England Must Get Playing XI Right To Win Second Ashes Test

England were outplayed in the first Ashes test and ended up losing by 9 wickets. It’s not the start the visitors wanted and they have very little time to recoup and get their bearings as the second Ashes test will take place from Dec 16 to 20 in Adelaide. This is the only day/night test of the 5 match test series and it’s a match that England must win to give themselves a chance to win the test series.

England Must Learn From Their Mistakes

England made two big mistakes that literally ended up costing them the first test. The selectors decided to leave out their two most experienced bowlers for the first test, a decision that baffled English fans. The selectors decided to rest both James Anderson and Stuart Broad even though they were fit.

The two veteran fast bowlers were not expected to play all 5 test matches in the series but fans did expect to see either Anderson or Broad in all five matches. Australia were happy to see both the veterans rested for the first test as it made their batting a lot easier. In hindsight, it was a decision that had a big impact on the outcome of the test.

The second decision that cost England the game was captain Joe Root winning the toss and deciding to bat first at the Gabba. England were rolled out for 147 in the first innings and though they fought hard, could not recover from that battling collapse.

The two big lessons that England must learn quickly is that they need to have either Anderson or Broad play all of the remaining four test and if possible, let both of them play together for one or two tests. The second decision is that Joe Root must read the conditions better and make the right decision if he ends up winning the toss again.

Australia Betting Favorites For Second Test

The Aussies go in as betting favorites for the day/ night test in Adelaide as they are playing at home and now have their tails up after their win in the first test. Australia have odds of 4/7 to win while the visitors are the underdogs with odds of 5/2. The odds for the second test ending in a draw are currently at 13/2.

The weather for the day/night test in Adelaide looks fine and we don’t expect the weather to play a role in influencing the outcome of the test. Our experts believe that we will get a result in the second test. If England don’t get their playing XI right in the second test, expect Australia to win and take a 2-0 lead.

Playing XI That England Must Select

Our experts believe that England must go with this playing XI for the Adelaide test, to give themselves the best chance of winning and getting to 1-1.

Rory Burns: Got out for a duck in the first innings and made 13 in the second which was disappointing. However, Burns is likely to be given a run for a few more test matches.

H Hameed: Got good starts in both innings and looked the part. Those two innings will give the young man confidence and England will definitely need him to make a big score at the top of the order and bat as long as he can.

D Malan: made 82 in the second innings in a great partnership with captain J Root. Malan needs to be patient when he comes to the crease and then look to play freely as he has the game to make runs quickly and take the match away from the Aussies.

J Root: is the best batsman in the side and when he makes runs, England does well. Root played well in the second innings but got out in the 80s just as England were making a push to get on top of the Aussies. Root will have to play a captain’s knock in Adelaide to help England win.

B Stokes: had a forgettable test match and needs to put his hand up and be counted with both the bat and ball.

O Pope: had a start in the first innings but could not kick on and make runs. He will need to look to convert his starts and hold the middle-order together.

J Butler: made 39 and 23 in the match and will need to take more responsibility and bat with the tail.

Ollie Robinson: we think he should play in Adelaide after picking up 4 wickets in the first test.

Jack Leach: had a forgettable test match at Brisbane but England need a spinner in Adelaide and he gets the nod.

Stuart Broad: England need to bring Broady back for Adelaide and let him partner with J Anderson again.

J Anderson: is going to be the biggest weapon for England with the pink ball and must play.