The Ashes 2023: Kennington Oval, London pitch history and Test records

The fifth Test of Ashes 2023 series will start tomorrow morning (July 27) at the Kennington Oval in London. Australia retained the urn after a draw in Manchester last week. The visitors lead the five-match series 2-1, with one Test remaining.

England would be disappointed with the result in Manchester. They were in a winning position but rain forced the match into a draw. Ben Stokes and co. will aim to win the London Test and draw the series 2-2.

Before the final match of Ashes 2023 starts, here's a look at the pitch history of Kennington Oval.

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Kennington Oval, London Test records & stats

London recently hosted the ICC World Test Championship final 2023 between Australia and India. The pitch seemed great for batting on the first day, where Travis Head tormented the Indian bowlers. As the match progressed, the bowlers also had a say in the game.

A batting-friendly surface could be on offer for the fifth Ashes Test match.

On that note, here are some vital numbers you should know from the previous Tests played at the Kennington Oval:

Test matches played: 105

Matches won by teams batting first: 38

Matches won by teams batting second: 29

Matches Drawn: 37

Highest individual score: 364 - Leonard Hutton (ENG) vs. Australia, 1938

Best bowling figures (innings): 9/57 - Devon Malcolm (ENG) vs. South Africa, 1994

Best bowling figures (match): 16/220 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) vs. England, 1998

Highest team score: 903/7 dec - England vs. Australia, 1938

Lowest team score: 44 - Australia vs. England, 1896

Average first-innings score: 346

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Kennington Oval, London Pitch report

Teams batting first have achieved more success than teams batting second at this venue. Hence, Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes may prefer batting first after winning the toss tomorrow in London.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon bagged a four-wicket haul in the previous match on this ground. While Lyon is now injured, Australia may consider bringing Todd Murphy back into the playing XI for the London Test match.

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Kennington Oval, London last Test match

Australia beat India by 209 runs in the last Test match hosted by the Kennington Oval. Travis Head's hundred powered them to a 469-run total in the first innings. In reply, India were all out for 296 runs. Australia set a 444-run target for the Indian side after declaring their second innings at 270/8.

India got skittled out for 234 runs in the second innings, losing the game by 209 runs. Not a single Indian batter could touch the 50-run mark in the second innings.

Brief Scores: Australia 469 (Travis Head 163, Mohammed Siraj 4/108) & 270/8 dec (Alex Carey 66*, Ravindra Jadeja 3/58) beat India 296 (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Pat Cummins 3/83) & 234 (Virat Kohli 49, Nathan Lyon 4/41) by 209 runs.