England cricket nightmare as players 'woken up by fire alarm' before Australia clash
England players were woken up by a fire alarm before fifth Ashes Test against Australia
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England cricket players were woken up by a fire alarm before the final Test match against Australia commenced, reports say.
The hosts have impressed at times this series but won't be winning the urn, with a draw the best they can manage.
According to the Daily Mail, England's attempts to finish on a high were hampered on Wednesday - the day the last Test started on.
And that's because a fire alarm sounded at their team hotel.
England icon Stuart Broad is set to retire after fifth Ashes Test with Australia
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Players such as Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow were already up and enjoying breakfast when the alarm supposedly sent off at 8.10am.
They then had to leave immediately, while some of their team-mates 'emerged from their rooms bleary-eyed'.
Stokes was then spotted in the lobby with golf clubs in his possession, while Bairstow 'stole a few extra minutes' to finish his food.
Sometimes, before big sporting matches, fans do whatever they can to disrupt the preparations of their rivals.
But it's claimed a resident on the fourth room of the hotel was responsible, albeit inadvertently.
The individual in question is thought to have set the alarm off after ironing and didn't have any bad intentions.
Whether England are able to end their Test series against Australia on a positive note remains to be seen.
Rain is due to fall today and that could mean the hosts losing 2-1.
England were also denied the chance to level the series due to the bad weather at Old Trafford last time out.
Meanwhile, with Australia needing 249 runs to win, former England captain Nasser Hussain thinks the hosts are 'slight favourites' to reign supreme and draw the series instead.
"My feeling is that England are still slight favourites, even after Australia's start. The pitch is spinning and a day-five Oval pitch does turn," he said.
"Hopefully the rain has given Moeen Ali a bit more time to get better from that groin strain and Joe Root is a very useful off-spinner.
"Australia have two left-handers in at the moment and then Alex Carey, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc. Off-spinners like left-handers.
"It is set up perfectly. The last day of a magnificent series and we still don't know if it is going to be 2-1, 2-2 or 3-1."
Hussain also thinks England should have brought bowler Mark Wood into the attack far earlier, instead of waiting until the 33rd over.
"I think Stokes could have gone earlier with Wood because of what was coming - the rain was coming and when the rain comes the reverse disappears," he added.
"Also, just to get the crowd up.
"They were up this morning with the Stuart Broad factor but with the Khawaja-Warner partnership they died and got low.
"The moment Wood started warming up you could sense the crowd go, 'this is what we have been waiting for'."
Australia haven't won an Ashes series outright on English soil since 2001.
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The Baggies comfortably won the series 4-1, with Glenn McGrath and England's Mark Butcher then named as the players of the series.