Ashes 2023: England aim to tame high-flying Australia at Lord's
England will be crossing swords against Australia in the second Ashes Test at the Lord's, starting June 28. The hosts will be keen to get back on level terms after losing the thriller at Edgbaston. Besides, Australia will be hoping to pile up the pressure by going 2-0 up in the five-match series. Nevertheless, it promises to be another enthralling Test match. Here's more.
Pitch report, timing and streaming details
The match will be played at the Lord's and conditions will favor all parties. The pitch ideally will help the pacers but as the innings will progress batters will score runs. In 151 Tests here, 51 of them have been won by teams batting first. Sony Sports Network will telecast the game whereas the SonyLIV app will live-stream the match from 3:30pm IST onward.
A look at the head-to-head record
The eternal rivals, England and Australia have crossed swords in 356 Test matches. While Australia have the upper hand with 150 victories, England have registered 110 wins. 96 matches have ended in a draw. Notably, Australia have the upper hand at Lord's against England, having won 15 Tests at the venue. While England have managed only seven wins against Australia here (15 draws).
England promise to continue their attacking brand of cricket
There was much criticism of the 'Bazball', the philosophy England have adopted ever since the arrival of their coach Brendon McCullum, after the defeat in Edgbaston. However, England have won 11 of the 14 Tests under McCullum's reign. Despite the defeat, England will continue to play their 'Bazball' as it has been fruitful for them and has brought results in recent times.
Australia in high spirits after Edgbaston win
Australia are high on confidence after they defeated India to win the World Test Championship final and followed it up with a brilliant chase at Edgbaston to go 1-0 up in the Ashes. There were plenty of positives for Australia in the last win. However, they won the match without a sizeable contribution from Steve Smith, which speaks volumes about their strength and depth.
Here are the Probable/Playing XIs
England's Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, and James Anderson. Australia's Probable XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Pat Cummins (captain), Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, and Scott Boland.
Here are the key performers
Smith averages 73.60 at the Lord's and has smashed two fifties and a ton. He has compiled 368 runs in three Tests. Hazlewood has scalped eight wickets in two Tests here. Anderson and Broad have snapped 117 and 108 wickets respectively at this ground. Root has amassed 1,680 runs in 19 Tests at the Lord's with an average of 52.50 (50s: 6, 100s: 5).
Dream11 Fantasy team options
Fantasy team option 1: Usman Khawaja, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (c), Steve Smith, Travis Head, Ben Stokes, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Stuart Broad (vc), Nathan Lyon and James Anderson. Fantasy team option 2: Zak Crawley, Usman Khawaja, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (vc), Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Ben Stokes, Pat Cummins, Stuart Broad, Nathan Lyon and James Anderson.
