Ashes 2021-22

 Third Test: AUS vs. ENG

Preview

Australia is two nil up in the series and are very likely to make it 5-0. England has been pathetic in every department and there’s very little hope that they can turn things around. Other than Joe Root and Dawid Malan, no other batsmen could deliver and pressure is totally on them in the Boxing Day test. Australia will be a much more relaxed side even when three of their pacers are not available. Josh Hazlewood, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser have been ruled out of the match after three of them suffered different injuries.

England Captain Joe Root has also faced a lot of criticism and specially from former Aussie Captain Ricky Ponting. Punter openly criticized his tactics and his ability to deal with the bowlers. Joe in the post match conference of the second test said that the bowlers should have bowled much fuller and since they didn’t, England failed to put any pressure on them. 2-times World Series winning Captain Ponting rightly mentioned that it’s the fault of the captain that the team hasn’t bowled in the right places. Root should have stepped up and should have asked his bowlers to bowl full. Other than that, he complained that his bowlers didn’t. Thus, Root may come a bit fearless but not sure if that can change the scenario. The batters have been very poor and they are throwing wickets for fun. In front of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, can the batters show some guts?

Australia has been as good as they should be. David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith showed their form in the last match, while Travis Head scored a brilliant century in the first match. Bowling wise, the team has taken all 20 wickets and thus, they don’t have much to think about for obvious reasons. The only problem they have at the moment is that they are dealing with a lot of injuries in their bowling department. Again, it shouldn’t bother them as much as Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are one of the bests in the business. Marcus Harris’ form can also be a problem as many believe Usman Khawaja should replace him but it’s unlikely as coach Justin Langer prefers Harris very much.

Match Details

Match: AUS vs. ENG, 3rd Test, Ashes 2021-22

Date: Sunday-Thursday, December 26-30, 2021 

Time: 5:00 am

Venue: Melbourne Cricket Stadium

Pitch Report

The pitch will favor the batsmen but the first 20 overs will be really difficult for the batters. If they can survive that, it will be a batting paradise. Bowling first can be a great choice after winning the toss.

AUS vs ENG Probable XIs

AUS: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

ENG: Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Jack Leach, Ollie Robbinson, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson

Match Prediction

It is going to be very difficult for the English boys. The inclusion of Jonny Bairstow may help the team to get some stability and with so many first choice pacers out of their opponent’s team, the players should target Boland in the upcoming match. No matter what, the Aussies should get the win.

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