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England will make a last-ditch attempt to stay in with a chance of retaining the Ashes when they travel to Perth for the third Test, which Australia enter as heavy favourites. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of Day 1 from 1:30pm (AEDT).
The Aussies have dominated on the scoreboard, winning the first two Tests by ten wickets and 120 runs in Brisbane and Adelaide respectively, yet they haven’t dominated completely on the field.
Concentration lapses from the tourists have allowed the margins of victory to become as big as they were, but England have shown positive signs – just not enough of them to be competitive over five days.
The first couple of days in Adelaide saw the hosts well ahead, but a couple of big sessions for England – with James Anderson getting the ball to swing around under lights – put them back in the match before they capitulated on the final day, losing six wickets in the first session.
If England had won or even got close in Adelaide, the momentum would have been with them heading to Perth, but now they find themselves well and truly on the back foot.
The WACA is a venue they haven’t had much luck at, winning just one Test in 13 attempts. While the pitch has been flatter than normal in recent years, and reports suggest it’ll be the same this summer, it’s not an easy destination for touring teams.
England’s attack doesn’t stack up against the conditions either. While Anderson and Stuart Broad are proven, neither have had a great deal of fun in Australia and they won’t have a pink ball to help them out this time either.
The extra pace on offer from Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins could well prove to be the difference in this match, as well as the aggressive intent in the home side’s batting.
David Warner hasn’t been in the best of form, but he has scored centuries in Perth before and the feeling is that there could be another big one on the way here.
If that happens, England could be out of the match by the end of the first day.
Prediction
Despite what we have seen in the first two Tests, Perth is where the real difference between the sides will begin to show. England’s attack could well get plastered on the WACA, and while backing a draw is tempting, the raw pace of the Aussies and bounce for Nathan Lyon will get them over the line.
Australia to win and regain the Ashes.
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