The fifth and the final game of the ODI series between Australia and England will be played at the Lord’s in London. England leads the series 3-1 after they had won three in a row before losing one at the Oval in London on Wednesday. 
England goes into the game knowing that the opposition has suddenly got their mojo back with the return of Shaun Tait. Tait was fiery in the third ODI that the Aussies went on to lose rather narrowly, but in the fourth ODI played his own part in winning the game. Similarly, Ryan Harris, who had missed out on the second ODI due to injury and went for aplenty in the third game, was the star of the fourth ODI and scalped another fifer. 
On the other hand, despite the 290 that was posted by Australia in the previous match, Ricky Ponting will look to ensure that the batting is more consistent than it has been in the series so far. This will need him and his deputy, Michael Clarke to make the most out of the return to form that they had seen in the previous game. However, most importantly, Michael Hussey needs to get back his run-scoring touch that seems to have gone missing ever since that World T20 semi-final against Pakistan.
With the bowling looking menacing, and the batting gelling reasonably well for Australia, England will now look to dig deep into their resources to make the best out of their fifth ODI.
Their batsmen have had a lot going for them in the series, and except Kevin Pietersen’s lack of runs, the rest have contributed in their own way. However, the coach Andy Flower has made it clear that he was not worried about that. And why should he, given that Pietersen has shown in the past as well that it is probably a matter of an innings or two to get back to form.
How the English bowlers bowl in the game will be important, but most importantly, it will be interesting to see if England elect to field first again, or try batting first.
Australia have been rather surprisingly put in as favourites to win the game, with an offer of 4/5 (BetFred) to win the game. SportingBet gives 5/4 if England win it, and this is despite their 3-1 lead in the series.