The Ashes are underway and it was the tourists who drew first blood, taking a 1-0 lead into the second test at Lords. We have previewed the match and given you our best bets for the occasion.

England vs Australia 2nd Test Tips

• England to win – 6/4
• Joe Root Or Steve Smith To Score A Century (1st Inns) – Boosted from 11/8 to 15/8
• James Anderson top England bowler (1st Inns) – 13/5

Wednesday 28 Jun, 2023

11:00

Lords, London

Well that certainly didn’t disappoint did it?

Despite the result, the match at Birmingham was an absolute barnstormer, with England (6/4) driving the narrative for the majority of the first test, before a late rearguard from Australian (21/20) skipper Pat Cummins and old foe Nathan Lyon, saw them just scrape over the line.

Many questions have now started to be asked about England errors at Edgbaston:

Should Jonny Bairstow keep the gloves in front of the better glovesman Ben Foakes? Was Ben Stokes rash in declaring on the first day, with Joe Root still at the crease? Is Moeen Ali the right man to lead the spin attack?

Both Stokes and Head Coach Brendon McCullum have promised that they won’t change their philosophy and they would rather lose and entertain, than bore out the opposition and win.

Bazball has been hugely popular with the cricketing public but with the Ashes on the line, will that remain the case if they continue to lose winnable matches against the tourists?

There’s only one way to find out, as we move to the Home of Cricket, Lords for the second test, starting on Wednesday!

Team news:

England added young Leicestershire spinner Rehan Ahmed into the squad, as cover for Moeen Ali, who struggled with a split spinning finger throughout the first test.

However, with a green top on the cards at Lords, the hosts have gone for an all pace attack, with newcomer Josh Tongue getting the nod over paceman Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who has a great track record at the Home of Cricket.

England XI:

1. Ben Duckett
2. Zak Crawley
3. Ollie Pope
4. Joe Root
5. Harry Brook
6. Ben Stokes *
7. Jonathan Bairstow +
8. Stuart Broad
9. Ollie Robinson
10. Josh Tongue
11. James Anderson

The tourists may recall Mitchell Starc for this one, after the likes of Hazlewood and Boland looked a little ineffective at times. It could be the latter who misses out here.

Australia XI (probable):

Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith (vice-captain), David Warner.

England to win – 6/4

That wicket is green, like REALLY green.

Lords wickets do have a habit of starting off favouring the pacers, before drying out and giving the batters parity in the second half of the match but this one looks to be a bowlers paradise.

With England dropping Ali for Josh Tongue, they are clearly going down one route. Bowl out the Aussies twice, with a combination of swing and seam.

If spin is needed later on, then Joe Root demonstrated at Edgbaston that he has been criminally under bowled over the years and can do a job as the main spinner, if asked.

As always, Australia will be no pushovers but England have to win here and with conditions in their favour, I expect them to do so.

Joe Root Or Steve Smith To Score A Century (1st Inns) – Boosted from 11/8 to 15/8

Next up, I’ve taken one of the featured boosts from the Betfred traders.

With conditions nailed on to favour the opening bowlers it’s likely to be the middle order who get the bulk of the runs and that means Root and Smith can weigh in with their usual share of runs.

James Anderson top England bowler (1st Inns) – 13/5

Again, doubling down on my earlier points, I expect the opening bowlers to be dominant here and although Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson were given the new ball in Brum, that won’t be the case here.

Anderson described the Edgbaston wicket as Kryptonite and said if they continued producing wickets as benign and boring moving forward, his time in the Ashes was done.

Well, he certainly got his wish looking at this green monster.

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