Rain at the England great’s Old Trafford home ground washed out all of Sunday’s play and condemned the fourth Test to a draw.
That ensured holders Australia, 2-1 ahead with one to play, retained the Ashes and wrecked any chance of a winner-takes-all decider in London.
But an England win would square the series at 2-2 — the same result as when they last staged the Ashes in 2019 — and deny Australia a much longed for first away Ashes campaign triumph in 22 years.
England named an unchanged 14-man squad on Monday, with the spotlight on whether Anderson will still be in their XI come Thursday’s opening day at The Oval.
Anderson’s 689 Test wickets are the most taken by any fast bowler, with only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) ahead of him in the all-time list.
But in the current series Anderson, who turns 41 on Sunday, has taken just four wickets in three Tests at a hugely expensive average of 76.75 apiece.
He took just the one wicket at Old Trafford after being rested for England’s win in the third Test at Headingley.
But with Ollie Robinson fit following a back spasm and novice international fast bowler Josh Tongue also in the squad, England do have alternative options.
Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who struggled with stiffness near the end of the fourth Test, have impressed since being recalled into the side, while Stuart Broad is the leading wicket-taker in the whole Ashes.
If Anderson is left out at the The Oval, it could mean he has made the last appearance of his celebrated Test career, with England handing out their latest round of central contracts before the end of this year.
England’s batting line-up is set to be unchanged after six of the top seven all made at least fifty in a total of 592 at Old Trafford.
England squad for fifth Ashes Test: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jonny Bairstow (wkt), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Dan Lawrence
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Heather Graham has been ruled out of Australia’s three-game ODI series against Ireland due to a calf strain, with uncapped Victoria allrounder Tess Flintoff joining the one-day squad as her replacement.
Graham was added to the Australian squad for the ODI leg of the Ashes and remained for the current tour of Ireland as a replacement for Megan Schutt, who returned home after the multi-format tour of England.
But the Tasmanian allrounder will be denied the chance to play her first ODI since 2019 after sustaining the injury to her right calf at the end of the Ashes.
Graham has also been ruled out of The Hundred, where she was due to play for Northern Superchargers.
“Graham will remain with the Australian team in Ireland to commence her rehabilitation before returning to Australia to continue this with Cricket Tasmania,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.
Flintoff was in the United Kingdom for Australia A’s six-game white-ball series against England A which ended at the start of the month.
The 20-year-old then headed to Europe for a holiday with teammate Nicole Faltum before she received the call to join Australia in Dublin.
Australia are likely to make several changes to the XI that went down to England by 69 runs (DLS) in the final Ashes ODI in Taunton last Tuesday.
The tourists fielded a four-strong spin attack in the final two Ashes ODIs as they attempted to thwart an England batting line-up that was thriving against pace.
Overcast conditions are expected in Dublin and plenty of rain has fallen in the past week, opening the door for speedster Darcie Brown to return to the XI, while former Ireland quick Kim Garth could replace Schutt.
Grace Harris, who last played an ODI in 2016, is the other option to come in alongside Flintoff after sitting on the sidelines through the Ashes one-dayers.
The majority of Australia’s 14-player squad will return home – or head off to Europe for a well-deserved break – following the third ODI against Ireland on Friday.
Just five will appear in this edition of The Hundred: Alyssa Healy, Georgia Wareham (both Northern Superchargers), Ellyse Perry (Birmingham Phoenix), Grace Harris (London Spirit) and Alana King (Trent Rockets).
Non-Ashes squad Aussies Erin Burns (Birmingham), Laura Harris (Welsh Fire), Maitlan Brown (Southern Brave) and Amanda-Jade Wellington (Manchester Originals) will also take part.
Georgia Redmayne was due to play for London Spirit but pulled out earlier this month as she continues her recovery from an Achilles injury, and was replaced by India wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh.
