Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[JSRAW]

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I think the one very big advantage of the Baz-Ball strategy of England is that much less matches are going for draw now, even this match looks like a complete thriller if England can grab some quick wickets tomorrow and settle Aus below 200 this game might be in their pockets but anything above 250 will be a nightmare to chase on this track, to be honest even 250 is hard enough.

The Baz Ball is giving results but the fact is that it is not helping England win any matches against good teams and hence they wanted to find a reason to blame the failure by creating controversies  .  

Rain has stopped the play right now and once the weather clears and if Australia is able to add 120 to 150 runs then they could win the match easily as they already have a 142 runs lead.

Yeah, and thanks to these controversies no one is talking about their failures or brain fade batting tactics. In fact, everyone supported them due to a wild meltdown.

280-ish does look like a winning total but with the Bazball, you never know. If it clicks then it would be an easy chase, otherwise we are looking at another collapse.

[onecall123]

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I think the one very big advantage of the Baz-Ball strategy of England is that much less matches are going for draw now, even this match looks like a complete thriller if England can grab some quick wickets tomorrow and settle Aus below 200 this game might be in their pockets but anything above 250 will be a nightmare to chase on this track, to be honest even 250 is hard enough.

The Baz Ball is giving results but the fact is that it is not helping England win any matches against good teams and hence they wanted to find a reason to blame the failure by creating controversies  .  

Rain has stopped the play right now and once the weather clears and if Australia is able to add 120 to 150 runs then they could win the match easily as they already have a 142 runs lead.

Yeah, and thanks to these controversies no one is talking about their failures or brain fade batting tactics. In fact, everyone supported them due to a wild meltdown.

280-ish does look like a winning total but with the Bazball, you never know. If it clicks then it would be an easy chase, otherwise we are looking at another collapse.

England experimented the bazball playing style and achieved success. They are a first-scoring team, and their strategy is hitting boundaries, that is, fours and sixes.

However, for this time, Australia has stepped in with a sensible approach, causing England's bazball tactics to fail miserably. Australia seems to be outsmarting their opponents.

[darewaller]

England experimented the bazball playing style and achieved success. They are a first-scoring team, and their strategy is hitting boundaries, that is, fours and sixes.

However, for this time, Australia has stepped in with a sensible approach, causing England's bazball tactics to fail miserably. Australia seems to be outsmarting their opponents.

In England, we have two things which are mostly talked first Bazball and then controversies and their quality is going down with in last two matches their moral is also down and most chances they are already lost The Ashes as well with this all know it's good time to think about few changes and improve quality of game for the future.
Just one or two players can't give you success in every series if they won few matches in past due to Bazball it's not guaranteed they will do this in every series and will be successful they have to check their strategy and needs to fix their problems which are not settled in long time.

Australia is best team with their strategy and system mostly they exposed the weakness of opponent and then give them lesson right now same happening with all round performance form Australian squad.

[Patrol69]

If Australia gives England a target over 250 on such a great bowling surface, I feel that the English are screwed since Stokes can't save them everytime. Marsh turned out to be an amazing addition to their squad.

Wood needs to take some wickets since he is bowling really well and Australia just have 4 proper batsmen remaining. This test could end on Day-3(Moving day) itself.

Ben Stokes again saved the day for England. Otherwise, England wouldn't have been able to get a good score in the second innings. But Australia still had a good lead. Right now Australia has a lead of 142 and it is only the end of the second day. Australia has scored 116/4. I feel like Australia just needs to stay in the middle. They have to save wickets and they will have enough time to get enough runs. England is in trouble again I believe. But England will be able to still win the test match if they can get Australia all out quickly.

The way things are going, it seems that Ben Stokes might have to save England again in the 2nd innings. On the lunch 3rd day, Australia leads by 142 runs. Still, this match is in balance and can shift to both sides. Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have played 7 to 8 overs each and have their eye in. Now they need to take responsibility from here.

Australia just needs one big partnership and they will feel much more comfortable. England will be hoping to get a  quick wicket or two and put the nail in the coffin for this Aussies innings.

