England vs Australia, The Ashes 2019, Today Match Prediction 14 Aug 2019

eng vs aus Match Prediction & Analysis

Host England will be looking to make a strong comeback when they take on Australia in the second Test of the 2019 Ashes series at Lords Cricket Ground in London on Wednesday.

For England, the team management might make changes to their playing XI in a bid to level the five-match Test series at Lords. Captain Joe Root will be hoping that the side can raise their game with bat and ball in this contest. On the other hand, Australian Skipper Tim Paine will be pleased with his terrific comeback after a poor batting show on Day 1. The visitors will need to guard against complacency and make sure that they can maintain their standards with bat in order to maintain their lead in the five-match series.

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

For the home side, they might make one or two changes for this game. Left-arm spinner Jack Leach might come in for off-spinner Moeen Ali, who a poor game with bat and ball. Pace bowler Jofra Archer is all set to make his debut in Test cricket and will replace injured James Anderson in the playing XI.

The big positive for England from the previous game was opening batsman Rory Burns finding a form with the bat. He scored a splendid century in the first innings to help England post competitive total on the board. Burns will be looking to continue his good form in this game as well. Jason Roy looked tentative against the new-ball and will need to spend time at the crease to produce runs for England at the top of the innings.

In the second innings, Roy clearly played a needless stroke to see England in all sorts of trouble on the final day at Edgbaston. England Captain Joe Root scored a crucial half-century for the side in the first innings. He will need to produce a big score for the side in this must-win game. All-rounder Ben Stokes continued his good form with the bat in this game. He scored a half-century in the first innings and picked up crucial wickets in the opening game played at Edgbaston. He will need to produce his best with bat and ball in a bid for England to level the Test series. Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow is going through a lean phase in red-ball cricket. He is averaging below 30 since Jun 2018. He will certainly need to dig deep in order to find a form with the bat in this game.

In the bowling department, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad are expected to take the new-ball and provide breakthroughs for England. Woakes and Broad bowled well in the first innings and made early inroads to see Australia reeling at 122 for 8 at one stage. Pace bowler Jofra Archer is expected to firepower and potency to the bowling attack for this. Left-arm spinner Jack Leach is expected to play this game in place of Moeen Ali.

England Predicted Playing XI:

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

England Actual Playing XI:

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

Australia Preview

On the other hand, Australia will be looking to extend their lead against England in the five-match series. The visitors produced a splendid display with bat and ball to beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Steve Smith, Matthew Wade and David Warner to produce the bulk of the runs. Steve Smith made a scintillating comeback to Test cricket by smashing two back-to-back centuries in the opening Ashes Test played at Edgbaston. Smith produced a superlative performance with the bat to help Australia upstage England in the opening game of the series. He will be looking to continue his form with the bat in this game as well. Wicket-keeper Matthew Wade perished for a low score in the first innings but came strongly to produce a splendid century in the second innings. He scored 110 off 143 balls with the help of 17 boundaries.

Middle-order batsman Travis Head also contributed with decent scores for the side in the opening game of the series. Left-hander scored a half-century in the second innings and added 130-run partnership with Steven Smith to put Australia in a strong position in the match. Captain Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Peter Siddle contributed with crucial scores for the side in the first Test. In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the likes of Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson to produce crucial breakthroughs with the new ball. Pat Cummins bowled exceedingly well and claimed 7 wickets in the opening Test played at Edgbaston. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon was the standout bowler for the side in the previous game and finished with six wickets in the second innings to lead Australia to a comfortable victory.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Tim Paine (captain &wk), Usman Khuwaja, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle.

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade, Usman Khawaja, CT Bancroft, David Warner, TM Head, Josh Hazlewood

Weather Conditions

The wicket prepared for the game is expected to provide an interesting contest between bat and ball. The weather conditions for the game to be played on Wednesday is expected to have early showers in the morning.

Toss: To Bowl

The side that wins the toss would be looking to bowl first and make early use of the conditions. The home side will take from the fact they have their two games out of the last three Test matches played against England at Lords Cricket Ground. In 2015 Ashes series, Australia beat England by a comprehensive margin of 405 runs.