To return to Australia with a 3-1 victory would be huge response to Bazball: Glenn McGrath

Even though Australia have managed to retain the urn, former cricketer Glenn McGrath wants the team to aim higher and win the series for the first time on English soil since 2001. Notably, in the fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes, the visiting team failed to put up a show, as England were all over them throughout the course of the match. They were the favourites to get the job done and bring the series to level terms, but rain played spoilsport to wash away England's Ashes dreams. 

McGrath thus wants Australia to take advantage of the situation and beat England in the fifth Test at the Kennington Oval. He believes that winning the series on English soil will be a great achievement and will boost the confidence of the cricketers. Notably, ahead of the marquee clash, England were deemed as favourites, especially after they revolutionised Test cricket through Bazball. Thus, the 53-year-old mentioned the importance of winning the fifth Test and, eventually, the Ashes.

“I would rather see Australia lose the last Test by backing themselves, really taking it to England, rather than going down with a whimper. Winning in England for the first time since 2001, beating this energised England team under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, should be massive motivation. To return to Australia with a 3-1 victory would be huge response to Bazball - an incredible achievement,” McGrath wrote in his column for BBC.

People will say England could be 3-0 up, and they would be right: McGrath

McGrath also added saying that all the matches have been pretty close so far in the series, and it wouldn’t have been surprising to him if England would have been leading 3-0 at the moment. He believes that the home team ruined their chance by dropping a lot of catches in the first two matches but was reminded of England’s advantage of winning all the tosses so far.

“People will say England could be 3-0 up and they would be right. Had they been smarter earlier in the series, not dropped so many vital catches, they would still be alive. They certainly should have won the first Test at Edgbaston. But England have also had the better of conditions and won four tosses.

"Ultimately the series has been so tight it is pointless trying to debate which way the score should or should not be. The first three Tests could have gone either way. Now Australia need to give everything they have got. It is time to not worry about saving anything and go out and win the Ashes,” McGrath added.