The Australian cricket team will be hoping to make it two in a row as they will lock horns with the England cricket team in the second Test of the five-match Ashes 2023 series. The much-hyped battle of cricket is scheduled to be conducted at the Lord’s in London from Wednesday.
The Bazball technique did not sit well with the English side against Australia as they lost their wickets in quick succession and their bowlers failed to give the same challenge to the Australian batters. The hosts will be hoping for a fresh start and a more promising performance from both the batters and bowlers in the second Test to make a comeback and level the series.
As far as Australia are concerned, they will be happy with their all-round performance as it helped them score a win by two wickets. The team continued the momentum they gained earlier this month by defeating the Indian cricket team in the final of the World Test Championship 2023. The Kangaroos will be coming up with a settled line-up against England in the second Test match.
What has happened so far?
The first Test match between Australia and England kick-started with the hosts winning the toss and opting to bat first. It was a good decision as they declared the innings after scoring 393 runs and losing eight wickets in 78 overs. Joe Root was the man in action with a knock of 118 runs while Australia’s Nathan Lyon made his presence felt by picking four wickets.
Following the score, the visitors returned with 386 runs in their first batting innings as the opening batter Usman Khawaja hammered 141 runs. For England, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson were the pick of the bowlers with three wickets each.
England were up for a big task in the third innings but they failed to make a mark as their batting line-up collapsed at a score of 273 runs. Jos Root and Harry Brook added 46 runs each to the scoreboard while Ben Stokes also played a knock of 43 runs. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins and Lyon caused the most carnage with the ball as they scalped four wickets each.
It was a good total for Australia to chase but the England bowlers made sure to give the visitors a run for their money. Despite the quick wickets, the Pat Cummins-led side managed to score 282 runs after batting for 92.3 overs and won by two wickets. Khawaja took the Man of the Match award home for his batting exploits.
Head to Head Record
Australia is leading the head-to-head records against Australia in the Test format
Australia and England have locked horns with each other in a total of 356 matches in the purest format of the game since the beginning of the gentlemen’s game. Australia are leading the stats by a decent margin as they have won 150 games while England scored victory on 110 occasions.
Notably, a total of 96 Test matches between Australia and England ended in a draw. Their last Test series against each other was Ashes 2021-22 which saw Australia defeat England by a massive 4-0.
Key Players
Joe Root (England): The former Indian skipper Joe Root is enjoying a purple patch with the bat for the last two years. He flaunted his class in the first Test against Australia as well and ended up as the top run-scorer for his team with 164 runs across two innings at an average of 164. In the first innings, England posted 393 runs on the scoreboard courtesy of Root who smacked unbeaten 118 runs.
In the second innings, the middle-order batter was dismissed by Nathan Lyon after facing 55 balls and scoring 46 balls. Joe will be the most crucial player for the Englishmen as they will be aiming for a comeback in the five-match series.
Usman Khawaja (Australia): The opening batter Usman Khawaja took the Player of the Match Award home as Australia hammered England by two wickets in the first Test of the five-match series. Khawaja was exceptionally brilliant with the bat as he hammered 141 runs in Australia’s first batting innings and followed it up with a knock of 65 runs in the final inning.
The 36-year-old has a whopping 4714 runs to his name in just 62 Test matches at an average of 48.1 and a strike rate of over 49. For the visiting nation to continue their exploits in Ashes 2023, it will be important for Khawaja to churn out a good performance in the game starting from Wednesday.
Predicted XIs
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins ©, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc
England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes ©, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, James Anderson
Prediction
There are high chances of Australia winning the second Test of the five-match Ashes 2023 series and taking a significant lead of 2-0. The Kangaroos are in good spirits as they won the World Test Championship by defeating India and followed it up with a two-wicket win against England cricket team in the first Test match.
Though Cummins & Co. will have momentum on their side, one should not underestimate the England team. They have the home advantage and boast of having some star players in their squad who know how to make a comeback.
