Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[JSRAW]

^^ After these two Smith and Head will have some fun too. The former has a tremendous record at the Oval and both of them scored tons against India at the very same ground (WTC final).

So if they dig in then England set to field for like 150 overs minimum. Jimmy is not looking good and Moeen is injured so other bowlers need to do all the heavy lifting for the Poms.

Edit
A couple of more wickets and they are in. Aussie seems to shut down the shutter atm, very slow scoring rate.

[Haunebu]

A couple of more wickets and they are in. Aussie seems to shut down the shutter atm, very slow scoring rate.

The slow scoring rate was all thanks to Marnus who scored a pitiful score and wasted a shit-ton of balls. I thank Root for removing him in a spectacular fashion. Khawaja and Smith improved the scoring rate now.

I have no idea why England keeps giving Anderson so many chances when he clearly isn't taking many wickets recently. Weird!

[JSRAW]

A couple of more wickets and they are in. Aussie seems to shut down the shutter atm, very slow scoring rate.

The slow scoring rate was all thanks to Marnus who scored a pitiful score and wasted a shit-ton of balls. I thank Root for removing him in a spectacular fashion. Khawaja and Smith improved the scoring rate now.

I have no idea why England keeps giving Anderson so many chances when he clearly isn't taking many wickets recently. Weird!

That was a terrific catch, he actually picked the ball very late and it made the catch even more stunning.

This might be the last Ashes for Anderson, he might still make into a couple of more matches here n there but i don't see him featuring in the next Ashes, he's turning 41 soon. The scoring rate is still under 2.5 and it could be suicidal if they lose some quick wickets.

[Learn Bitcoin]

I have no idea why England keeps giving Anderson so many chances when he clearly isn't taking many wickets recently. Weird!

Probably because of the experience? Well, he is a proven bowler. Maybe they don't want to judge him based on his recent performance. A bowler could have a bad spell or an entire lousy series. You never know if this is his last series, or maybe ECB still wants to see him return.

Okay, Aussies are four down now. They are still trail by 153 runs. If everything goes well from here, England might get some wickets and create more pressure. English might end their innings with a couple of runs lead. We never know.

Stuart Broad achieved a record there. He takes 151 wickets against Australia. The other four bowlers are 195 - Shane Warne (AUS) vs ENG, 167 - Dennis Lillee (AUS) vs ENG, 164 - Curtly Ambrose (WI) vs ENG, 157 - Glenn McGrath (AUS) vs ENG. Infos are taken from Cricbuzz.

[MusaPk]

The Australian team started batting on the second day. And at the crease are two experienced batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. And these two players are in good form now. Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja have been batting very cautiously since the beginning of the day. And now Australia collect 73 runs. Interestingly, Labuschagne scored 3 runs off 42 balls, and Usman Khawaja scored 32 runs off 101 balls. These two batsmen are batting well. And if England's bowlers are not able to break the pair quickly, Australia will collect big in their first innings. Even if they collect more than 400 I won't be surprised.

English team are right back in the game after picking 2 consecutive wickets. Australia still trail by 144 runs and Smith along with Marsh is on the crease.  From here Australia priority will be to level score of England first innings which at the moment is looking challenging. The 41 year old Anderson is yet to pick any wicket in his 340th innings.

[Litzki1990]

The Australian team started batting on the second day. And at the crease are two experienced batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. And these two players are in good form now. Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja have been batting very cautiously since the beginning of the day. And now Australia collect 73 runs. Interestingly, Labuschagne scored 3 runs off 42 balls, and Usman Khawaja scored 32 runs off 101 balls. These two batsmen are batting well. And if England's bowlers are not able to break the pair quickly, Australia will collect big in their first innings. Even if they collect more than 400 I won't be surprised.

English team are right back in the game after picking 2 consecutive wickets. Australia still trail by 144 runs and Smith along with Marsh is on the crease.  From here Australia priority will be to level score of England first innings which at the moment is looking challenging. The 41 year old Anderson is yet to pick any wicket in his 340th innings.

The fifth Test may not be so easy for England. England were bowled out for 284 against Australia in the first innings while Australia have collected 150 runs for 4 wickets in their first innings so far. Australia is 133 runs behind England's first innings total so far. Australia still have six valuable wickets in hand. This first innings is very important for both teams, if Australia can finish the first innings with some runs ahead of England in the first innings then England will be behind in this test. The fourth test was easy for England but due to rain they could not take the result in their favor so the fifth test is very important for them because if the fifth test is a draw or they lose then they will lose the series. There is a lot of pressure on England in the fifth match to level the series.

[MusaPk]

The fifth Test may not be so easy for England. England were bowled out for 284 against Australia in the first innings while Australia have collected 150 runs for 4 wickets in their first innings so far. Australia is 133 runs behind England's first innings total so far. Australia still have six valuable wickets in hand. This first innings is very important for both teams, if Australia can finish the first innings with some runs ahead of England in the first innings then England will be behind in this test. The fourth test was easy for England but due to rain they could not take the result in their favor so the fifth test is very important for them because if the fifth test is a draw or they lose then they will lose the series. There is a lot of pressure on England in the fifth match to level the series.

