England vs Australia, The Ashes 2019, Today Match Prediction 04 Sep 2019

eng vs aus Match Prediction & Analysis

The Ashes is one of the very old rivalries in cricket history and it started in the year 1882. The Ashes is one of the exciting test contests that are fought hard and neck and neck by both the teams. England`s come from behind win in the last test match has opened the series wide open and both teams are on a level with 1-1 in the series so far. Ben Stokes almost the snatches the urn from the Aussies last match with a breathtaking unbeaten century in fourth innings.

Australia was all over England for the most of the game and they failed to take one last wicket in the previous match and lost agonizingly due to Ben Stokes heroics. Both teams will look to win this match and take an undisputed lead in the series. Australia will retain the urn if they level the series as they won the last Ashes series. 

 

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

Despite their victory in the last test, their batting line-up has a lot of questions to be answered. They were bowled out for a paltry score of just 67 runs in the first innings. Both openers Rory Burns and Jason Roy were dismissed for single-digit scores in the last match. Burns already has a century and half-century to his name in this series while Jason Roy`s position has come under much debate due to his non-performance. Joe Root and Joe Denly scored crucial half-centuries which lifted England`s hopes in the chase. Ben Stokes then conquered the chase with a massive knock of 135 sharing an unbeaten 76 partnership with Jack Leach for the last wicket. Jofra Archer has been their strike bowler and he took 8 wickets in the last test with a 6 wicket haul in the first innings. Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes took 4 wickets each and were consistently applying pressure on Aussie batsmen. Chris Woakes and Jack leach played the support role and failed to make a big impact with just 3 wickets between them. 

Key Players:

Ben Stokes – Ben Stokes is having a dream run this year with some scintillating knocks at big moments for England team. He almost took his team to victory the last match with 135* in fourth innings. He also bowled an inspired testing spell in Australia`s second innings taking vital 3 wickets.  Jofra Archer – Archer is just two tests old but has made a huge impact in the series already. He has taken 13 wickets in the two matches and consistently troubled the batsmen with his pace.  He has a menacing bouncer which is his most potent weapon so far. 

England Predicted Playing XI:

Stuart Broad, Joe Denly, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jason Roy, Rory Burns, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Joe Root (c), Jack Leach, Jofra Archer

England Actual Playing XI:

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jofra Chioke Archer, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Joe Denly, Stuart Broad, Craig Overton, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Rory Burns

Australia Preview

Australia will be disgusted after their loss in the last test after taking charge of 4 ½ days of the test. They failed to take the last wicket and gave away 76 runs. Their batting order is inconsistent and faces a lot of questions. Marnus Labuschagne top-scored with 80 & 74 in both the innings and he has three consecutive 50+ scores in the series so far. David Warner scored a half-century after a string of low scores since his international comeback. Steve Smith is expected to return to the playing XI and Mathew Wade is expected to miss out.

Skipper Tim Paine is under much scrutiny for his batting and usage of DRS referrals which cost them dearly. Josh Hazlewood was the pick of their bowlers with 9 wickets in the last test. Pat Cummins too bowled well and took 4 wickets in the match and he is No.1 ranked test bowler in ICC ratings now. Mitchell Starc is expected to play this match in place of James Pattinson. Nathan Lyon will take the lone spinner spot in the team. 

Key Players:

Marnus Labuschange – He replaced Steve smith as a concussion substitute in the second test match and went on score 59, 80 & 74 in the three innings he played so far.  He will look to continue his good form and try to make his maiden ashes century in this match. 

Mitchell Starc – Australia missed Starc especially in the second innings because he can intimate and clear the tail-enders with his pacy yorkers and bouncers. He will look to make a comeback into the team with a spirited performance. 

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

David Warner, Tim Paine (c & wk), Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Tim Paine, Marcus Harris, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Wade, Steven Smith, David Warner, TM Head, Marnus Labuschagne

Weather Conditions

Manchester is expected to help the pace bowlers with swing and pace for the faster bowlers. Spinners may come into play during the last two days of the match with rough patches. The average first innings score here is 350 runs. The weather looks a bit cloudy and we are expected to have intermittent rains in the match. 

Toss: WIN the toss, BAT First

Teams batting first have more twice s many matches as teams batting second here. And chasing becomes very difficult in the fourth innings here.