The fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge has watchers quivering in anticipation, because no-one has any idea of how the match will go, given the topsy-turvy nature of the series so far, with no games reaching the fifth day.
England lead the series two-one, having win at Edgbaston inside three days, but the word ‘momentum’ meant little after Cardiff, when the Aussies rebounded with a massive 405-run win at Lord’s. They will be aiming to do the same here.
The Aussies will breathe a sigh of relief that James Anderson, the most successful bowler at the Nottinghamshire venue, is not playing. Having picked up a side strain in Birmingham, if ever there was a ground for him to miss out on, the Aussies will be glad it’s this one.
But they cannot be complacent, as Mark Wood is set to regain his place after missing the third match with an ankle niggle. He’s quicker than Anderson, and with a similar ability to get the ball swinging, so the threat remains.
Stuart Broad will also be eager to show that he is, in fact, the leader at Trent Bridge, his home ground. He sits on 299 Test wickets, and with one more he will join the 300 wicket-2000 run club that Mitchell Johnson joined last week.
Batting-wise, England have stuck with Adam Lyth at the top. His dire form in this series, averaging under 13, has seen calls for him to be dropped, but with no obvious replacement (unless you count Nick Compton, which the ECB do not) they’ve stuck with the Yorkshireman.
Australia will likely name an unchanged side, with the pace attack hoping for a deck similar to Edgbaston, one with a bit more pace and bounce. This time though, they need to be the ones taking 20 quick wickets, to make the fifth Test the decider.
One change we could see though, in the batting order, is the removal of Adam Voges and the addition of Shaun Marsh. Voges has not had the best time of it in the series, and with Chris Rogers doing well at opener, Marsh, who has been in good form, has missed out. But batting in the middle order is not strange to him, and he could get a game.
Neutrals and Aussies will want to see the visitors come back strongly and level the series, despite England not having lost here since 2007, so that the contest at The Oval is fitting of an Ashes finale.
Key Men
For England, batsman Joe Root will again be the man to watch. With England’s top order suffering a strange affliction of falling to low scores for three down, Root has been forced to bail them out a few times. He is their leading run-scorer in the series by a big margin.
The Aussies will look to veteran opener Chris Rogers, because of his vast experience in England. The former Middlesex skipper tops the batting chart in this series, and his calm, slightly more defensive, technique will serve them well if the ball is hooping.
Last Five Head-To-Head Results
2015 Third Ashes Test: England won by eight wickets in Birmingham
2015 Second Ashes Test: Australia won by 405 runs at Lord’s
2015 First Ashes Test: England won by 169 runs in Cardiff
2014 Fifth Ashes Test: Australia won by 281 runs in Sydney
2013 Fourth Ashes Test: Australia won by eight wickets in Melbourne
Squads
England: Alastair Cook, Adam Lyth, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Steven Finn, Mark Footitt, Liam Plunkett
Australia: Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Fawad Ahmed, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Pat Cummins
Dates: 6-10 August
Morning session: 11:00-13:00 (10:00-12:00 GMT)
Afternoon session: 13:40-15:40 (12:40-14:40 GMT)
Evening session: 16:00-18:00 (15:00-17:00 GMT)
On-field umpires: Aleem Dar and S Ravi
Third umpire: Marais Erasmus
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle
