Fifth Ashes Test Odds: Khawaja 5/1 With BoyleSports For Top Aussie Batter

England needed just two days to win their first Test in Australia for 15 years last week to trail 3-1 in the series ahead of the finale in Sydney. 

BoyleSports, which is offering new customers £30 in free bets plus a £10 casino bonus when they bet £10, makes England 2/1 to end the series with another victory, but the Aussies are the 8/13 favourites to win. A draw is available at 13/2.

England have had more success at Sydney Cricket Ground than any other venue (22 Test wins), but the Aussies have won two and drawn one of the last three.

The last win for the tourists came in their victorious 2010/11 series played under captain Andrew Strauss, but England are missing three of their first-choice bowlers.

Gus Atkinson has joined Jofra Archer, absent for the win in Sydney, and Mark Wood on the list of absentees, so Matthew Potts is likely to make his Ashes debut this week.

There are plenty of other markets for the final Test of the series and here we look at some of the best offered by BoyleSports.

Smith Lacks Appeal 

Steve Smith has scored just 136 runs from his three matches in the series, yet remains the 3/1 favourite to score the most runs for Australia in the first innings.

Smith missed the Adelaide Test with nausea and dizziness, but returned at the MCG where he made just nine in the first innings and an unbeaten 24 in the second.

He has a decent average of 45.33, but there are a couple of other players that look better value than Smith, who is expected to stand in as captain for the absent Pat Cummins once again.

Travis Head is comfortably the top scorer of any player throughout the series with 437 runs and catches the eye at 10/3, but what about the prospects of Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey?

There has been speculation that 39-year-old Khawaja could soon retire from the Test arena, but he is a likely starter in Sydney where he enjoyed great success four years ago with centuries in both innings.

Only the unlikely Michael Neser (35) scored more first-innings’ runs than Khawaja in Melbourne and he fell just 18 runs short of a century in Adelaide.

Khawaja has to be considered at 5/1, but Carey also appeals at 7/1.

The 34-year-old wicket-keeper was man of the match in Adelaide on the back of a century in the first innings and 72 in the second, where only Head’s 170 was higher from the Aussie contingent.

Root And Brook Favourites For England

Joe Root (3/1) and Harry Brook (7/2) lead the way to be top England scorer in the first innings, just as they have been in three of the four Tests.

Picking either Root or Brook at 6/5 looks the best option, though. 

Brook was the top scorer for the tourists in Perth and Melbourne, while Root’s first Test century Down Under during the eight-wicket defeat Brisbane was a rare highlight for England.

Captain Ben Stokes proved to be the outlier with 83 in the third Test in Adelaide and his 66 was second only to Jonny Bairstow (113) in Sydney four years ago.

Stokes looks a decent shout at 5/1, as does Zak Crawley at 11/2. 

England opener Crawley made just five runs in the first innings in Melbourne, but only Jacob Bethell (40) scored more than his 37 in the second.

Crawley struck 77 in the second innings in Sydney during the 2021/22 series and batted really well in Brisbane in the second Test of the current series, so he cannot be ruled out.

Carse And Tongue In Bowling Duel 

With Atkinson, Archer and Wood all ruled out of the final Test, the England bowler market has an unfamiliar look.

Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue are both 2/1 to take the most Australian wickets during the first innings.

Tongue was named man of the match for his performance in Melbourne where he took seven wickets, five of them coming in the first innings.

The Nottinghamshire seamer also topped the bowling figures in the second innings in Adelaide. 

Carse is England ‘s top wicket-taker of the series with 19, seven more than Tongue, who has played two fewer matches.

Tongue has a better average (18.58) compared with Carse (25.57), so the former looks the most likely to take the most first-innings wickets, although Stokes cannot be ruled out at 3/1, despite failing to take a wicket in Sydney four years ago.

Starc Tops Aussie Bowler Market

Starc has taken more wickets than any other player in the Ashes series and is 7/4 to be the top Aussie bowler in the first innings for a third time.

Both of those successes came in the first two Tests, so it could pay dividends to look elsewhere in this market.

Scott Boland shared the honour of being top Aussie wicket-taker with Cummins in the first innings in Adelaide, and it was Michael Neser (4-45) in Melbourne.

However, Boland took the most wickets in both innings during the Sydney test four years ago when Starc and Cummins were in the starting line-up.

Boland would get our vote at 2/1, with Neser also worth a look at 3/1.

Head At The Double

For those looking at bigger prices, Head and Root to be the top scorers for their countries in the first innings is available at 15/1.

Head and Brook can be backed at 18/1, but Khawaja/Root and Khawaja/Brook can be backed at 22/1 and 25/1 respectively.

Who will win the Fifth Ashes Test at Sydney Cricket Ground? Let us know your thoughts below!