Live Cricket Score: England vs Australia, 5th Ashes Test, Day 1 – Cricbuzz – Cricbuzz, Google News

Welcome to our blog for the fifth Ashes Test. Find thelive scorecardhere

(An early review) **************************

Hazlewood to Burns .. it’s high .. and Erasmus raises his finger after thinking for a good couple of seconds. And Burns goes for the review rightaway. Right. Who thought ….

Australia opt to bowl

Really how green is this pitch? Have they heard James Anderson ranting about“home advantage”? Anyway, Australia will bowl first and they have brought in Peter Siddle for Mitchell Starc. England, as they had announced, drop Jason Roy and James Overton for the sake of Sam Curran and Chris Woakes.

(England) : Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (w), Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad

Australia: Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (w / c), Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Buildup ….

“Just how important is this match? The Ashes, after all, are gone with Australia’s retention sewn up at Old Trafford where they took a 2- 1 lead. England can, however, still level the series up with a victory at The Oval even if they cannot reclaim the prize they came for. In any normal series, its unresolved nature would give this match huge significance. But with the destination of the Ashes already resolved, there is a strange dynamic to this match. Does it really matter? “Asks Rob Johnstonin his preview.

Exactly, does it? Not according to Vithushan Ehantharajah,who writes“This is no dead rubber and the Ashes, as a series, are not gone. England can, and should, focus on maintaining Australia’s winless run of series since 2001. “

There are other questions brewing. Is Root the best choice as England’s captain going forward?Scott Oliver argueshow Stuart Broad might be the best captain England never have. Trevor Bayliss, the outgoing coach, though feels thatRoot and Stokes togethercan take this team forward.