LIKELY TEAMS ENGLAND (from) Alastair Cook (c), Adam Lyth, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Steve Finn, Jimmy Anderson, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett. 
AUSTRALIA (from) Michael Clarke (c), Chris Rogers, David Warner, Steve Smith, Adam Voges, Mitch Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitch Johnson, Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Shaun Marsh.
TALKING POINTS ENGLAND With the Ashes wrapped up, the most interest could be on whether the players again risk the wrath of the ground's curator's by taking a celebratory piddle in the middle like they did in 2013. Jimmy Anderson would be keen to pick up where he left off at Edgbaston, the paceman expected to return after missing the fourth Test with a side injury.
AUSTRALIA The issue here is the existence of too many talking points after a series where performances no longer allowed team fractures to be papered over. How will Michael Clarke leave Test cricket for the final time? Can Australia's batting last more than a session? Can their bowlers find some bite? It will also be of interest to see how many of the players, who are under threat of playing their last Test, put in performances that could save their careers.
HEAD-TO-HEAD OVERALL England 108, Australia 139, 93 draws IN ENGLAND England 51, Australia 48, 66 draws AT THE OVAL England 16, Australia 6, 14 draws PITCH REPORT The Oval curators have produced a wicket every bit as green as the ones at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. And why wouldn't they? England tore through the Australians in the third and fourth Tests, where the results of both matches were effectively decided in the first session, thanks to some exceptional swing and seam bowling from James Anderson, Steven Finn, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes. After taking in the deck, Michael Clarke has no hesitation in conceding that his final Test was not going to be an easy one. "I look forward to seeing if it changes [before the Test begins] . . . it sounds like it's not going to, so I think it's going to be another really tough Test match for the batters and, I think, another Test match that if you win the toss you're going to bowl first. I think, again, it's going to be a result wicket. Someone is going to win, someone is going to lose."
HISTORY FACTOR Australia have a poor record at The Oval, but the last time the teams met there in 2013 resulted in an exciting and controversial draw. Australia declared their first innings at 9-492 on the back of centuries to Shane Watson and Steve Smith. England's response was interrupted by rain and their were bowled out for 377 just after lunch on the final day. Australia then brought life to the match by declaring at 6-111 giving England a target of 227 from 44 overs. Play was controversially called off because of bad light with England needing 21 runs from the remaining four overs.
FORECAST DAY 1 Cloudy, 24c DAY 2 Cloudy, 24c DAY3 Scattered storms, DAY 4 Partly cloudy, 22c DAY 5 Cloudy, 19c ODDS (CrownBet) ENGLAND $2.30 AUSTRALIA $2.65 DRAW $4