The Ashes, Second Test: Australia vs England: How will England fare under floodlights?

In the first Test, the English batters suffered way too many collapses and that is understandable when you play your First Test against the quality of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, and Pat Cummins. Now, the English team has to come up with a resilient response or the Australians will be set for a sweep with a buoyed confidence. Australia is of course the favourites in the game both historically and based on current trends. This game will be played with a pink ball and under lights, which means a lot of conditions will change from a prototypical Test match. Let us see how the two teams fare. To get an overview, head to “Notes”.

The last game in Adelaide was between Australia and India. However, that was not a Day-Night fixture so the conditions were certainly different. That game was certainly low scoring with India making 244 in the first innings, Australia responding with 191, and then India folded for a mere 36, while Australia gunned the down target of 90 runs with eight wickets in hand. However, this time around Australia will be without Josh Hazelwood and will include Jhye Richardson in the squad which can be the difference-maker.

The question is what happens under lights, is batting more difficult? Yes, historically, that has indeed been the case. The team that bats during day time has fared better and sighting the pink coloured ball in the night lights can be a tumultuous task. English batting will have to fare much better here compared to Brisbane because the Australian batting will have the home advantage and has the potential fare much better with an in-and-out English bowling. The Adelaide pitch can result in a short 3-4 day game if there is plenty of bounce and pace.

England’s batting

In the first innings of the first Test, England lost the first three wickets for 11 runs, which triggered the Australia win. Then in the second innings, the team was going at a solid rate, scoring 223 runs for 2 wickets but lost eight wickets for 76 runs. The major reason for losing the wickets was chasing a deficit of more than 200 runs which is mostly perilous. Even if you weather the storm early, there is no guarantee that a hurricane will not hit you again. England needs to work on avoiding collapses and ensure that at least 30s, 40s runs partnership come their way.

In the last game, Rory Burns scored 13 runs in two innings, Haseeb Hameed had starts, making 25 and 27 runs in the two innings, Ben Stokes made just 5 and 12, and if these three batters are not going to capitalize then troubles are going to mount up. Buttler made 39 and 23 runs in the two innings but lost his wicket at crucial moments. Root, Pope, and Malan showed some promise but Pope has a huge hole in his game, he settles down, scores decent runs and then he loses his wicket when there is time to press the advantage. England needs more out of its batters, the talent is there, it is just that the batters are not able to grab important moments.

Australia’s batting

Australia must be delighted after the 152 runs knock by Travis Head, someone the management opted over Usman Khwaja, that is a huge boost to the middle order. With Marnus Labuschagne scoring 74, the middle-order that contains the Test number one batter Steven Smith, looks solid. David Warner made 94 runs as the designated and the middle-order is built in a way that it can come through. England will have the work cut out against the formidable batting of Australia. Compared to England, the batting lineup is much more experienced, especially in the middle order.

England’s bowling

England played Jack Leach over Stuart Board and I argued in the last article about the Ashes that Stuart Broad has a stronger case. The management picked Jack to hold the runs and guess what happened, he squandered more than 100 in 13 overs. Now, I believe the team will play both James Anderson and Stuart Board, two bowlers who share around 800 wickets among each other. Surely, with such experience, you’d think these two are automatic choices but England has deep reserves it seems. But are there really deep reserves when you give away 425 runs?

Australia’s bowling

Adelaide can be the type of track where even Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc alone can put severe dents, the duo combining for seven wickets in the first innings of the first Test. Even with Josh Hazelwood out, Australians get a feisty Jhye Richardson in the mix, pairing up with Nathan Lyon and Cameron Green as the middle overs bowler. The Australian bowling is more settled and considering how Aussies fare at home, the English batters can see further collapses. England needs something special against this rousing bowling line-up.

• Openers: Marcus Harris, David Warner;
• Middle Order: Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green;
• Wicket Keeper: Alex Carey;
• Seamers: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson;
• Spinner: Nathan Lyon.

• Openers: Haseeb Hameed, Rory Burns;
• Middle Order: Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope;
• Wicketkeeper: Jos Buttler;
• Seamers: Chris Woakes(PROBABLE), Mark Wood(PROBABLE), James Anderson(PROBABLE), Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad(PROBABLE);
• Spinner: Jack Leach(QUESTIONABLE), Dom Bess(PROBABLE).

Well, I do believe this English squad has more potential it may seem but remember two of their batters in Haseeb Hameed and Ollie Pope will take time to adjust in such difficult conditions. England’s batting lineup showcases terrific individual performances time-to-time but hasn’t bonded together strong performances. This is why depending on Joe Root alone has been fatal for the team. Australia, on the other hand, has two batters that have performed as well as Joe Root in Marnus and Steven Smith. Bowling-wise, sometimes, I don’t understand England’s management plan, yes you want to rest your bowlers, but really? First Test Down Under, how can one rest two of its best bowlers. I know there is enough firepower in pace bowling when it comes to England, but to be honest, their selection process and on-the-field decisions look a little perplexing at times. Still, there is plenty of depth and it is a matter of getting it right. Of course, Australia has the edge but I feel this will be a close game. I predict that the Australians will face more trouble compared to the first Test and Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes can both play solid knocks here.

Here are some quick hitters related to the match:

• Joe Root leads all batters in runs this year and has scored more than 1500 runs this year. He scored 89 runs in the second innings of first Test;
• David Warner who made 94 runs in the first Tes;
• Ollie Robinson picked three wickets in the first innings of the first Test;
• Mark Wood claimed three wickets too in the first innings of the first Test;
• Pat Cummins took five wickets in the first innings of the first Test;
• Marnus Labuschagne made 74 runs in the first innings of the first Test;
• Dawid Malan made 82 runs in the second innings of the first Test;
• Nathan Lyon claimed four wickets in the second innings of the first Test;
• Travis Head made 152 runs in the first innings of the first Test;
• Do check squad lists before placing bets.

• 1st Innings Score: Over 295.5 for 1.83;
• Highest Opening Partnership 1st innings: England for 2.37;
• Total: Over 963.5 for 2.01.