

It will once again be a very important coin toss when Alastair Cook and Clarke meet on the wicket tomorrow morning- with both teams hoping to bowl first and gain an early advantage.

*Quotes from BBC Sport.

3rd Test, Day Three, Edgbaston.

England managed to win the third Ashes test with two days spare, as they crushed Australia by 8 wickets at Edgbaston.

Ian Bell continued his resurgence with the bat with an unbeaten 65, as the hosts managed to chase down their target of 121 for victory inside 32.1 overs.

Joe Root also contributed an unbeaten 38 to settle the match, despite the hosts losing captain Alastair Cook for just seven at the start of the innings.

Australia had earlier added 97 runs before losing their three remaining wickets- with Steven Finn recording his best test figures of 6-79.

The tourists slogged the ball around the ground, with Peter Nevill leading the charge by reaching a half-century. He was caught behind not long after though, when he edged Finn’s delivery into the gloves of Jos Buttler.

Mitchell Starc and Paul Hazlewood added 28 before the latter was caught brilliantly by Root.

Starc, who had also slogged his way past fifty, clipped Moeen Ali’s delivery to extra cover, and to the roar of the England crowd- England had set themselves up nicely to finish the match within nine sessions.

England were however up against a resilient Starc.

As a result, the Aussie fast bowler dismissed both Cook (7) and Adam Lyth (12) early on. He clean bowled the England skipper with a fastball that swung inwards devilishly.

He then caught under pressure Lyth for LBW to leave the home fans holding their breath.

But Ian Bell, who has received criticism throughout the series, proved his credentials with a calm, professional half century, which included five boundaries. However he did offer Australia a great chance for his wicket.

Australian captain Michael Clarke spurned a simple catch when the Warwickshire batsman edged Starc’s pacey delivery to slip.

It proved to be the deadliest of blows to the tourists, as Bell and Root saw out the game to leave England one win away from regaining the urn.

It was another ‘reaction’ performance from England, which seems to be a constant theme in this year’s Ashes series.

Australia bounced back from a crushing first test defeat to smash England at Lord’s last week to level the series.

But this week it was England’s turn to turn the tide of the series in their direction once again, with three days of brilliant cricket. Including the two 6-wicket hauls by James Anderson and Steven Finn- the first time that happened in a test match by two English bowlers for 34 years.

“The way Jimmy Anderson bowled in that first innings was fantastic,” claimed a jubilant Cook.

“It’s also been an amazing comeback from Steven Finn. Standing there at slip, you thought he was going to get a nick every ball. The character he has shown to come back after a lot of hard work is incredible.”

Steven Finn added: “This week has been fantastic and I’m thoroughly enjoying Test cricket again.

“There were a few nerves in the first few balls and you question yourself but after that it was focusing on getting people out.

“I did doubt at times if I’d play again but knew I could be good enough again. To be stood here now, there is no better feeling.”

Australia will have to ponder on their batting performance after they failed to post decent totals on what was a relatively flat pitch.

“It’s very hard to explain,” said Clarke.

“Credit has to go to England, they bowled well on day one and we didn’t bat anywhere near we’d have liked. I still would have batted first; you can see the wicket has deteriorated.

“It swung and seamed throughout the whole game. We probably had the best batting conditions, we just didn’t execute with bat and ball.”

The fourth test commences on August 6^th at Trent Bridge.

* QUOTES FROM BBC SPORT.

Month: August 2015

ASHES 2015: Why The 5th Test is as important as any other for England.

ASHES 2015: ENGLAND SMASH AUSTRALIA BY EIGHT WICKETS TO RETAKE SERIES LEAD.