London: Joe Root must inspire his troops to one last effort after a gruelling season in which England became world champions in the 50-over format for the first time.
Their failure in the Ashes has prompted questions over the Yorkshireman's position, but outgoing coach Trevor Bayliss is adamant the captain retains the support of the England hierarchy.
"He's not come under question from anyone making any decisions," Bayliss said. "He's under no pressure at all." Speaking about Root's form with the bat, Bayliss added:
"Everyone goes through periods where they don't score as many runs as they'd like. I think the Australian team have bowled pretty well to him." England talisman Ben Stokes was included in an unchanged 13-man squad but will be assessed to find out whether he is fit to bowl at the Oval.
The England vice-captain did not bowl in Australia's second innings at Old Trafford following a right shoulder injury sustained in the tourists' first innings.
If Stokes is unfit to bowl in London, he is expected to play as a specialist batsman, meaning either Sam Curran or Chris Woakes would come into the side and one of the struggling batsmen would make way, perhaps Jason Roy.
Stokes is England's top-scorer in the series, with 354 runs and two centuries but, with the exception of Rory Burns, the rest of the batsmen have struggled to build totals for the bowlers to defend.
