Last chance for England to preserve their Bazball heritage

ICC World Test Championship

We are back in familiar territory once again. Australia on the verge of sealing another home Ashes against their fierce rivals. Two easy wins on the back of a couple of magnificent POTM performances by Mitchell Starc has put the hosts 2-0 up and in a comfortable position. Australia were missing their regular captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, leading wicket-taker Nathan Lyon and regular opener Usman Khawaja at different moments in this series. However, the replacements have done a fabulous job ensuring the selectors that the back-ups can turn up when called upon putting Australian cricket in safe hands. Pat Cummins is confirmed to return for his first International match in 5 months while Nathan Lyon will slot right back in the XI at Adelaide.

Pat Cummins will finally make his way back in the playing XI in the third Test at Adelaide

England has given away two huge advantages already. The task is only going to get tougher from now on. And with the scoreline being against them, the pressure is also immense on this team and the management to turn this series around especially from this daunting situation. Only once in the past has a team managed to secure a series from 0-2 to 3-2 in Tests i.e. Australia in the 1936/37 Ashes. 89 years after that isolated event, can the English stand up and replicate the same achievement? Looks unlikely.

A Joe Root hundred, his first in 30 attempts Down Under could not lift his team to his first win in Australia. The bowlers did not turn up when the batters finally did with Mitchell Starc, batting at No.8 top scoring in the first innings. They have made just one change from the last XI with Josh Tongue replacing Gus Atkinson for his first ever appearance Down Under in International cricket. Will Jacks retaining his place does pose the question once again about the role of Shoaib Bashir being the lead spinner in the original squad. Lyon will return to the side which creates a huge gap in the skills between the two leading spinners of the team.

Of the last ten games at the Adelaide Oval, 8 have been pink-ball Test matches. This time the Day-night Test was hosted by Brisbane meaning Adelaide will return to the traditional red-ball Test match. In the last ten games, pacers have taken the majority of the wickets with Starc being the leading wicket taker among pacers in the ground's history with 55 wickets @ 17.36 in 10 games. Although the spinners average 36 at this venue in the last 10 games, Nathan Lyon averages only 23.56 with 39 wickets. The wicket is expected to bring spin into play as the match progresses meaning Lyon who stands at 562 wickets will have a chance to surpass Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets to become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker and the sixth-highest overall in Test cricket history. 

There is not much to talk about the English batting. Zak Crawley started with a pair but he did score a 76 & 44 in the second while Joe Root starred with his 40th Test ton but apart from these two none of the batters average more than 30. Ben Duckett is struggling to build a innings while Ollie Pope's weakness has been exposed against the moving ball. Harry Brook continues to give his wicket away with poor shots and Jamie Smith has not made any significant impression. Australia will be eyeing another easy scalp with the quality of bowling they possess and the English mentality to give up rather easily. 

The English team took a trip to Noosa after the second Test before arriving in Adelaide

Australia has decided to persist with the same batting line-up which means Travis Head & Jake Weatherald will continue to open after two 70+ runs opening partnership. Josh Inglis keeps his spot at No. 7 albeit with silent returns in Brisbane. Usman Khawaja announced himself a 100% fit for the third test but Australia has decided to retain their top 7 from the last game. If Khawaja does not make it to the team in the next two days, it might as well mean a final goodbye from the selectors. His recent records are not that pressing either: except for his 232 in Sri Lanka, Khawaja has scored only 372 runs in his last 19 innings with only 1 fifty. 

Michael Neser would consider him unlucky after a brilliant fifer in the second innings helped his side secure an easy 8-wicket win at The Gabba. But with the impending return of skipper Pat Cummins and Scott Boland being ahead in the pecking order, it was always going to be a straight forward decision for the selectors. Another unlucky Aussie Beau Webster, who has been instrumental for them since he joined the team a year ago has not got a single game in this series so far with the all-round return of Cam Green. He will also be in with a shout later if Australia manage to complete a series win at Adelaide.

The pitch at The Adelaide Oval is a traditional one which will provide assistance to the seamers early on. It is expected to bring the spinners into play later. Friday and Sunday might see rain playing a huge part but other three days are presumed to remain sunny. Thursday might see a peak of 38°C.

References: Statsguru by ESPNCricinfo