Pat Cummins and Joe Root
Image Source: Twitter

The fifth and final Test of the ongoing Ashes 2021-22 series is scheduled to be played from 14th to 18th January 2022 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Australia currently leads the series by a 3-0 margin. Pat Cummins and Co. exhibited great performance in the first three Tests and managed to win all three of them.

England showed a lot more fight and resistance and managed to draw the fourth Test, thereby denying Australia of registering a series whitewash. Ahead of the fifth and final Test of the series, England would be hoping to end the tour with a win.

Usman Khawaja, Australia, Ashes 2021-22
Usman Khawaja (Credits: Twitter)

Riding on a sensational century from Usman Khawaja (137 off 260) and a vital knock from Steve Smith (67 off 141), Australia managed to score 416 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test. Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers for England as he picked his maiden five-wicket haul in the ongoing series.

In reply, the openers, once again, failed to hit the straps. The likes of Joe Root and David Malan too endured low scores as England lost four wickets for just 36 runs in the second innings. Australia looked to bundle England out for another low score.

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Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes
Image Source Twitter

However, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow had other plans. The duo played vital knocks and added 128 runs for the fifth wicket. Ben Stokes scored 66 runs off 91 deliveries, while Jonny Bairstow went on to score his maiden century in the series. Thanks to those valuable contributions, England managed to score 294 runs in the first innings. Scott Boland, once again, shone brightly with the ball as he picked four wickets for 36 runs in 14.1 overs.

Australia batted second and declared their innings at 275, thereby setting a target of 388 runs for England to win the match. While Haseeb Hameed got out, yet again, on a single-digit score, Zack Crawley impressed one and all with a stellar 77-run knock in 100 deliveries.

Ben Stokes scored his second half-century of the match but couldn’t go on to stay till the end. Australia took nine English wickets for 270 runs in 99.6 overs on Day 5. However, with only two overs left in the match, they failed to pick the final wicket and the game, eventually, resulted in a draw.

AUS vs ENG: Weather Forecast and Pitch Report at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart – Ashes 2021-22, 5th Test 

Mitchell Starc
Image Source: Twitter

Pitch Report: 

As compared to the other pitches, batsmen find it easier to bat here at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The ball is expected to come nicely on to the bat and one can expect both sides to post big totals on the board. Though, there will be help for the bowlers early on, however, once the batsmen get set, it will be hard  for the bowlers to stop him. Both teams should look to bat first upon winning the toss.

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Weather Forecast: 

The temperature will be relatively cool throughout the entire Test. Rain is likely to interrupt for very short periods in the first few days of the Test match. However, it isn’t going to trouble too much and one can expect it to be a great game of five-day Test match.