After emphatically winning the opening match of the series, Australia head to Adelaide on Thursday knowing that if they can come out on top in the first of the two pink ball matches they will lead England 2-0 in The Ashes.
You get the feeling that England used that opening match as preparation for the remainder of the series but they are under pressure to win under the lights at the Adelaide Oval to level the series and keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive.
Australia
Australia did well to win the opening match. Apart from the second and third sessions on day three they were in complete control of it. They had a stroke of luck losing the toss as it turned out but they weren’t hanging around after they received that good fortune and soon got themselves into a great position and in the end they ran out very good winners, despite not really being at their best. That probably is a positive more than it is a negative.
Australia bowled very well and they were patient when they needed to be on that third day. They have a few concerns personnel wise going into this second match but they will balance that out with the fact that they have an incredible record with the pink ball on this ground having played five times and won the lot, including skittling India out for 36 here last year. With the confidence of the win from the first game and potential natural improvement within them, they are entitled to feel hard to beat here.
England
There were plenty of things against England going into that opening match of the series, not least a complete lack of preparation due to the rain in the lead up, so the last thing they needed to do was win the toss and get the decision wrong and have their backs against the wall straight away. The positive for England was that they showed in their second innings that they can tame this bowling attack in these conditions and now they just need to build the rest of the game around that.
England will naturally be better with the ball in these conditions. The pick ball swings here and they are the conditions which England bowlers are ideally suited to. That should help them be competitive here, so long as they can get a start with the bat and then capitalise on it like they looked like they were going to do in Brisbane, only for a disappointing session on the fourth day. Enough players got starts with the bat in that opening game though. Two or three need to go on and make proper scores now.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this series! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Australia have been forced into a change to their side with Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the match with the injury he sustained in Brisbane. Dave Warner wasn’t seen much after his batting innings but he has been passed fit to play. Jhye Richardson is the replacement for Hazlewood.
England have already confirmed they will be making one change for this match with Mark Wood left out of the 12-man squad they have announced. Jimmy Anderson is expected to replace him and it would be a huge surprise if Stuart Broad doesn’t come in for Jack Leach.
Betting
The two bets that I took in Brisbane both won and I think they have every chance of landing again in this second Test. The first one is the player performance of Alex Carey. The line has gone up into the 80s at 84.5 but he scored 101 points in that opening game. You could argue against the over here by suggesting that 80 of his points came in catches in that first game and he won’t score that many here but Tim Paine has taken 13 catches in the last two day/night Test matches on this ground so there isn’t a guarantee that Carey doesn’t score well with catches here. Why I like him though is because he’s had a game to settle in with the bat and now he is on his home ground so I would expect more than the 21 runs he scored in the first game. Whether it is with the gloves or the bat I think he covers this line again.
Jos Buttler top scored for England in the first innings in Brisbane and there has to be a good chance that he will have the top score within his sights when he comes into bat here too. I say that because this pink ball can go round corners early on and the technique of the English top order isn’t guaranteed to counter that, so it might be that someone who comes in and takes the attack to the bowlers with the field up is the one who shines. That was the modus operandi that Buttler employed in Brisbane and I see no reason why he won’t do it again here. He landed at 10/1 for us in the first Test and I’ll pay to see if he doubles up at the same price here.
Tips
Back A.Carey’s Performance – Over 84.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back J.Buttler Top England 1st Inns Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