Forth test was an easy win for England if rain had not interrupted the 4th and 5th day play. England are favorite for 5th test as they are performing way better then Australia. The game is very much balanced as England have picked 5 wikcets and Australia still trail by 130 runs. Important and good thing for Australia is that Smith is still on the crease. James Anderson also got an important wicket of Marsh.

[LDL]

Forth test was an easy win for England if rain had not interrupted the 4th and 5th day play. England are favorite for 5th test as they are performing way better then Australia. The game is very much balanced as England have picked 5 wikcets and Australia still trail by 130 runs. Important and good thing for Australia is that Smith is still on the crease. James Anderson also got an important wicket of Marsh.

The draw in the fourth test due to rain is really unfortunate for England. If England could have won that test then today's fifth test would have been a really great match for England. However, the way England is bowling, they may bowl out Australia before 283 runs. If Australia can't take the lead in this innings then it will be a real plus point for England because if England can get all out before 200 then their second innings will be in ODI style. The team that can score more runs will have more chances to win. In this case, if the day and session are not ruined due to rain, then England is considered as the favorite for the fifth test.

[JSRAW]

What a brain fade shot from Carey, he just gifted his wicket and to make things worse it was Root lol, now he will fill more overs and seamers will get a fair amount of break.

After almost 70 overs of struggle, still trailing by 100 odd runs and just to spice things up, let's throw our wicket lol well done.  

[onecall123]

Steve Smith manages to survive a run-out decision by the third umpire. Keeper Bairstow had dislodged the bail before he collected the ball, making it a legal but highly professional call to not give out. Smith and Captain Cummins both are displaying great confidence on the field.

At the end of 84 overs, Australia at 218/7, still trailing by 65 runs.

[Iranus]

The Australian team started batting on the second day. And at the crease are two experienced batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. And these two players are in good form now. Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja have been batting very cautiously since the beginning of the day. And now Australia collect 73 runs. Interestingly, Labuschagne scored 3 runs off 42 balls, and Usman Khawaja scored 32 runs off 101 balls. These two batsmen are batting well. And if England's bowlers are not able to break the pair quickly, Australia will collect big in their first innings. Even if they collect more than 400 I won't be surprised.

English team are right back in the game after picking 2 consecutive wickets. Australia still trail by 144 runs and Smith along with Marsh is on the crease.  From here Australia priority will be to level score of England first innings which at the moment is looking challenging. The 41 year old Anderson is yet to pick any wicket in his 340th innings.

Australia batsmen batted well yesterday but today they did not play well. The bowling of England's bowlers was very controlled from the beginning of the day. Almost every bowler in England is bowling very well today. And I thought Australia might lose all the wickets before they got to 283. But the performance of Australia's lower-order batsmen is quite good today. Australia collected 288 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Captain Cummins remained unbeaten with 35 runs and Murphy 34 runs. Australia will probably be able to take a lead of 50 runs. England still has a chance to win the match.

[posi]

Steve Smith manages to survive a run-out decision by the third umpire. Keeper Bairstow had dislodged the bail before he collected the ball, making it a legal but highly professional call to not give out. Smith and Captain Cummins both are displaying great confidence on the field.

At the end of 84 overs, Australia at 218/7, still trailing by 65 runs.

Australia is leading by nine runs right now. They have lost nine wickets as well. I know that Australia has done well to get themselves into the lead. But I am still not very satisfied with the performance that the middle order has shown. I think Australia could have done better.

I am actually a little disappointed from the England bowlers because they have conceded 31 extras. I know that in test cricket there are going to be a lot of leg bye runs. But giving 31 extra runs is certainly not good. English bowlers need to be more disciplined in my opinion. Lots of Bye runs conceded by English bowlers as well.

[LittleBitFunny]

Steve Smith manages to survive a run-out decision by the third umpire. Keeper Bairstow had dislodged the bail before he collected the ball, making it a legal but highly professional call to not give out. Smith and Captain Cummins both are displaying great confidence on the field.

At the end of 84 overs, Australia at 218/7, still trailing by 65 runs.

Australia is leading by nine runs right now. They have lost nine wickets as well. I know that Australia has done well to get themselves into the lead. But I am still not very satisfied with the performance that the middle order has shown. I think Australia could have done better.

I am actually a little disappointed from the England bowlers because they have conceded 31 extras. I know that in test cricket there are going to be a lot of leg bye runs. But giving 31 extra runs is certainly not good. English bowlers need to be more disciplined in my opinion. Lots of Bye runs conceded by English bowlers as well.

Australia managed to take a lead of only 12 runs. The team lost all wickets by 295 runs. After breaking the partnership of Pat Cummins and Todd Murphy for 288 runs, the team managed to collect only 7 runs. And 6 of these 7 runs were collected by their last batsman Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood remained unbeaten on 6 runs.

