New Delhi, India

The final day's play of the fourth and penultimate Ashes Test, in Manchester, got completely washed out due to persistent rain. With the Manchester Test ending in a draw, Pat Cummins-led Australia retained the urn with an unassailable 2-1 lead. Ben Stokes & Co., however, have a chance to end the series with a 2-2 scoreline but will have to be at their very best, as they were for the most part of the penultimate tie.

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Ahead of the fifth and final Test, at The Oval, London, English opener Zak Crawley stated that the home side is 'massively up' for the series finale. Crawley, who ended as the Player-of-the-Match for his blistering 189, opined that 2-2 would be an ideal scoreline at the end of Ashes 2023.

'Any game, you want to win'

"We're massively up for it. Any game, you want to win," Crawley told reporters after the Manchester Test. "As Ben Stokes says, we're building as a team, this isn't the end just because it's the end of the Ashes. Hopefully, it's very much the start," he opined.

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Also read: Australia will be hurting after Manchester Test, feels Mark Butcher after rain helps visitors retain the urn

Crawley, who has been the top run-getter in Ashes 2023, further mentioned, "I think 2-2 would be fair. They had the better of us at Lord's, Edgbaston could have gone either way, we probably deserved this one, and Headingley could have gone either way. So I think 2-2 would be right. It felt like we were getting on top of them for sure, and if we'd won this game it would have been very interesting to see. They've got some very good players and would have bounced back but the momentum would have been with us for sure."

Talking about Crawley, the right-hander has been in top form throughout the Ashes. He has so far amassed 385 runs in four Tests, including a ton and a half-century. He will be eager to continue with the momentum in the fifth and final Test as England will be desperate to prevent Australia from winning their first away Ashes series since 2001. 

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Australia won the first Test, in Edgbaston, by two wickets and got the better of England by 43 runs in the second Test at Lord's. The home side bounced back and won the third Test by three wickets, in Headingley, before the fourth and penultimate Test ended in a draw. 

The Manchester Test was completely dominated by England, who scored 592 in reply to Australia's 317 and had them reeling at 214 for 5 when the match ended in a draw, and, hence, will be confident enough going into the finale.

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