The third day's play has not yet started due to rain. Australia is 142 runs ahead of England so far. In this important series, England is not getting along with Australia in any way. In the first innings, Australia scored relatively few runs, so I thought maybe England would finish their first innings a little ahead of Australia, but it did not happen as I expected. Australia went into bat again in the second innings with a lead over England where they managed to score 116 runs so far. Looking at the batting performance of England, it seems that if Australia can collect 150 to 180 runs in the second innings, then it will be very difficult for England to win this match.

[JSRAW]

uh-oh

Woakes keep chipping in and soon Wood will join the party, the tail is exposed anyway. Things are not looking bright for Australia and to make things worse, not enough runs on the board. Travis head is the last hope or maybe some blinder from Starc or Cummins.

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Edit

These are valuable runs.

[MusaPk]

Head doing all hard work for Australia in second innings. Wickets are falling but Aussies have somehow taken the lead to 233 with 2 wickets still in hands. It won't be easy for England to chase 250 on this track where almost 30 wickets have gone down in just 3 days. England need to pick remaining 2 wickets as quickly as possible and then starting chasing carefully.

[Haunebu]

England need to stop Australia from reaching 250 or higher since it would prove to be a great target especially when Cummins, Starc etc are bowling so well recently. Good to see Wood claiming wickets as expected.

They need to focus on removing the tail-enders quickly instead of focusing on Head who is probably playing a game-changing innings here.

Murphy just departed as I was typing this post. He along with Head stitched together a valuable partnership when Australia were 170/8 at one point. 1 wicket remaining.

[MusaPk]

England need to stop Australia from reaching 250 or higher since it would prove to be a great target especially when Cummins, Starc etc are bowling so well recently. Good to see Wood claiming wickets as expected.

They need to focus on removing the tail-enders quickly instead of focusing on Head who is probably playing a game-changing innings here.

Murphy just departed as I was typing this post. He along with Head stitched together a valuable partnership when Australia were 170/8 at one point. 1 wicket remaining.

Aussies have given a target of 251 runs to win. With 5 overs left in today's play England will definitely try not lose any wicket.  Credit goes to Travis Head for rescuing Australia as rest of the batting failed to score runs today. The target is not big and England can chase it provided they don't commit any silly mistake. Hope England batsmen will play there part and will not leave everything for Ben.

[kro55]

England need to stop Australia from reaching 250 or higher since it would prove to be a great target especially when Cummins, Starc etc are bowling so well recently. Good to see Wood claiming wickets as expected.
They need to focus on removing the tail-enders quickly instead of focusing on Head who is probably playing a game-changing innings here.
Murphy just departed as I was typing this post. He along with Head stitched together a valuable partnership when Australia were 170/8 at one point. 1 wicket remaining.

Aussies have given a target of 251 runs to win. With 5 overs left in today's play England will definitely try not lose any wicket.  Credit goes to Travis Head for rescuing Australia as rest of the batting failed to score runs today. The target is not big and England can chase it provided they don't commit any silly mistake. Hope England batsmen will play there part and will not leave everything for Ben.

Australia failed to play well in the second innings. Our estimate was that they would deliver over 300 targets. But in the second innings, Australia's batsmen collected only 224 runs. And they managed to set a target of 251 runs. I don't think it will be enough to win if England's batsmen bat responsibly. But since England's batsmen are also not in good form, the match will definitely be competitive. At the end of the third day, England collected 27 runs. England did not lose any wickets. But we don't know how England will start tomorrow. It is not surprising that England faced a batting disaster like Australia.

[teosanru]

I don't know what type of game England play now, Bazball, cazball or simple batball, the target now is not that big and England have already got a good start, from here they can play very carefully and slowly and still win the game or they can play their usual ODI style and still win the game. Point is that they should win the game from here at any costs.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

224 runs is the target for England then, they have 2 full days of batting to do it. It really is not that high of a target, it’d be good if they could keep their nerve and reach the target to keep The Ashes alive this series. Nobody wants to see a white wash except Aussies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cricket/64959135

All eyes on Headingley for day 4 tomorrow.

[JSRAW]

From here it's England's match and they can only lose by playing really bad cricket, which seems unlikely atm.

It's safe to say the series is alive with 1-2 results but cricket is an unpredictable game and anything could happen, couple of good spells and mix it with some poor shot making decision and we'll have a thriller on the platter.

