Ashes First Test preview: Travis to Head Australian charge

Cricket’s oldest rivalry is set to get take place back on English soil as day one of the First Test of this year’s Ashes gets underway at Edgbaston on Friday 16th of June.

With England’s revitalised ‘Bazball’ approach they will certainly pose a threat on home soil.

We preview the first test below.

Australia to rack up the runs

Australia will head into this Ashes series with confidence at an all-time high having won the last series 4-0 in Australia, as well as winning the World Test Championships final over India just last week, not to mention the match was played in England.

The Aussies are narrow favourites to take the First Test at 6/5, and they have every reason to believe they will given that they have won the First Test in all of the last three series. The First Test will also be played at Edgbaston, where Australia haven’t lost an Ashes match since 2005, when they were narrowly beaten by just two runs.

The Aussie’s batting line-up will certainly be the key focus for England with the top three ranked Test batsmen in the world all set to be in the line-up in this series, and opener Usman Khawaja being no easy wicket as he is rated the ninth best Test batsman in the world.

Steve Smith has been considered one of, if not the best, Test batsman in the world for a number of years now and has certainly caused England some serious trouble in previous Ashes series. Despite being second in the ranking, Smith is favourite to top score for Australia in the first innings at 5/2, and for a man who scored 774 runs in the 2019 series it would be no surprise if he was his side’s standout performer with the bat.

Travis Head has also impressed more recently and currently has his highest ever ranking off the back of a very impressive performance against India not too long ago, in which he scored 163 runs in his first innings. At 4/1 Head is certainly not bad value to be the Aussies’ top scorer in the first innings.

Their bowling attack is certainly not to be ignored as the Aussies have some seriously talented pace bowlers, with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland set to lead the attack.

Scott Boland, while not necessarily as big a name as the others, could pose a serious threat to England and he’s priced at 7/2 to be Australia’s top wicket taker in the first innings. Captain Pat Cummins at 5/2 is favourite to take the most wickets for his side.

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Robinson could run riot for England

England head into this Ashes series bringing a sense of the unknown, with their new-found attacking playstyle, or ‘Bazball’, as it’s commonly referred to, posing a new threat to Australia.

England tend to perform well at Edgbaston and will relish the opportunity to kick-off this series at what has been a favourable ground in the past, and one that promises constant, passionate support from the stands, and of course the Barmy Army.

England’s batting line up scored some much needed runs in a warm up match against Ireland this month and on what appears to be a flat, dry wicket at Edgbaston they will need to do the same if they are to go against their 8/5 underdog status and win the First Test.

At 11/4 Joe Root is the obvious favourite to top score for England in the first innings. The former captain has so often lead the line for his country and the Yorkshireman amassed 126 runs in the first Test match under the ‘Bazball’ regime and he will look to surpass that in Birmingham.

Harry Brook is the rising star of English cricket and he will be looking to build his legacy with a memorable debut Ashes performance. Brook has scored runs for fun in recent years and should England be relying on some middle-order magic, Brook could provide value at 9/2 to top score for the home side in the first innings.

With the spin bowling options being the centre of attention, largely due to a lack of them, it could be down to the seamers to take the majority of the wickets, and Ollie Robinson could prove to be an unsung hero among the likes of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson.

Robinson has taken 66 wickets in just 16 Test matches, with an impressive average of just 21.27 runs per wicket. The Australian batting line up may have their minds focused on the big names of Broad and Anderson, and at 11/4 Robinson may have been somewhat overlooked as a pick to lead the wicket taking for England in the first innings.

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