🚀 Check out this insightful post from BBC Sport 📖
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Three Ashes players who did not play in the first Test – Jacob Bethell, Matthew Potts and Josh Tonge – were included in the match for Canberra.
Part of England’s rationale for not sending the first XI Test to the capital is the difference in conditions between Canberra and Brisbane.
The pitch at Manuka Oval is likely to be slow and low, in contrast to the pace and bounce of the Gabba. On Thursday, the day after England arrives in Brisbane, temperatures in the city are expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius, compared to 24 degrees in Canberra.
From 1-0, England certainly need to avoid defeat in Brisbane to retain any hope of winning the Ashes for the first time since 2015. They have not won a Test at the Gabba since 1986.
Australia’s only defeat in a day-night Test – a stunning eight-run win for the West Indies – came in Brisbane in January 2024.
The home team is expected to confirm its squad for the second Test before the weekend.
Captain Pat Cummins could return after missing the first Test as part of his recovery from a back injury. He was bowling in Sydney with a pink ball.
Fellow bowler Josh Hazlewood has also been bowling in training but is not expected to return to Brisbane.
If Cummins returns, he will take the captaincy from Steve Smith and give the hosts an all-forward option, replacing off-spinner Nathan Lyon. If Lyon is retained, the decision will be left between Scott Bolland and Brendan Doggett.
Australia must also make a call on Usman Khawaja, who suffered back spasms in Perth and was unable to open the batting. Travis Head took Khawaja’s place in the second innings and smashed one of the greatest Ashes hundreds ever to lead Australia to victory.
If Khawaja is left out, it would open the door for Josh Inglis, who was the stand-in batsman in the team for the first Test and made a century for Cricket Australia’s XI against England Lions on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Perth stadium where the first Test was played has been rated as ‘Very Good’ by the International Cricket Council.
A very good pitch is defined as having “good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent bounce early in the match, allowing a balanced contest between batsmen and bowlers”.
The Perth Test was the first two-day Ashes match in 104 years.
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