[Haunebu]

From here it's England's match and they can only lose by playing really bad cricket, which seems unlikely atm.

It's safe to say the series is alive with 1-2 results but cricket is an unpredictable game and anything could happen, couple of good spells and mix it with some poor shot making decision and we'll have a thriller on the platter.

Agreed. Am cheering for England just like so many others to revive the glory of the Ashes since the last couple of Ashes series were one-sided making them less entertaining which didn't help revive the test format in my opinion.

I am confident that England will win this one since they did most things right and they just need to cross the finish line comfortably.

[MusaPk]

Australia failed to play well in the second innings. Our estimate was that they would deliver over 300 targets. But in the second innings, Australia's batsmen collected only 224 runs. And they managed to set a target of 251 runs. I don't think it will be enough to win if England's batsmen bat responsibly. But since England's batsmen are also not in good form, the match will definitely be competitive. At the end of the third day, England collected 27 runs. England did not lose any wickets. But we don't know how England will start tomorrow. It is not surprising that England faced a batting disaster like Australia.

Aussies still have scored runs that can give there bowlers something to defend. 250 is quite reasonable target on this pitch and England on Day 4 will need 224 to win while Aussies bowling have a job to do. Forth day will be exciting and entertaining for both sides. England don't need to go after Aussies bowler with full aggression as that will give them space to take wickets.

[Gulttam2a2]

The battle between England and Australia in the third Test is evenly matched. But England turned the tide of the match in their favor. Today the fourth day's play will start with England needing 224 runs to win. England score 27-0. Australia set them a target of 251 runs. England have full two days and ten wickets in their hand, so the direction of victory is going towards England. In this third match, pace bowlers of both teams have not only praised but they have bowled brilliantly. England must win this match or else they will lose the series. If England wins the series. They will also have a chance to win. Australia's bowling line up is very good. The thing to be seen is how long England batsmen can last in front of Pat Cummins, Starc. In 1st innings we saw Pat Cummins single handedly destroying England's batsmen. 2nd innings too Pat Cummins will be watched. If there is no play, the match will be over England will win.

[Minecache]

Ben Stokes again saved the day for England. Otherwise, England wouldn't have been able to get a good score in the second innings. But Australia still had a good lead. Right now Australia has a lead of 142 and it is only the end of the second day. Australia has scored 116/4. I feel like Australia just needs to stay in the middle. They have to save wickets and they will have enough time to get enough runs. England is in trouble again I believe. But England will be able to still win the test match if they can get Australia all out quickly.

The way things are going, it seems that Ben Stokes might have to save England again in the 2nd innings. On the lunch 3rd day, Australia leads by 142 runs. Still, this match is in balance and can shift to both sides. Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have played 7 to 8 overs each and have their eye in. Now they need to take responsibility from here.

Australia just needs one big partnership and they will feel much more comfortable. England will be hoping to get a  quick wicket or two and put the nail in the coffin for this Aussies innings.

Now England needs 224 to win. They have scored 27 and have not lost any wickets. It is only the end of day three. England has all the time in the world to score. The remaining 224 runs. England will just have to keep wickets in hand.

The third day's play has not yet started due to rain. Australia is 142 runs ahead of England so far. In this important series, England is not getting along with Australia in any way. In the first innings, Australia scored relatively few runs, so I thought maybe England would finish their first innings a little ahead of Australia, but it did not happen as I expected. Australia went into bat again in the second innings with a lead over England where they managed to score 116 runs so far. Looking at the batting performance of England, it seems that if Australia can collect 150 to 180 runs in the second innings, then it will be very difficult for England to win this match.

The play of the third day has ended. I actually think Australia should have scored a little more. The target that Australia set for England is 251 which is absolutely not safe. In my opinion. England has two more days to reach the target of 251. Australia will have to pick up wickets quickly if they want to win. Otherwise, England is going to win this test match.

[posi]

224 runs is the target for England then, they have 2 full days of batting to do it. It really is not that high of a target, it’d be good if they could keep their nerve and reach the target to keep The Ashes alive this series. Nobody wants to see a white wash except Aussies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cricket/64959135

All eyes on Headingley for day 4 tomorrow.

