- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The pendulum swung England‘s way in the third Ashes Test and it leaves Australia with a lot to do when the two sides meet again at Trent Bridge from Thursday. You can follow live scores and a blog of the first day of this fourth Ashes Test from 8:00pm (AEST).
LOOKING FOR DAY 2? DAY 2 LIVE SCORES HERE.
Fluctuating fortunes have defined the manner in which this Ashes has gone so far. The games, by themselves have been one-sided and despite being action-packed, have set the marker quite early in the piece. However, predictions at the start of the games have generally gone haywire.
Like Australia began as favourites coming into the series but were easily beaten at Cardiff.
Down and looking like they needed answers aplenty, Australia turned things around with a solid performance at Lord’s. The point to note here is that the ball didn’t swing as much as it had at Cardiff and on what looked a dead pitch, the Aussie bowlers ruled the roost, registering a crushing 405-run win.
And then, just when it looked like those answers had been found and swagger had returned, lateral movement caused Australia’s downfall yet again. They went down by eight wickets at Edgbaston in a game where they only briefly looked competitive.
James Anderson broke their backs in the first innings while Steven Finn re-announced himself at the international stage two years after having played his last Test.
Australia could well be counting their blessings at the absence of Anderson, out injured for this game, but they still to have contend with an in-form Stuart Broad and Finn. And if the Trent Bridge pitch jags around as much as it has shown in the past, the English bowling could be quite handy yet again.
The visitors’ improvement areas include captain Michael Clarke’s batting form, and the consistency of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. There were many occasions during the previous game when the duo left their captain looking silly with their inability to hold their lines and lengths as consistently as he would have liked.
England would also like Adam Lyth to get a few. Despite his poor form, they have continued to back him and it’s probably just the time for him to come good.
Ian Bell showed signs of returning back to his best last game while a strong lower-order performance bailed England out last game. Time also for Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler to collectively thwart the Aussie bowling.
Mark Wood will replace Anderson in the England squad while Australia could look to go into the fourth Test with the same XI that had struggled at Edgbaston unless hit by any last-minute fitness woes.
Follow the live scores and blog of this opening day of the fourth Ashes 2015 Test between England and Australia from 8:00pm (AEST) on Thursday and post your comments in the section below.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.