Second clash of The Ashes, Australia make a couple of changes
The captain of the Australian cricket team has confirmed that Mitchell Johnson will not be a part of the second Test which will be starting tomorrow in Adelaide.
Australia has included Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger in the 13 man squad before the start of the second Test. After the first two innings at the Gabba, the wicket flattened and turned into a batting paradise.
England compiled a mammoth 517 runs for the loss of only their captain Andrew Strauss, who got out after scoring a century. The batting lineup will be the same for Australia but one or two bowlers might be changed in the side.
England on the other hand did well to draw the first match and they may continue with the same side. One of the big concerns for both the teams would be that the second Test would be played after just a three day rest and the wicket in Adelaide is also a
batting friendly wicket. This can easily cause concern for the fast bowlers as they might get injured due to back to back matches.
The Australian team just seems to be a bit puzzled after the first match. The reason might be that Australia has won just a single match in the last five matches they played whereas the English team has won three matches in their last five encounters.
The total number of matches lost in the previous five occasions for Australia is three compared to England’s one loss. Both teams have a single drawn match, which was against each other in the last five matches each of them played. Another worry for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746
would be to win the matches because Australia can only gain The Ashes after winning the series whereas England has a chance to retain The Ashes after a series draw.
England has a slight advantage over Australia as the Australian front line bowlers are also under pressure. Both Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus have failed to impress in the first Test. Due to this there may be two changes in the Australian bowling
lineup. This could also turn out to be a positive change for Australia as they would have fresh bowlers in the side compared to England, who might play with the same team which played at the Gabba.
The wicket at the Adelaide is expected to be a batting paradise as it has been over the past decades. In the last 10 years, eight games had a result at the Adelaide ground. The Australian team has a better record against the English at the Adelaide having
won 16 of the total 29 Tests played between the two sides.
England on the other hand won eight matches at the Adelaide. The last victory for England came 15 years back in 1994-95 when the hosts were bowled out for a total of 156 runs in the final innings.
Both the teams will rely on the bowlers to get twenty wickets and win the match for them. England would look forward to Graeme Swann, who was unable to impress in The Ashes opener. Australia on the other hand would rely on their fast bowlers to perform well
and take twenty wickets for their side.
One plus point for the Australian team would be that Ricky Ponting is the leading run scorer at the Adelaide ground with a total of 1433 runs in 14 Test matches. This also includes five centuries. If Ponting goes on to score a big one for Australia, it would
definitely do a lot of good to the confidence of his team. On the other hand, his wicket for England would be very important considering his performance at the Adelaide.
Both teams would be looking forward to do well in the second Test and gain an advantage by winning the match. All in all, it would be a very exciting game of cricket and the fans would love to see the thrilling action they saw in the first Test. Above all,
everyone would be looking forward to see a result in this match to make things more interesting in the remaining series.
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