Hobart will host the 5th Test of the Ashes 2021-22, where England and Australia will compete in the second pink-ball day-night Test of the series from January 14-18.
The much high profile but barely competitive Ashes 2021-22 will conclude with the fifth Test taking place at Bellerive Oval in Hobart from Friday, January 14. Australia have already claimed the Urn by winning the first three matches while England managed to avoid the whitewash with a valiant draw at Sydney.
Australia batted first at the SCG and piled up third 400+ total in the series, with the returning Usman Khawaja leading the charge with a magnificent 137. In response, England were reduced to 36/4 and were staring at another innings defeat.
But Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow added a 128-run partnership to recover the innings. Bairstow went on to score a century and avoided the follow-on with help from Mark Wood.
The hosts had 122 runs lead in the first innings and added further 265/6 in the second innings. One could say they delayed the declaration by quite a bit. The visitors needed to survive over 100 overs on the fifth day to escape with a draw. Zak Crawley showed why he is rated highly with his 77 off 100 balls, while half-fit Stokes and Bairstow also played over 100 balls each.
Jack Leach and Stuart Broad offered incredible resistance to the hosts. In a thrilling finale, Leach was dismissed by Steve Smith with two more overs to go. Broad and Anderson negotiated those safely to pull off a memorable draw.
Australia, who are still in the World Test Championship contention, will be looking to claim all 12 points from the fifth Test. England, on the other hand, will be hopeful of ending this gruelling tour on a high.
Key players
Pat Cummins, the no. 1 ranked ICC Test bowler, is amongst the best Aussie pacers of all time. The right arm pacer has snared 178 wickets from 37 Tests at an excellent average of 21.53. He has six five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul to his name in the format. Cummins has picked 14 scalps in the ongoing series from three games at 20.85 apiece. The Aussie skipper wasn’t at his brutal best in the last game but remains a key player.
Mitchell Starc has been an integral part of the Aussie bowling attack for years. While his record in recent years has attracted criticism, he is a different beast with the pink-ball in hand. The left-arm pacer has 270 wickets in Test cricket at 27.51 apiece, but in day-night Test, he has claimed 52 wickets from nine matches at an incredible average of 18.23. He returned the figures of 4/37 & 2/43 in the Adelaide day-nighter earlier this series.
Marnus Labuschagne has had an unbelievable couple of years in red-ball cricket, achieving no. 1 rank for ICC Test batsmen in the process. The Aussie batter has amassed 2171 runs from 22 Tests at an average of 58.67, including six hundreds and 12 fifties.
Labuschagne is the leading run-scorer in this Ashes with 286 runs across seven innings at 47.66 average.
Ben Stokes has been the heart of the English cricket team for long. The all-rounder returned from an injury but had an abysmal series before the Sydney Test. Battling with injury, Stokes showed immense grit in both the innings and scored 66 & 60, playing a crucial role in drawing the Test.
In his overall career, Stokes has 4858 runs at an average of 36.52 with 10 hundreds while also picking 167 wickets at 32.34 apiece. Stokes is likely to play at Hobart as a specialist bat and will be a key player.
Prediction
The Aussie side has a 100% record in pink-ball day-night Tests, winning all nine matches. Couple that with their overall dominance over England down under, and England’s chances don’t look great.
Australia, despite Josh Hazlewood missing out after the first Test, have fielded strong bowling attacks. Scott Boland has been extremely impressive in the two matches he has played.
The batting unit has been solid despite Steve Smith not being at his usual best. Australia do have a selection dilemma, with Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris and Travis Head in contention for two spots.
England’s bowling has failed to sustain the level and pressure for long periods, letting Australia off the hook on too many occasions. It’s unlikely to change no matter who they field in the fifth Test. The batting unit has been vulnerable, with even Joe Root failing to score big.
Stokes and Bairstow were outstanding in the last game, but both have injury concerns heading into the fifth game. England will again have to play out of their skin to produce a special result in a match where Australia are heavy favourites.
