England pin hopes on 'moral victory' for Ashes finale

England believe they can claim a moral Ashes series victory over Australia with a win at The Oval, determined to leave Pat Cummins with a hollow feeling when he lifts the urn.

Still feeling short-changed by the washed-out draw in Manchester, England have arrived in London desperate to level the series at 2-2 and deny Australia a series victory.

Beaten by narrow margins at Edgbaston and Lord's before a tight win in Leeds, England believe they should be level in the series after being in control of the game at Old Trafford.

And, in the hosts' eyes, victory in Thursday's fifth Test at The Oval would allow them to walk away firmly believing they were the better team.

"We were dominating the game last week weren't we? So if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won that," England batter Harry Brook said.

"So if we can win this week, it almost can make it a moral victory.

"It's a shame the weather ruined it for us because we'd have felt very confident going into this game at 2-2."

Brook said he "absolutely" wanted to ensure Cummins felt hollow when Australia received the urn, after the Manchester draw ensured it would remain in their keeping.

And the 24-year-old also rejected suggestions England were being sore losers, while clear that his team wanted to deny Australia their first series win in England since 2001.

"We haven't lost yet," Brook said. 

"They've only retained it. So, if we win this week, it's a draw isn't it?" 

"That would be lovely (to deny Australia a drought-breaking series win). It's not nice drawing is it, but it would be lovely to not give them that privilege." 

England are holding hope that bowling allrounder Chris Woakes will overcome a quad issue after a light run on Tuesday.

Questions also linger over whether Stuart Broad will back up, with the veteran having played four Tests already this summer.

Regardless of the result, England players have been told by captain Ben Stokes that their team will be remembered for the attacking way they have played the series.

"He was just saying it's not about all the trophies, it was about making sure everyone is enjoying watching cricket," Brooks said. 

"I feel like we're going to be a team to be remembered. We're bringing different crowds to watch the game, more people are getting into Test cricket. 

"We're almost trying to get it back alive again. I think we've done a decent job of that in the last 12 months and it's been exciting to watch. It's definitely been exciting to play in."

2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK

First Test: Australia won by two wickets

Second Test: Australia won by 43 runs

Third Test: England won by three wickets

Fourth Test: Match Drawn (Australia retain the Ashes)

Fifth Test: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood