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After a terrific win over England in the first of the five-match series, Australia will be determined to double their lead but it definitely will not be a cakewalk. After a humiliating 4-0 defeat in the last edition of the marquee tournament, England completely changed the way they approach Test matches as they now play an attacking brand of cricket, which has given them enormous success in the last one year. Thus, the defeat in the first match will definitely hurt them and so, will be desperate to turn the table at Lord’s but how will they?

Ahead of the second Test, star Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne clarified that Australia will have a massive advantage if England keeps up with their ‘Bazball’ philosophy. Regardless, skipper Ben Stokes is unlikely to change a thing. All the players are expected to be fired up but it’s the conditions that will define the fate of the match. 

Notably, in Edgbaston, the batters got a lot of advantage from the surface and hence, plenty of runs were scored in the first innings. After the match, English pacer James Anderson stated that if the conditions remain the same, then he will not be that effective in the remaining series and that remains a huge matter of concern.

Coming to their batting, Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow were absolutely brilliant but others will have to step up as Australia bowlers have the firepower to restrict them to a low score. On the other hand, Usman Khawaja was phenomenal in the first match but Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne’s form is a matter of concern. 

Bowlers however will be in a much better space. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon were ruthless in the first match and that will boost their confidence. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc is expected to make his comeback in the Lord’s Test and thus, there are a lot of positives for them at the moment.

England meanwhile will stick to the process but will be hopeful that their bowlers put up a better show. Especially their spin department as Moeen Ali absolutely failed to put up a show in the first game.