England vs. Australia Betting Tips: Three bets for Fifth Ashes Test

It really is an incredible shame that this fifth and final Test of the 2023 Ashes isn’t a series decider for all the marbles, but thanks to the Manchester weather, it is 2-1 to Australia heading into the game at the Oval.

We missed the best part of two days to rain at Old Trafford, which stings for England considering they would have certainly won had those days gone ahead. 

Zak Crawley scored a stunning 187 and Jonny Bairstow a brutal 99* as England scored nearly 600 first-innings runs and it is fair to say that England have all the momentum going into the Oval Test.

They will be desperate to draw the series 2-2, while if Australia can win the series 3-1, they would be the first Aussie team to win a series over here since 2001 and write themselves in the history books. There is still loads to play for.

Who are the favourites to win the Fifth Ashes Test?

After their dominant performance in the third Test where they looked to have really rattled Australia, it’s not a huge surprise to see that England are favourites to win the fifth Test, with odds of 13/10 at most betting sites. Australia are 7/4 to win the Test and seal a famous 3-1 series victory, while the draw is at 3/1. 

It’s hard to look past England winning this one, they will be fuming that the weather took away the opportunity for them to complete one of sport’s all-time great comebacks and have looked the better side for the majority of this series.

Old Trafford was the first time a team really dominated and I expect England to carry that one with a victory in the capital.

Had Joe Root not got a pea-shooter to go along the ground when he was on 84 at Old Trafford there is no doubt he would have gone big.

He looked imperious batting alongside Zak Crawley, not only playing his amazing root-scoop over the slip fielders but also driving brilliantly and playing the short ball well.

The Oval is always an excellent batting wicket and we’re backing Root to finish the series in the same way he started it: scoring a sparkling 100 for England.

Zak Crawley has undoubtedly had an excellent series and his 189 last time out was truly exceptional.

The thing is, he has just never been a consistent performer and anyone who has watched Crawley playing for England over the last few years it’s very rare for him to get a good score twice in a row.

He rode his luck quite a bit early on in his innings at Old Trafford and at the Oval it wouldn’t be a surprise if he wasn’t quite as lucky this time around.

Marnus Labuschagne had been guilty of making starts throughout the series and then failing to convert them until Old Trafford where his hundred saved his team from losing the game.

He looked the most fluent he had looked all series and played the spinners particularly well.

Even if he fails to convert on two good starts at the Oval, he may well go over 75.5 runs for the match so there’s value here. If he carries on his form from Manchester, he may just go over that number in just one innings.