Ashes Third Test Preview: England to thrive under must-win pressure

With England now 2-0 down in this year’s Ashes series after Australia wrapped up victory in the second test last Sunday, they will be looking to bounce back this week.

Will England be able to rally to a first win of the series at Headingley, or can Australia secure yet another Ashes victory on English soil? We preview the action below.

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England fired up after Second Test controversy

One thing Ben Stokes certainly won’t have to worry about is getting his men fired up for the Headingley Test, with the controversy surrounding the nature of their loss last week enough to make even the Lord’s members boil over.

With controversial outs and not-outs being the centre of attention in the last Test, the England team, especially Jonny Bairstow, will feel they were dealt a bad hand at Lord’s. This really is a must win game if England are to salvage the series and Ben Stokes’ men are 8/5 to win in Leeds.

‘Bazball’ was yet again at the centre of attention as Ben Duckett scored a combined 181 runs from 246 balls. The truest personification of England’s new style of Test cricket came from captain Ben Stokes who rallied to produce an amazing 155 runs in the second innings, including nine sixes and nine fours, but that wasn’t enough to earn him the Player of The Match award which was picked up by Steve Smith who scored 144 in both of his innings combined.

England will be hoping for Duckett to continue his fine form and lead from the front with the bat, with the opener 4/1 to repeat his antics from the last Test and top score for his side in the first innings. You can also expect Jonny Bairstow to want to make an impact with the bat, following a bizarre, and what some might call unsportsmanlike dismissal in the last Test, and the Yorkshireman is 7/1 to be England’s top scorer in the first innings.

England’s bowling has been rather uninspiring so far, but Josh Tongue has provided an injection of pace and a glimmer of hope, and he provides good value at 3/1 to be England’s top wicket-taker in the first innings, with Ollie Robinson heading the market at 5/2 following an impressive five wickets in the last Test.

Australia looking to kick on from memorable win

Their victory in the last Test at Lord’s is one that the Aussies will never forget, in a match that encapsulated the true sporting philosophy of doing whatever it takes to win. They will now want to build on that performance, which captured the imagination of all viewers, to secure the series victory at Headingley and will arrive there as the 23/20 favourites.

Headingley will not be an easy ground for the Australian team to play at and it wouldn’t be surprising if the crowd were to give some of their players a slightly tougher time of it, so keeping their focus will be key.

One man who certainly kept his focus throughout every second of the last Test, even after each over had concluded, was wicket-keeper Alex Carey. He scored at an okay rate in the series and picked up 66 in the first innings at Edgbaston. The Aussie keeper could provide good value at 12/1 to be his side’s top run scorer, should he be able to hold his nerve amongst what is likely to be a barrage of sledging from England and English fans alike.

The world’s number three-rated Test batsman hasn’t necessarily lived up to his reputation, with a high score of 47 so far, leaving Marnus Labuschagne as the second favourite to top score for Australia in the first innings at 4/1, with teammate Steve Smith the favourite at 4/11 following his 110 in the first innings at Lord’s.

Captain Pat Cummings has been the pick of the Australian bowlers, picking up eight wickets in the series so far, and the electric pace bowler is the 2/1 favourite to be his side’s top wicket-taker in the first innings. Having been left out of the team at Edgbaston, Mitchell Starc impressed at Lord’s as he picked up six wickets, making him the second favourite for top Australian bowler at 5/2.

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