Australia have retained the Ashes and they are set to lock horns with host England in the fifth and the final Ashes Test on Thursday at Kennington Oval. Tim Paine & his boys pulled up a stunning 185-run victory over the Englishmen in Manchester and they are eyeing to clinch the series in London.


One of the only worries Australia have at the moment is the form of David Warner. Warner has been in awful form in the ongoing Ashes and has scored just 79 runs at an average of 9.87 per innings. The Left-handed opener has endured a tough series tackling the new ball, particularly against England seamer Stuart Broad, and has managed just one double-figure score (61) in eight innings with ducks from each of his last three starts.

However, Langer has backed him to come good and score in the final Test.

On the other hand, Joe Root & Co will look to overcome the Old Trafford heartbreak and aim to draw the five-match Ashes series and gain all 24 ICC World Test Championship points available. They registered a miraculous win in the third Test but failed to keep up their spirit and came out with a below-par performance in the 4th Test.

Even then, the hosts have decided not to make any changes in their line-up and have named an unchanged 12-man squad for the Test, which will be Trevor Bayliss' last match as England head coach.

Their batsmen have not been able to perform as Joe Root and Bayliss would have liked. Ben Stokes, their hero at Headingley, is set to have a shoulder scan after he picked up an injury at Old Trafford, pulling up in his 11th over, and didn't bowl during Australia's second innings.

However, England's main concern is to find a way to stop Steve Smith, who is having a dream run in the ongoing Ashes.

Squads:

Australia: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.