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The Ashes caravan has reached the prestigious Boxing-Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia and England will lock horns in the third Test from December 26. Joe Root’s men will be desperate to stay alive in the series while the hosts will be eyeing an unassailable lead.
Australia at their home have always been dominant, and this Ashes series is no different. Pat Cummins-led side hammered the visitors by nine wickets in the series opener at the Gabba.
In the following match – a day-night affair at Adelaide, Australia posted 473/9 in the first innings on the back of Marnus Labuschagne’s century and individual 90s from David Warner and Steve Smith. In response, England suffered yet another collapse and could only score 236, with Dawid Malan scoring 80 and Root adding 62.
The hosts did not enforce the follow-on and scored 230/9 in their second innings to give England a target of 468 with more than 120 overs to bowl them out. Three Lions took the game to the last session with fighting knocks from Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes but were eventually bowled out for 192. For Australia, Jhye Richardson claimed his maiden five-wicket haul.
Key players
Pat Cummins, the number one ranked Test bowler in the world, is one of the best fast bowlers of all time. He has picked 171 wickets in Test cricket from just 35 matches at an exceptional average of 21.23. The right arm pacer has six five-wicket hauls and a 10-wk haul to his name. Cummins was outstanding in the first Test at Gabba, claiming 5/38 and 2/51 in the match.
Joe Root has a fantastic record to boast of, despite playing most of his cricket in treacherous English conditions. English skipper has amassed 9453 runs from 111 Tests at an average of 50.01, including 23 hundreds and 52 fifties. He has carried the batting this year single-handedly, scoring 1630 runs in 14 matches at an average of 62.69. Root has scored two good knocks of 89 and 62 in the first two games and remains England’s most important batter.
The best batter of this generation and one of the all-time greats, Steve Smith has been consistently ahead of his peers, having scored 7651 runs in 79 Tests at an incredible average of 61.20. The 32yr old has registered 27 hundreds and 32 fifties in this format. Smith was sublime in the first innings of the Adelaide Test in his knock of 93 runs. Smith hasn’t scored a century in his last six innings but remains a key player for the hosts.
Marnus Labuschagne has risen to the top of the world, with consistent performances over the last two years in red-ball cricket. He displaced Root to become the no. 1 Test batsman in ICC rankings. Labuschagne has scored 2113 runs in 20 matches at a magnificent average of 62.14, including six hundreds and 12 fifties. He’s been the best batter in the series so far, scoring 74, 103 and 51. Labuschagne will be a big thorn in the way for England yet again.
Mark Wood is one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket and is a real differential factor in this English bowling attack. He has taken 67 wickets from 22 Test matches at an average of 32.95, including two five-wicket hauls. Wood looked threatening in the Gabba Test, where he picked three scalps, including the dismissal of Smith cheaply. England will need him at his best if they are to make a comeback.
Prediction
There’s not much competition between these two sides when it comes to the matches down under. Even at the MCG, Australia lead the scoreline by 28-20 historically. The last time they met at the venue, England managed a draw in 2017.
Australia have an extremely strong batting comprising Warner, Labuschagne, Smith, along with Travis Head, who is currently in great form. In the bowling department, they won’t have the services of Josh Hazlewood and Richardson. Pat Cummins returns to the side while Scott Boland will make his debut at his home ground.
England’s batting has looked terribly out of depth. They have made a couple of changes that are unlikely to make any difference. Zak Crawley replaces Rory Burns at the top, while Jonny Bairstow will take Ollie Pope’s spot at 6. Mark Wood returns back, strengthening the bowling attack. Jack Leach also comes back with Stuart Broad and Woakes missing out.
The overall quality difference between the two sides is immense so Australia still remain firm favourites.
