Renowned English broadcaster Piers Morgan has expressed his desire for Ben Stokes and co. to deny 'cheating convicts' Australia a series win in the fifth Ashes Test at the Kennington Oval, starting on Thursday. However, Morgan also rued England's performance at Edgbaston and Lord's, stating they should have won it.
With Australia leading the five-Test series by 2-1, they have a tremendous opportunity as they need to avoid a defeat at the Oval to emerge victorious for the first time on English soil since 2001. The visitors won the first two Tests by 2 wickets and 43 runs, respectively, before going down at Headingley. They escaped a near-certain defeat in Manchester as persistent rains washed out entire day 5.
Piers Morgan laments the rain interruption at Old Trafford:
The 58-year-old felt a 2-2 result after the Manchester Test would have been an ideal way ahead of the final showdown. Morgan predicts Ben Stokes and co. to steamroll Australia and that a 3-1 result would be a nightmare for England.
"To be 2-0 down and then roar back to 2-2 and then go to the Oval, which is exactly what would have happened had we been able to play more than two hours at the weekend ... it would have been, really, the greatest comeback in cricket history internationally and the greatest series there’s ever been," Morgan told the London Telegraph’s Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club Podcast.
"We should have won at Lord's, we should have won every Test, let’s be honest. We’re a better team, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. We were dudded by the rain, and I think at the Oval we’re going to flatten them. We need to. I don’t want to lose 3-1 – to lose 3-1 to this Australian team of cheating convicts would be extremely annoying."
Piers Morgan recalls England's meltdown at Lord's:
Morgan went on to criticise the Englishmen for giving away wickets easily in the first innings at Lord's despite being 188-2 at one stage. He added:
"When we were at Lord’s, when we gave away all those wickets, when we were 180-odd for 2 and then just fell apart, some of the shots we were playing – Harry Brook’s innings that day was terrible. Yet you can see as the series has gone on he’s got more sensible, more judicious in his shot selection, and you could see the world-class player in the making."
England have named an unchanged XI for the fifth and final Test.
