England are trailing 2-0 in the Ashes Test series against Australia, it would be wrong to say that they have been outclassed by Australia in the series. England fought hard in both matches, however, they just couldn’t reach past the winning line.
Ben Stokes played one of the finest Test knocks in cricketing history in the Lord’s Test but, unfortunately, couldn’t take the team home. He produced a scintillating knock of 155 runs in 214 balls, while Ben Duckett also made great returns with scores of 98 and 83.
The team management wouldn’t be too happy with Zak Crawley for not converting a fine start he got in the first innings. His aggressive intent proved harmful in both the games and it remains to be seen if he continues to take the same approach in the third Test as well.
England’s main bet, Joe Root made silent returns at Lord’s and for England to come back into the series, he needs to play big impactful knocks with the bat, more so as Ollie Pope has been ruled out of the series due to injury.
England have named their playing XI for the third Test at Headingley. They have made as many as three changes with Anderson and Josh Tongue getting dropped. Ollie Pope won’t be available for the rest of the series. Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood make their way into the eleven.
Australia would be riding high on controversy despite the Bairstow controversy making headlines for the last few days. Pat Cummins has led the way with the ball and bat, putting a great example of how to lead from the front.
In the batting department, Usman Khawaja continues to be the biggest headache for them. It has been a great series for Alex Carey and he is one of the reasons why Australia have been able to add a few more runs at the backend of the innings. Starc has made a great comeback and he is likely to be persisted in the eleven.
Nathan Lyon’s injury could be a big blow for them with three Test still to go. However, his replacement Todd Murphy too has got the skills to trouble the English batter. Australia has got all bases covered and with the kind of form they are, it would be really difficult for England to beat them.
AUS vs ENG 3rd Ashes Test Predicted XI
Here’s a look at the predicted playing XIs of both teams:
Predicted XIs
Australia:
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins ©, Todd Murphy 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, Josh Tongue
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