England captain Ben Stokes used his 6 bowlers. Every bowler except Harry Brook has managed to take a wicket. Even Joe Root managed to pick up two wickets. Woakes also picked up three wickets. Now if England can bat well in the next day and England can set a target of more than 350 then there is a chance for England to win. But like the previous matches, this match has also turned out to be very competitive.

[teosanru]

I think the way Todd Murphy batted at the end was actually the main thing which gave Australia a big advantage and they were actually able to beat the lead of England. I thought that English would actually be able to get 40-50 run lead but Murphy actually played really well towards the end to beat all the lead now I think this match is again very even. England will have to score 300 atleast to make this match invincible.

[eaLiTy]

~
 I thought that English would actually be able to get 40-50 run lead but Murphy actually played really well towards the end to beat all the lead now I think this match is again very even. England will have to score 300 atleast to make this match invincible.

When England were reduced to 283 runs, i thought Australia would get a good first innings lead and run away with the match but England bowled well and only Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith showed any resistance and scored runs and then the tail end players helped Australia in gaining a slight lead and the match is wide open after two innings in two days .

[WatChe]

Steve Smith manages to survive a run-out decision by the third umpire. Keeper Bairstow had dislodged the bail before he collected the ball, making it a legal but highly professional call to not give out. Smith and Captain Cummins both are displaying great confidence on the field.

At the end of 84 overs, Australia at 218/7, still trailing by 65 runs.

There is 49 runs partnership towards the end between Cummins and Todd Murphy that helped Australia not only level the score but also take a lead of 12 runs. Now England need to be careful in second innings and need to give a target of over 350 runs, only then they have a chance to win this test. Both teams are on same level on day 2 stumps. If England were not able to pose a big total in second innings then it will be another Ashes loss at home.

[JSRAW]

I think the way Todd Murphy batted at the end was actually the main thing which gave Australia a big advantage and they were actually able to beat the lead of England. I thought that English would actually be able to get 40-50 run lead but Murphy actually played really well towards the end to beat all the lead now I think this match is again very even. England will have to score 300 atleast to make this match invincible.

He played a blinder there and i wasn't expecting him to bat like this. His inning reminded me of Bumrah's cameo in Edgbaston, where he smashed Broad for a 35 run over.

Murphy also faced Mark Wood in a more or less similar fashion and hit 3 sixes against him. Now everything will depend on the next Bazball type of 3rd inning and if it clicks then England are going to put up a nice total and in case of any rain interruption then also expect Ben Stokes to go with another early declaration.

[ZAINmalik75]

Smith and Captain Cummins both are displaying great confidence on the field.

At the end of 84 overs, Australia at 218/7, still trailing by 65 runs.

Australian start were little bit horrible as because thier main batter were losing wickets before adding any significant runs, later Smith took charge from one side hold his wicket for long and play a sunsational but unfortunately no one help him by holding other end, they lose wickets continuously before any big partnership, at one stage I taught they Gona lose all of his wicket before chase down of required trail, but some majestic innings from the captain cummin and Murphy not only help them to chase the required trail but also take a lead of few runs. Now match results will depend on tomorrow England batting as because the bigger they will scored the chances of thier win will be increase.

[Litzki1990]

The fifth Test may not be so easy for England. England were bowled out for 284 against Australia in the first innings while Australia have collected 150 runs for 4 wickets in their first innings so far. Australia is 133 runs behind England's first innings total so far. Australia still have six valuable wickets in hand. This first innings is very important for both teams, if Australia can finish the first innings with some runs ahead of England in the first innings then England will be behind in this test. The fourth test was easy for England but due to rain they could not take the result in their favor so the fifth test is very important for them because if the fifth test is a draw or they lose then they will lose the series. There is a lot of pressure on England in the fifth match to level the series.

Forth test was an easy win for England if rain had not interrupted the 4th and 5th day play. England are favorite for 5th test as they are performing way better then Australia. The game is very much balanced as England have picked 5 wikcets and Australia still trail by 130 runs. Important and good thing for Australia is that Smith is still on the crease. James Anderson also got an important wicket of Marsh.

In the fifth test, both teams are moving forward equally, undoubtedly this match is going to be a very dramatic match. When England were bowled out for 283 runs against Australia in the first innings, Australia went into bat in their first innings where they finished their first innings game 12 runs ahead of England. Australia were bowled out for 295, the second day's play was called off immediately after Australia were bowled out. England will again bat against Australia on the third day of the fifth Test. The second innings is very important for England, so England will definitely want to bat with responsibility and set a big target with Australia. If England can score 350 to 370 runs in the second innings, there will be a chance for England to win this match.

[Gulttam2a2]

Pace bowlers once again dominated the last match of the Ashes series. The pacers of both the teams have taken a total of 16 wickets in two innings. No team could score 300+ runs in the first innings. Even if England come out to bat in the 2nd innings today,it remains to be seen how many runs the target will be given to Australia. Australia however is ahead with a lead of 12 runs. Will 300+ runs be enough to target Australia? Only 2 days have been played in the 5 day match yet the remaining 3 days match looks to be very exciting. England must win this match or face the shame of losing the series. Both teams have a chance to win. I think England will win the last match.