The Ashes Series has been on full song in the last three weeks as the 3rd test is about to start. Australian team surprised England with its outstanding performance in the first two Ashes Test Matches. England could not maintain the momentum that it had in the last one year and lost both matches. Australia held its nerves on the 5th day of both test matches and won them comfortably. In the first test, Australia beat England by two wickets. Australia won the 2nd test by 43 runs. In this article, we will explain full match prediction and analyze players’ performance.
Match Preview
England
England’s team could not maintain the success of their Bazball approach in the Ashes Series. The team has failed in both the bowling and batting departments. There were a few individual performances. But, to win a match, you need a whole team effort which is missing in England’s approach. Zak Crawly played beautifully in the first innings of both tests. But he could not play long innings. Ben Duckett is good in both tests as he played an outstanding knock of 98 runs. Ollie Pop got injured in the last match, so he cannot play at one down position.
Dan Lawrence is available as his replacement, but his inclusion is not 100% sure. England may play Root at number 3 or Harry Brooke at number 3. Ben Stokes played a top knock of 155 runs in the previous match. Jonny Bairstow batted well in the first test match, but his controversial stumping and inadequate wicket keeping is more famous. There is good news for England as Moeen Ali is fit to play, so he could take the following position as a bowling allrounder. The batting lineup of England has excellent depth, but it could not keep the momentum the previous batters provided them.
Chris Woakes can also play in this test match after the failure of the bowling lineup. He can also bat well. The bowling lineup has failed to provide breakthroughs when it is necessary. The Legendary James Anderson could not take wickets in the previous two matches, so he might be replaced with Mark Wood. Anderson is the highest wicket-taker on Leeds ground that may save his position. In this case, Ollie Robinson will be out of the team. Josh Tongue’s inclusion is 50/50. Stuart Broad was an automatic choice for the English team in the pace attack.
Australia
The Australian team had a solid approach to test cricket in the last two games. Usman Khawaja is brilliant at the top of the order. He is the best batsman of the Ashes as far as the first two test matches are concerned. David Warner played good cricket in two test matches but could not play a long inning. Marnus Labuschagne has had a disappointing series so far, as he could not impress with his batting. Steve Smith scored an outstanding century in the first test. He has an excellent record in the middle order.
The Australian team is fortunate to have Travis Head in the middle order. He not only scored runs but played at an incredible pace. Alex Carey batted brilliantly as the wicketkeeper batter in the first test match. Chris Green is an outstanding allrounder who performed in both departments on a similar level. The batting lineup of Australia is a real success because it scored runs in almost all innings. The bowling lineup had a big blow because the star spinner of Australia was ruled out of the remaining series with a calf injury. Young spinner Todd Murphy will replace him.
The pace attack of Australia has always been their top weapon in the arsenal. Pat Cummins bowled brilliantly in both test matches. He also batted well in the first match, but his bowling was outstanding. Mitchell Starc did not play the first test match because the management thought he was expensive. However, he bowled brilliantly in the last test match and picked up six wickets. Josh Hazlewood played two matches in a row in the last three years. So, his inclusion in this match is not confirmed. Scott Boland will take his place, which is also an excellent addition to the team.
Match Details
Venue = Headingly Ground Leeds
Date and Time = 06-10 July, 03:30 PM IST
Pitch Report
Headingly is one of the top batting surface England has ever had. The average score on Headingly ground is 304 runs. Fast bowlers will get some assistance in the first few overs. If there is an overcast condition, then bowlers may also get some purchase out of Leeds surface. But, mostly, it is a batting paradise where batters will dominate all five days of a test match.
Weather Report
Headingly Leeds is known for rainy days in the English summer. There is a small chance of sunshine on all five days of the test cricket. Mostly, clouds will cover the sky. The temperature will remain between 12 and 24 centigrade. Rainfall chances are less in the first two days of the match. There is a high probability of rain in the last three days of the 3rd test. Air will blow at 15-20 KM/Hr for all five days, with a humidity level above 50%.
Head to Head
Total Test Matches = 358
Australia Won = 152
England Won = 110
Drawn = 96
Probable Playing 11
England Playing 11
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brooke, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, James Anderson/Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes
Australia Playing 11
Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Chris Green, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Todd Murphy
Key Players
Usman Khawaja is the top run-getter of Ashes 2023 with 300 runs in the 2 test matches at an average of 75. He scored one century and two half-centuries. Steve Smith is the 2nd best batsman in Australia with a score of 166 that includes one century. Pat Cummins took eight wickets in the previous two test matches, so he is the team’s top bowler. Mitchell Starc played one game and took six wickets in it.
Ben Stokes is the highest run scorer in England with 216 runs, which includes one outstanding knock of 155. Ben Duckett is England’s 2nd highest run scorer, with 212 runs in 2 tests at an average of 53. Stuart Broad is the best bowler of Ashes 2023 regarding wicket-taking, as he took 11 wickets in 2 matches. Ollie Robinson took ten wickets in this series.
Match Prediction
The Australian team dominated the test cricket in the first two matches. However, the England team will make a comeback and win this match. Here are the winning chances of both teams.
England = 40%
Australia = 38%
Draw = 22%
