Australia will have all the momentum when they take on England in the third Ashes Test and with the track at Edgbaston expected to be a more sporting one than earlier, this could get interesting.
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While the series remains tied at 1-1, the games have been anything but close. The team that has won the toss, has gone on to not only win the Test but also done it with a oh-so-wide margin.
And even on flat, docile tracks, the Tests have lasted four days apiece.
Not surprisingly, the talk between the previous Test and this has revolved around the nature of the pitch that will be on offer at Edgbaston. England captain Alastair Cook had said at the end of the previous Test he hoped for the tracks to return to their original nature; to being typical English tracks that assisted seamers.
On the other hand, Australian quick Mitchell Starc challenged the curators to prepare such a track for Edgbaston given the presence of quality in Australia’s seam bowling arsenal.
One way or the other, it looks like the toss could prove to be crucial yet again, but the hope is both teams would have learnt to bat second better than they did in the first two Tests.
As far as the teams are concerned, England will enter the game with a change that was brought about immediately after the second Test defeat. Gary Ballance’s poor batting form paved way for Jonny Bairstow, who has gone well in the county circuit recently while playing for Jason Gillespie’s Yorkshire.
The rest of the 13-man squad remains the same for England but it still remains to be seen if they bring in either Steven Finn or Adil Rashid in place of one of those in the squad.
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By looks of things, the pitch at Edgbaston might not deserve two spinners. Similarly there haven’t been too many talks of any changes to the pace bowling department either, which implies the Ballance-Bairstow swap will be the only one.
Australia have decided to keep Peter Nevill ahead of Brad Haddin in the team, despite the latter having said he was happy to return to the squad. Chris Rogers’ fitness concerns also grew manifold after he felt wobbly a day after being hit on his head by a bouncer, but he played out the entire net session on Tuesday without issues and could make the starting XI.
Follow the live scores and blog of this opening day of the third Ashes Test between England and Australia from 8:00pm AEST on Wednesday and post your comments in the section below.
Jono
Guest
Looks like Australia bought into the hype after Lords and decided they didn't need to play to win. Rain will be the only thing that will save this test for them.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Thanks mate, night!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Cheers mate, see you tomorrow.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
England's day all round. First there was a concerted effort with the ball that felled the Aussie batsmen for a mere 136. Some poor shots were played but they weren't all unforced errors, just a matter of the batsmen struggling throughout their innings and then falling to what might seem to look like an innocuous delivery. Australia got Adam Lyth out early but some positive stroke-play from Alastair Cook and Ian Bell took England through to a healthy position. Cook was almost unfortunate to get out the way he did but that was followed by another solid, aggressive stand between Bell and Root. Lyon lulled another wicket in the form of Bell after he had gotten to his fifty but England will be very pleased with the way things went. They are just three behind and will be looking to bat at least two sessions tomorrow to take a very healthy lead. Australia, on their part need to restrict this lead to less than 100 but for that they will need to bowl a lot better than they have so far. Ciao for now, hope to see you tomorrow.
Brains of a bimbo (Atgm)
Guest
Nice work suneer!gd nyt
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
The play has been abandoned for the day. Extra half hour to be added on tomorrow.
JimmyB
Guest
Cheers Suneer, that's me done. Working in the morning.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
With 19 overs remaining, the covers have come on now. Slight drizzle here.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Bairstow gets off the mark with a single to the off side. The ground-staff is getting ready... 3/133 in the 29th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
It's begun to drizzle a little it seems. Light isn't too good either, and the floodlights are on.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Jonny Bairstow returns to the England side and walks out at five. He had a difficult time against pace and bounce in England but it looks like he has changed his technique - become more upright.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
And Lyon again! He has a wicket! What a shot from Bell... ...he was going well, he was batting positively and has tried to maintain that momentum. Except he hasn't had a look at Lyon, just his second ball against the spinner and he jumps down the track to try and smash him out of the attack. Does not get anywhere close to the ball, scoops it up instead of hitting it straighter and Warner calls early and takes a good catch. Wicket thrown away? Or living and dying by the sword? Three down, England and they are four away from Australia.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
This partnership is already worth 55 and Nathan Lyon has been called up now. He was taken off the attack after just one over.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Shot! Four to get to Bell's 50! That's some strong driving from Bell. This move up to three has worked wonders for Bell, he has managed to pierce the field yet again. Just 51 balls to get to 51.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
England are just 11 behind. Starc has decided to come in from round the stumps now. Can he get them to angle in and then leave the bat? 2/125 in the 27th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
A gully has now come in for Root but Hazlewood has sent it down on to his pads. Root on-drives and a diving Johnson fails to stop it at mid-on, earning him a four. The crowd goes ballistic at that supposed misfield. Next ball, Hazlewood has Root in knots. Angles into Root, going down and then suddenly jags away. Superb ball, probably the ball of this innings but no reward. 2/125 in 26.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Aah nice, four, that was fuller and driven through extra-cover by Root. 2/119 in the 26th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Edged and falls just short of the slips. Clarke looks on, surprised it hasn't... ...it's flown off Root's and fallen way short of the first slipper, doubt he would have caught that had he been a step closer either. 2/114 in the 25th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Four more. And this is off the Root bat, there are three slips in place but no gully and easily played down through there. 2/114 in the 25th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Aah, ripper, comes back off the seam and while Root had left that one alone well, it was the kind of ball that could cause some confusion in the batsman's minds. Do I trust the bounce and keep leaving them? Or do I try and get a feel of it? 2/109 in the 24th