England vs. Australia, 5th Test: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

The Ashes may already have been won, but there is still plenty to play for in the fifth and final Test of the series between England and Australia.

Alastair Cook's England regained the miniature urn on home soil with an innings victory at Trent Bridge in Nottingham last time out, with the result giving them an unassailable 3-1 lead over their rivals.

A topsy-turvy series comes to a conclusion at the Oval in London, a venue where Australia have won just one Test since their five-wicket triumph in 1972.

However, they will be eager to give retiring duo Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers a winning farewell to international cricket before they both hang up their batting gloves.

Date: Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015

Time: 11 a.m. BST (6 a.m. EST)

Venue: The Oval, London, England

Live Stream and TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), Nine Network (Australia), SKY Sport (New Zealand), SuperSport (South Africa), STAR Sport (India), NowTV (UK Streaming Service)

Weather: According to BBC Weather, rain may be an issue on the first four days of proceedings, most notably on Saturday. However, temperatures will be 20 C (68 F) and above until Day 5. 

Overview

England's victory at Trent Bridge was a procession. In bowling their rivals out for 60 inside a session on the first day, the hosts made the match less of a contest and more a coronation.

Now, captain Cook and his troops can make history—no England team has ever won four Tests in a home Ashes series, per Lawrence Booth of the Daily Mail.

Their bid to enter the record books will not be boosted by the return of James Anderson, according to Andrew McGlashan of ESPN Cricinfo.

The Lancashire seamer—England's leading wicket-taker in the longest format of the game—missed the last Test due to a side strain and has not recovered.

Mark Wood will continue in his place after the Durham paceman replaced Anderson in Nottingham and took the wicket that secured the Ashes.

The squad were watched during their training session on Tuesday by England football manager Roy Hodgson, as revealed by the ECB on Twitter:

Anderson's inclusion at the expense of Mark Footitt was the only change England's selectors had made to the 14-man squad on duty for the fourth Test. They retained the services of opening batsman Adam Lyth, despite the Yorkshireman managing just 86 runs in seven innings against Australia.

He is not the only player who has found big scores hard to come by during the summer—Australia skipper Clarke, for instance, averages 16.71 with a best of 38.

The 34-year-old announced in the immediate aftermath of the last Test that he will be retiring at the end of the series, telling Channel Nine (h/t Daniel Brettig of ESPN Cricinfo):

"

You never want to walk away from the game but I think my performances in this series and the last 12 months have not been acceptable to me.

I pride myself on leading from the front, so that's been disappointing. You build yourself up for the big series, the big tournaments. One-day cricket is about the World Cup and Test cricket is about the Ashes.

I certainly tried my best, the boys tried their best and we got outplayed. We got beaten. Now it's time for the next generation of players, the next captain to have his opportunity to try and build the team and get them ready for the next Ashes series.

"

The building that Clarke talked about in his post-match interview has already started.

Per Pete Samson of the Daily Star, Steve Smith will step up from his current role as vice-captain to take over at the helm. Fellow batsman David Warner, meanwhile, will be the new skipper's understudy.

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Like Clarke, opener Rogers will be making his final Test appearance at the Oval.

The left-hander, who is Australia's leading run-scorer in the series with 437, has stuck by his decision to retire at the end of the tour. He said, per BBC Sport: "I have had an amazing couple of years playing for Australia and been part of some pretty special things—but everything comes to an end."

Both Clarke and Rogers sat out the rain-affected tour fixture against Northamptonshire that took place between August 14-16. 

Australia slipped to 180 for eight in their one and only innings before Pat Cummins—who made an unbeaten 82—led a tail-end fightback against an understrength county attack.

Paceman Cummins also took three wickets with the ball, while all-rounder Mitchell Marsh—dropped for his older brother, Shaun, at Trent Bridge—claimed four for 56 and hit a half-century with the bat.

Cummins and Marsh could be selected at the Oval in place of Josh Hazlewood. Per Sky Sports, the seamer will be rested after a tough schedule that also included a tour to the West Indies earlier this year.

Brad Haddin will not be in Australia's XI either. The veteran wicketkeeper—who played in the series opener in Cardiff, Wales—has returned home for family reasons, according to Ed Aarons of the Guardian.

Key players

England

Stuart Broad starred in the fourth Test, taking eight for 15 on the opening morning to skittle Australia before lunch. His haul took his tally for the series to 21 wickets at an average of 18.09.

The Nottinghamshire seamer's stunning performance on his home ground meant England barely felt the absence of the injured Anderson, who found himself in the unusual role of frustrated spectator.

Broad, whose reaction to Ben Stokes' stunning catch to dismiss Adam Voges on Day 1 led to #ohmybroad trending on Twitter, is England's form horse with the ball.

Australia

Before he ascends to the captaincy, Steve Smith will be aiming to leave a lasting mark on the series with a big score at the Oval.

The ground holds fond memories for the right-handed batsman—he registered his maiden Test century on the Ashes tour of 2013, making 138 not out in a game that was also a dead rubber.

He made a double hundred this year against England, hitting 215 at Lord's. However, his other seven innings have seen him amass 150 runs in total, with his last four knocks all being single-figure scores.

Squads

England

Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Steven Finn, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood

Australia

Michael Clarke (captain), Fawad Ahmed, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill (wicketkeeper), Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson

All stats used in the preview are from ESPN Cricinfo.