Ben Stokes-led England will take on Australia in the second Test of the five-match Ashes 2023 series at Lord’s in London from Wednesday. Pat Cummins’s Australia are 1-0 up in the series after winning the first Test at Edgbaston by two wickets last week.
After an oh-so-close loss in the first Ashes Test, England is adamant about sticking with ‘Bazball’. England has been defending their chancy policy since even before the match finished a week ago at Edgbaston, where tailenders Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon pushed Australia over the line in the final hour of the last day by two wickets.
The teams begin the second Test on Wednesday at Lord’s. Conditions — grassy pitch and more cloud — are expected to be friendlier for bowlers than the road at Edgbaston. Yet, England will be taking the same no-fear approach.
“If anything, we need to double down on how we do it, completely back ourselves and make sure we get those one percenters right at Lord’s,” England linchpin Joe Root said.
Coach Brendon (Baz) McCullum added, “The way that we played validated our style. You’re not always going to win and we understand that, but we want to keep getting up and throwing punches as a team.”
The Bazball era began a year ago at Lord’s against New Zealand. England successfully chased down consecutive targets of 277, 299 and 296 in that series.
Venue: Lord’s, London
Date & Time: June 28 to July 2, 330pm IST onwards
Live Streaming and TV details: Sony Sports Network and SonyLiv website and app.
Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow
Batters: Joe Root, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith
All-rounders: Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Cameron Green
Bowlers: Stuart Broad, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon
Captain: Joe Root
Vice-captain: Usman Khawaja
England: Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes (C), Jonny Bairstow(wk), Ben Duckett, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon
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