Lords is the venue for the second Ashes test match between England and Australia, the game gets under way on Wednesday and the Aussies are 1-0 up with four to play
The first Ashes test took place on a flat deck at Edgbaston, it was a gripping contest and Australia won it by 2 wickets.
England declared on 393/8 late on day 1 with Joe Root 118 not out whilst Bairstow made 78 and Crawley 61, Nathan Lyon claimed 4 wickets. Australia replied with 386 with Usman Khawaja top scoring with 141 and Carey and Head both made half centuries, Broad and Robinson both took 3 wickets.
England made 273 in their second knock with Root and Brook top scoring with 46 and Lyon and Cummins both took 4 wickets. The final chase was a thriller and heading into the rain delayed final day all 3 results were possible but Australia held their nerve after Khawaja went for 65 and Cummins 44 not out and Lyon 16 not out took them home, 282/8 for a 2 wicket win. Broad was top England wicket taker with 3 and Usman Khawaja was named Man of the Match.
This was how the teams lined up in the first test.
England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland
Recent Form:
England
England beat Ireland by 10 wickets in a one off test at the start of this month. In February they drew 1-1 in New Zealand, winning the first test by 267 runs and losing the second, a thriller, by 1 run.
In December last year England won all 3 test matches in Pakistan and in their last home series they came from behind to beat the Proteas 2-1.
England have now won 11 and lost 3 of their last 14 test matches.
Australia
Australia have just been crowned World Test Champions. They beat India at The Oval in London by 209 runs, scoring 469 in their first knock (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121) and 270/8 declared in their second innings (Alex Carey 66, Mitchell Starc 41). India posted totals of 296 (Pat Cummins 3-83) and 234 (Nathan Lyon 4-41).
Australia were in India for a 4 match series in February and March this year and they were beaten 2-1, losing the first 2 tests (an innings and 132 runs and then 6 wickets), winning the third (by 9 wickets) and the fourth match was drawn.
Australia won a 3 match series at home to South Africa over Xmas and new year. They won the first contest by 6 wickets and the second by an innings and 182 runs before the third and final test was drawn.
Recent Ashes Series
In Australia in 2021/22 England lost 4-0 (1 draw)
In England in 2019 a 5 match series was drawn 2-2 and Australia retained the urn.
In Australia in 2017/18 England lost 4-0 (1 draw)
The Venue, Lords, London
Over the course of the last decade England have won 8, drawn 4 and lost 6 of 18 test matches at Lords
Two of those matches were Ashes tests with a draw in 2019 and a 405 run victory for Australia in 2015
The most recent test match at Lords came against Ireland earlier this month which England won by 10 wickets. In 2022 England were 5 wicket winners against
New Zealand and they lost to South Africa by an innings and 12 runs.
Series Betting - Risk Free First Bet Up to R2,000 back if you don't win
Australia are now 5/10 to win the series with a tie at 6/1 and England are a 5/2 chance
A 3-2 series win for Australia is priced at 4/1 and it's 5/1 for England to edge it 3-2
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
2nd Test Betting Risk Free First Bet Up to R2,000 back if you don't win
England are 14/10 to win the second test with a draw at 4/1 and Australia are 11/10
Root is 5/2 to top score for England in the first innings and Steve Smith is the same price to do likewise for Australia.
The Verdict
The first test was a really good watch and we could be in for another thriller.
I'll stick with Harry Brook to top score for England in the first innings, he was very unlucky to get out when going well in the first innings at Edgbaston and there is still some mileage in his price in my opinion
For additional interest, I will nibble at Sportingbet's price boost which has Cummins priced at 7/1 (from 5/1) to take 5 or more first innings wickets.
Bets: Top England 1st Innings Run Scorer Harry Brook at 5/1 with Sportingbet
Cummins to take 5+ wickets in the first innings at 7/1 with Sportingbet
Please support Goodforthegame by opening an account with Sportingbet. Risk Free First Bet Up to R2,000 back if you don't win
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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