The Ashes 2023: how to watch fifth and final England vs Australia cricket Test match - live stream, start time

Australia have retained the Ashes after a very wet Test in Manchester was ultimately abandoned on the final day of play. Zak Crawley produced one of the most spectacular Ashes centuries to help England to a first innings score of 592, with Jonny Bairstow scoring an unbeaten 99.

Chris Woakes’s first ever Ashes fifer helped reduce the visitors to 317 and they were on 214/5 in their second innings before having to rush for cover. Despite being unable to win the fourth Test, England will hope to secure the final Test match win and draw the series while Australia will be hoping to secure a 3-1 win over ‘Bazball’ as the cricketers head to London for their final meet-up of the series.

Speaking after the draw, England’s captain Ben Stokes said: “I think a (series decider) would have elevated everything but what we have managed to do has done wonders for cricket in England. We will have to get over this disappointment and focus on that game as it is massive for us, 2-2 sounds better than 3-1.

“I think we have become a team people will remember. Regardless of how the series ends up, people will always talk about us. We know we can’t get (the Ashes urn) back. All we can do is draw the series and that is what we will be trying to do.”

Here is all you need to know ahead of the fifth Test match...

When is the fifth Ashes Test match?

The fifth and final Test will start on Thursday 27 July and will conclude, if all five days are necessary, on Monday 31 July 2023. Each day’s play will be scheduled to start at 11am with play to conclude at 6.30pm depending on light and how many overs have been bowled.

How to watch the fifth Ashes Test

Sky Sports will have all the action from the pitch. The match will be shown on both Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket with coverage starting at 10am and a countdown programme beginning at 8am ahead of the 11am scheduled start time.

Fans can add Sky Sport Cricket channels to their Sky packages from just £15/month with full packages starting from £34/month. Those with Sky Sports can also live stream the action from Birmingham through the SkyGo app and on the Sky Sports website.

Additionally, the BBC will be broadcasting a highlights show at 7pm every day of the Test match which can be watched on BBC Two and streamed through BBC iPlayer.

Where is the fifth Test being played?

The fifth and final Test in the 2023 Ashes series will be played, as history dictates, at The Oval cricket Ground. Known as the Kia Oval for sponsorship reasons, the last ground to host the Ashes is the home to Surrey’s County Cricket Club has hosted 105 Test matches in its history, including 38 Ashes fixtures.

England won the last Test match at the Oval against Australia in 2019 by 135 runs, with that series also ending in Australia retaining the urn. Australia, however, recently played their ICC Test Championship fixture at this ground, beating India by 209 runs.

Squads and team news

England are likely to announce their playing XI on Tuesday or Wednesday ahead of the Thursday start while Australia will not name their squad until closer to the start-time. Following the Old Trafford Test, there are no fresh injury concerns for England, although Australia may be concerned about the state of Mitchell Starc after the fast bowler was forced to take time off the pitch due to a shoulder problem.

England squad: Ben Stokes (C), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Jimmy Peirson, Mitchell Starc, David Warner