Both Australia and England are ready to bid farewell to the WACA as the third Test of the Ashes series is going to start today at 8:30 AM (Bangladesh Standard time) at Western Australia’s home of cricket.

Team England are more likely to be ambivalent about this event. Their woes of losing the first two Tests of the series can be somewhat compensated for by finally getting a chance to wave a goodbye to their ground of terror, where they have lost their past seven Tests in succession.

Australia have won 24 among the 43 Tests they have played at the WACA. In the last nine matches, they have won four and drawn one, losing the other four matches. South Africa have defeated the Aussies in their last three visits, including last year.

England won their first and only Test at the WACA ground during the World Series Cricket split in 1978/1979, thanks to David Gower’s innings of 102 runs.

The pitch of WACA once had a lot to offer to the genuine pacers, making it hard for bowlers like James Anderson because of its rare history of allowing the ball to swing. The pace and bounce it used to have is not there anymore. So, it cannot be said that the Australians will be all dominant on this pitch.

The Australia national cricket team is in good shape as their skipper Steve Smith scored a century in the first Test. Shaun Marsh became the second centurion of the series by scoring 126 in the 2nd innings of the second Test match.

On the other hand, the hard-pressed captain of the English side—Joe Root—scored two half-centuries in the previous matches of the series as none of him or his teammates could manage to get a ton.

In order to keep the five-match series alive, the least requirement for the visitors is to not get defeated; hence a draw, if not a victory, will do just fine.

In the last 12 years, the Baggy Greens have hosted the Ashes twice and England have been whitewashed on both occasions. Although the English skipper is still rather optimistic about retaining the Urn, the only example of winning the series despite being 2-0 down was set by the Australian side under the captaincy of Don Bradman, about 80 years ago.

In the 135 year-long history of Ashes, both England and Australia have won 32 series and 5 have been drawn. The last time England managed to avoid a series defeat on Australian soil was back in 1968, when they drew the series against the hosts.

Finally, all the statistics indicate that the ongoing 70th Ashes series is more likely to be won by the Kangaroos. At the same time, England will also be looking for a chance to fight back and shift their focus from the off-field issues.

Australia starting XI (probable): 1 Cameron Bancroft, 2 David Warner, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (c), 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.