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United Kingdom
Summary:
- England are down 2-0 in 5 match Ashes test series against Australia
- Head coach Brendon McCullum confident England can win remaining 3 tests
- England remain unchanged squad for third test at Headingley
The first two Ashes tests between England and Australia have been fantastic for the game of test cricket. Both tests went into the 5th day as both teams had a great opportunity to win going into the final day, keeping fans at the edge of their seats!
However, it was Australia that managed to get the better of hosts England in both tests and are now in the driver’s seat with a 2-0 scoreline. The third test is set to take place at Headingley from 6 to 10 July.
Brendon McCullum Says England Will Bounce Back
England’s head coach Brendon McCullum put up a brave face and said that he was confident England can bounce back from the 2-0 deficit and win the next 3 cricket tests to take the Ashes 3-2. That’s going to be quite a difficult task for the hosts as the last time a team came back from a 2-0 deficit in an Ashes series was back in 1936-37 series during the Don Bradman era.
McCullum also addressed the controversial run-out of Jonny Bairstow during the Lord’s test and said that incident will impact the way England played the rest of the series. McCullum said that both sides took on a rather amicable approach during the first two tests but that changed after the Bairstow incident.
England are likely to come out a lot more aggressive in the third test with both bat and ball. This approach could definitely have a positive impact in putting pressure immediately on Australia but it could also backfire!
England Retain Same Squad For Headingley
England are not making any major changes to their squad for the third test. They could make a couple of changes as Ollie Pope’s fitness will be under the scanner due a shoulder injury. If Pope is not fit for the third test, he is likely to be replaced by Dan Lawrence.
The other change that England are likely to make at Headingley is to play a spinner. Moeen Ali had to miss the second game due to an injury on his spinning finger but appears to have recovered.
Will England manage to claw a win in this years Ashes Series or will they lose the series already after 3 tests? Checkout the latest UK Odds for the Ashes right here.
