Australia drew first blood in The Ashes and on Wednesday England will look to level up the series when the two sides meet for the second Test of the five. Lord’s is the venue for what could be the pivotal match of the contest.
Both sides showed their frailties in the first game at Edgbaston last week but Australia produced enough strength at the right time to get over the line. It is now down to England to show what they can offer as a response.
England
In a way it is hard to judge England in that first Test because they lost their best bowler just four overs into the contest. Given all that, you could argue they did well to be as competitive in the match for as long as they were, however from the positions they twice got themselves into in the first innings they will be disappointed at losing overall, let alone by the sizable margin in which they eventually went down by.
One of the reasons why England went down by as many as they did is their seemingly never ending frailty with the bat. They were in a brilliant position in the first innings, level with six wickets remaining and to only get a lead of 90 was bordering on criminal. Once Australia had levelled up the match there was only going to be one winner, so England should feel they let the tourists get away from themselves.
Australia
The flip side of all that is Australia will be delighted to have won the match and won it so well, especially at a venue where they had such a terrible record in recent years, but if they think they were perfect in that game they need to think again. They would not have won the match had it not been for Steve Smith, and while he found some support in the second innings, the English attack was clearly feeling the absence of Anderson by then.
You wouldn’t think Australia will win this series if others don’t make runs around Steve Smith. He is mighty good but he isn’t that good that he can win the series on his own so he will need his teammates to deliver the goods, especially in the first innings. The real positive for Australia from Edgbaston, aside from Smith, was that their bowling attack stuck to the job and were ruthless when the chances came along.
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Team News
England were forced into one change but it looks like they will be making two switches to their side. Jofra Archer will make his debut in place of Jimmy Anderson which was the forced change while Jack Leach is set to replace Moeen Ali.
Australia are set to bring Mitchell Starc back into their side for this match. He is set to replace James Pattinson who has been rested for this encounter. Josh Hazlewood is also pushing for an inclusion but whether he replaces Peter Siddle is another question.
Lord’s Cricket Ground
There have been no fewer than 138 previous Test matches held at this famous ground, with England being involved in all but two of them. They have 55 wins to just 32 losses but there have been 49 draws in those matches. Australia’s record here is very strong for a touring side. Of the 38 matches they have played here they have won 17 and drawn 14 of them, losing on just seven occasions, so they won’t be scared of this venue.
This used to be a ground where batting wasn’t too difficult but the last four first innings scores here have been a highest total of just 184 so the bowlers are certainly getting plenty from it these days. England were castled for just 85 in the previous Test here last month when Ireland threatened a famous victory. With rain and heavy clouds in the forecast that trend is set to continue.
Betting
The forecast has to be strongly considered when we look for bets in this match and given how dull it is I think we should probably expect a low scoring match which the bowlers for both sides are going to dominate for large parts, if not all of it. With that in mind I’ll go with a couple of bets, the first of which is the performance of Pat Cummins, where the line is 113.5 which looks on the low side to me given that he covered this and some with the ball at Edgbaston, and conditions here should suit him a lot better. He also contributed with the bat in the second innings and I expect him to bat well enough for a few points here. There is every chance he will only need five wickets here and he should have that in him.
Chris Woakes top scored for England in their second innings at Edgbaston, much to my annoyance as I took him to lead the scoring in the first innings but it did at least prove I was on the right lines so I’m going to play the same bet again here at 33/1. This is a ground where low scoring first innings is almost the norm so it is a chance for someone down the order to go well. Woakes will bat at eight in the absence of Moeen Ali which gives him an increase chance of scoring nicely. With that in mind I’ll take him at these prices.
Tips
WON – Back P.Cummins’ Performance – Over 113.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Bet365
Back C.Woakes Top England 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with William Hill
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