All to play for as the third Ashes test approaches
Considering the England went into the 2017 Ashes series with a newfound sense of confidence, they’ve managed to make a real mess of things.
With two emphatic wins for Australia in the first two test matches in Brisbane and Adelaide, and with players like Ben Duckett being suspended for bad behaviour, it seems that England’s cricketers have all to play for in the third test.
The third test match takes place at the Waca in Perth on 14 December, and England have to win this test if they stand any chance of bringing the Ashes trophy back home.
One of the biggest challenges to face the English team is how they go about taking on the formidable bowling threat of Nathan Lyon.
The spin bowler has routinely managed to be a thorn in the side of the English team, and whilst the Waca ground usually provides unfavourable conditions for off-spin bowlers, there is enough strength in depth in the Australian team to cause plenty of concern for England.
This is especially so as the Australian side have recently announced that Mitchell Marsh will be added to the team for Perth, and it’s going to be tough to see how England cope with his swing bowling expertise.
Whilst England have had terrible time in Australia so far, there’s still plenty of spirit that suggests that punters could take advantage of the odds featured at Gambling Kingz to get a decent payout by backing the English cricketers in Perth.
Although legendary Australian players like Mitchell Johnson have been quick to criticise England for having doubts about their ability to perform, there are English bowlers like Stuart Broad who have shown that they have a lot to prove.
Broad managed to pull off an impressive bowling performance in Adelaide, and if the selectors were to pick a fast-paced bowler like Mark Wood, then they could cause the Australian batsmen more than few headaches.
In terms of English batsmen, it would be great to see Alistair Cook get another century Down Under, and similarly Joe Root needs to get a decent score now if he has any hope of making a success out of his captaincy.
There are plenty who have been calling for Jonny Bairstow to move higher up the batting order, and if the English team brought in a specialist wicketkeeper like Ben Foakes, it could provide a new-look England to give Australia something to worry about.
Whatever happens in terms of team selection, it’s clear that England have nothing to lose. With the memories of the 5-0 whitewash in 2013 being all too recent, it seems that Trevor Bayliss will need to take a gamble on the upcoming Perth test match.
So although things are currently looking very dark in the England camp both on and off the pitch, they will have all to play for if they want to keep their dignity in this fascinating Ashes test series.
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