The Ashes | Adelaide Test Preview: England seek redemption, hosts chase dominance in Pink-ball contest
The Gabba did what it does and while it asked tough questions of both England Australia, it was the former who fell short of answering most questions and slipped to an embarrassing but yet so predictable defeat. The first Test at the Gabba offered everything that it promised. It had a period of tough bowling spells, some mediocre batting and challenging bounce to both spinners and pacers throughout the length of the game to keep batsmen at their toes. Also, it offered value to batsmen when they were looking to despatch bad balls to boundaries but in the end, Australia triumphed on the back of having more prepared players for that condition than England, who fell way short despite prolonged preparation that started right after the end of the last Ashes series in 2019. Now, if the pink ball will do what it is known for—pronounced seam and hence more movement off the surface and in the air after lights are switched on, it will ask more questions of both sides and will test both the methods and resolve of the sides. Especially for England, playing a pink ball Test after a hammering at the Gabba doesn’t augur well considering the track record of the hosts with the pink cherry. The last time they played in such format, they bundled India out for a mere 36 and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. England batsmen got good balls to walk back to the pavilion but they too would admit of their eagerness to play a lot of deliveries than they should have and hence Australia’s number three in Marnus Labuschagne set a perfect template on how to bat at the Gabba. The fact that he was coming off from a good run of form in the Sheffield Shield and the Gabba is his home ground can’t take away from his decisiveness and awareness around off stump against the likes of Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson, who tried to exploit the wide range of bowling crease to lure him into playing deliveries wider of his off stump. On the other hand, England batsmen were guilty of reaching out to wider delivery to defend or push and they paid the price. England need their batsmen other than the skipper to stand up and to be counted the way Dawid Malan did in the second innings albeit both of them failed to reach the three-figure mark. Root has scored three times the runs scored by other batsmen in his side and the graph must change if England have to even hope of making a fighting comeback. One can’t win in Australia by scoring less than 300 runs and they have their task cut out against Pat Cummins and co. Contest within contest Ben Stokes vs Pat Cummins Ben Stokes last played for England in July before taking an extended break to allow healing of the injured finger but Joe Root-led side had no reservations about bringing him back straight into the playing XI. After all, England consider him a “superhero” and backs him to pull miraculous escapes every now and then and hence the decision was pretty obvious and easy. However, a lack of cricket showed up both while batting and when in the field. He did not look comfortable after sprinting to stop a ball from going to the boundary line which would have been a normal task for an elite fielder like him. With bat in his hands, he looked unsettled at the crease and played like he was very uncomfortable with the bounce at the Gabba, which has not been an apparent weakness of him in the past. Australia skipper Pat Cummins, who too is no less than a superhero for his side, took it upon himself to get the better of his counterpart and sent him back to the pavilion on two occasions. Now, with the pink ball in his hand, would Cummins be able to get the better of a better prepared Stokes? Or, will Stokes come to his own after playing at the Gabba and then preparing at full tilt before the day-night Test will shed his rustiness? Whatever the outcome be will decide the course of the game and could also set a template for another Ashes mauling for England if things go beyond control for England once again. Match details Australia vs England: Match Details The Ashes: Second Test Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Date and time: December 16-20, 09:30 IST, 04:00 GMT Broadcast: Sony Sports Network, SonyLIV Pitch and weather The pitch at the Adelaide Oval is likely to have a tinge of grass which has been termed as an essential element of a pink ball Test but the surface underneath the grass would be drier and hence will bring spinners in the game. Nathan Lyon has had good numbers in the pink ball Tests of the past as he extracts a lot of bounce with the help of that pronounced seam. He was at it against the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli last time the hosts played at the same venue with the same ball and there is no doubt there will be something for the spinners this time as well. Spectators would be happy to have rain away from the game after the threats of rain affecting the game during the first Test. Team News Australia Australia were dealt with two major selection concerns while they were celebrating the victory in the first Test. Josh Hazlewood was down with side strain and David Warner was grimacing his rib injury. They had to take a call on Hazlewood considering the long series and workload he has to go through and they opted to play with the pace and swing of Jhye Richarson for this Test. On warner, they chose to have him fight it out through pain and did not name any replacement. They have made only one change in their playing XI that came through an enforced route and announced their playing XI a day in advance. Playing XI David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson England England were down and out of the game because their batting while bowling kept them alive in the game till the second collapse of the game on the fourth morning of the Test but ironically, it will be the bowling department that will be changed for the second game of the series. They argued that the bowlers who played the first game did not have much preparation for the Gabba Test and they were to get better with more overs under their belt. The lack of preparation was also cited to rest both James Anderson and Stuart Broad and now when the other pacers apart from them got into a rhythm after bowling long spells at the Gabba, at least one out of Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood will have to make way for one of them. The sequence of events appears to be reflecting a muddled approach in the England dressing room and it is largely a problem of their own making. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, they have not played the game in front of them and have chosen to plan for too much long term and probably are paying the price in the series for which all the planning and plotting was devised. Robinson bowled beautifully at the Gabba and was the pick of the bowlers while Wood hurled all Australian batsmen, most of all Steve Smith with his pace and should get a game at Adelaide. This leaves England with one option of leaving out Woakes for one of Anderson or Broad and it will lighten their batting lineup by a big margin. Also, England have shown eagerness to play Anderson and Broad together with the pink ball and this would complicate their selection calls as in that case, they will have to leave two out of the three pacers who played at the Gabba or sacrifice the only spinner in Jack Leach, who needs backing after the mauling he got at the hands of Australian batters. Probable XI Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (C), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (WK), Ollie Robinson, James Anderson, Jack Leach, Mark Wood/Stuart Broad CE Fantasy XI Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Travis Head, David Warner, Rory Burns, Ben Stokes, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Mitchell Starc
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