England has all the opportunity to win this test match. The target is very moderate. If England does not lose quick wickets they are going to win this test match. But at the same time, I think we have to remember that the pitch has been behaving, quite friendly for the bowlers. With the condition, the rain, and also with overcast situations. I think it might be difficult for the batsmen of England to score freely.

I agree that they should be able to keep calm and score slowly. Conditions are going to support the bowlers. So they will have to show respect to the bowlers. They will have to punish the bad balls and defend the good ones. They should not go after the Australian bowling attack like crazy. Because that is the only way they are going to lose the match.

[romero121]

224 runs is the target for England then, they have 2 full days of batting to do it. It really is not that high of a target, it’d be good if they could keep their nerve and reach the target to keep The Ashes alive this series. Nobody wants to see a white wash except Aussies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cricket/64959135

All eyes on Headingley for day 4 tomorrow.

England has all the opportunity to win this test match. The target is very moderate. If England does not lose quick wickets they are going to win this test match. But at the same time, I think we have to remember that the pitch has been behaving, quite friendly for the bowlers. With the condition, the rain, and also with overcast situations. I think it might be difficult for the batsmen of England to score freely.

I agree that they should be able to keep calm and score slowly. Conditions are going to support the bowlers. So they will have to show respect to the bowlers. They will have to punish the bad balls and defend the good ones. They should not go after the Australian bowling attack like crazy. Because that is the only way they are going to lose the match.

Just 224 runs required to win the match. It is a great opportunity for England, and the bowling from every one is really good. Particularly the expectation from Moeen Ali have got fulfilled. He had taken two important wickets and maintained an economy of 2 runs bowling 34 overs. Anyhow Australian bowlers will do the best and we can expect some extra bounce from the bowlers.

More two days left, and the same will give England more time to score. In recent test matches the batting performance of England was similar to the batting in an ODI. Maybe the same way could've been used this time to end the match at the earliest.

[Essential10]

The third Test of the Ashes series has become crowded. The start of the third day's play has been delayed due to rain. That day only a little more than two hours played on the field. Australia started their game with six wickets in hand and suffered early losses with the wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey. Australia's second innings ended with 224 runs. Having a lead of 26 runs in the fast innings, Australia threw a target of 251 runs to England. England ended the third day's second innings with 27 for no wickets. England will be batting shortly after on the fourth day for 224 runs with ten wickets in hand. The game is going to end on the fourth day if rain does not interfere. 80% possibility that the match may go in England's direction.

[noormcs5]

224 runs is the target for England then, they have 2 full days of batting to do it. It really is not that high of a target, it’d be good if they could keep their nerve and reach the target to keep The Ashes alive this series. Nobody wants to see a white wash except Aussies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cricket/64959135

All eyes on Headingley for day 4 tomorrow.

England has all the opportunity to win this test match. The target is very moderate. If England does not lose quick wickets they are going to win this test match. But at the same time, I think we have to remember that the pitch has been behaving, quite friendly for the bowlers. With the condition, the rain, and also with overcast situations. I think it might be difficult for the batsmen of England to score freely.

I agree that they should be able to keep calm and score slowly. Conditions are going to support the bowlers. So they will have to show respect to the bowlers. They will have to punish the bad balls and defend the good ones. They should not go after the Australian bowling attack like crazy. Because that is the only way they are going to lose the match.

Just 224 runs required to win the match. It is a great opportunity for England, and the bowling from every one is really good. Particularly the expectation from Moeen Ali have got fulfilled. He had taken two important wickets and maintained an economy of 2 runs bowling 34 overs. Anyhow Australian bowlers will do the best and we can expect some extra bounce from the bowlers.

More two days left, and the same will give England more time to score. In recent test matches the batting performance of England was similar to the batting in an ODI. Maybe the same way could've been used this time to end the match at the earliest.

Finally, England is looking very strong in this match and now there should be no excuse with them for not winning this won. They scored 93 for 3 wickets down but only need 158 more runs to register their first win in this match.

The opener Zak Crawley played well and made the one end safe while wickets kept falling at other end. Now he is also out when England is at the score of 93 but i am sure that remaining English batsmen would achieve this target and there will be no more drama again in this test match.