Ashes 2015: 3rd Test preview- The battle for ascendancy

Ashes 2015: 3rd Test preview- The battle for ascendancy : The 3rd Test of Ashes 2015 between England and Australia will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 29. It will witness intense tussle as the teams look to take the lead which could prove to be decisive. The first two tests were played at Cardiff and Lord’s respectively. While England looked the superior side by a distance in London, Australia came back strongly to hand them a 405 run thrashing in the second game.

The Kangaroo pacers were on song and the three “Mitchs” Johnson, Marsh and Starc made sure England were reminded of their struggles of the previous Ashes down under. The same pitch which looked a highway when England was bowling suddenly became venomous when they came out to bat. It was also testimony to the fact that you can not attribute everything to pitches. The skill and quality of the bowler also counts. Johnson showed just why he is rated highly as a Test bowler.

The pitch will again be at the centre of all the debate surrounding the test. While many labelled the Lord’s surface to be a placid one, they were quick to realize that it’s not prudent to comment on any pitch unless both sides have batted on it. When Australia were plundering the English bowlers all over the ground courtesy the record partnership of Steve Smith and Chris Rogers, the English bowlers were pretty much at the mercy of the duo.

Smith ensured that he got back his number one position in the test rankings while Rogers gave him company to enable the Aussies put up a match winning score on the board. After the landslide defeat at Lord’s, England head coach Trevor Bayliss said the unresponsive pitch had played into the hands of Australia rather than the hosts, despite the fact that many believe such surfaces have been requested by an England side desperate to negate the threat of Australia’s pace bowlers, and Mitchell Johnson in particular.

England don’t really know what to expect from Edgbaston. There has been no Test here in the last two years and the last one England played was hardly a classic – a rain-affected draw against West Indies in which England rested their senior bowlers having already sealed a series win. Common sense would suggest that if your team is bundled out for 103 something is horribly wrong. England would be eager to prove that it was just one bad test match while Australia will look to take the momentum forward. What is worth remembering is that recent test matches have shown that a side high on confidence does not necessarily equate that into performance. So it would be wise if we don’t count out the English side. They are playing at home and have the arsenal and skill to turn the tables.

Team selection is set to give a lot of headache to the home side. Garry Ballance has been literally exposed at number 3. England has roped in Johny Bairstow in his place but it will be worth noticing if they play him as a pure batsman. Mark Wood might be rested considering his history with injury issues. Wood’s pace was down at Lord’s as, four Tests into his flourishing international career, his body struggled to cope with the demands of back-to-back matches.

Chris Rogers is facing a race against time to be fit in time for this Test after suffering dizziness at Lord’s which came as a by-product of being hit on the head by a bouncer from James Anderson. But he looked fine at the indoor practice nets and wouldn’t like to miss a test in his last series. Australia do have a back-up opener in their squad in Shaun Marsh, Mitchell’s elder brother, who is yet to feature in an Ashes match. Wicket-keeper batsman Peter Nevill is set to retain his place after being chosen ahead of Brad Haddin behind the stumps for the tour match with Derbyshire. Pat Cummins is also in line for a test recall if Australia decide to rest any of the pacers.

Delve a little deeper and you’ll see Edgbaston is a very happy hunting ground for England, winning 24 of the 47 Tests played there, including six of the last 10. Plus, Alastair Cook will have very fond memories from scoring 294 against India in 2011. More recently although in ODIs – Joe Root and Jos Buttler both hit hundreds as England smashed 400 in their win over New Zealand earlier this summer. The last time these two sides had clashed at this venue in 2009, the match had ended in a draw.

But before that, in 2005, England trumped Australia by a narrow margin of two runs, in a Test that turned out to be one of the most exciting ones in the history of Ashes. The famous gesture from Andrew Flintoff walking up to a dejected Brett Lee to console him before rejoicing the historic win is something which will be etched in the minds of fans from both the sides. Australia, on the other hand, have played 13 Tests at Edgbaston. Out of those, they have won only three, drawn five and lost five. Australia’s last win here was also the last time they won the Ashes on English soil in 2001, with Adam Gilchrist smashing 152 from just 143 balls in his first Ashes Test. Some other notable performances include Nasser Hussain’s double-hundred in 1997, and Graeme Onions’ two wickets in two balls in the drawn Test match in 2009 when these two teams last met in the Midlands.

Probable XI:

England – Alistair cook(c), Adam Lyth, Joe Root, Ian Bell, Johny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali.

Australia – Chris Rogers, David Warner, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke(c), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.