Match Preview – England vs Australia ashes series 4th test 2023
Are you alone, or do you feel unusually quiet in this place? Following a cooling-off period of ten days that has ushered in the excitement and excitement of the initial three Tests have dissolved, to be replaced by calmer attention to detail as England and Australia put on their shirts and get ready for the fourth round of an ever-expanding Ashes campaign.
It could be the feeling that battle lines are drawn, weaknesses being analyzed, and strengths recognized and acknowledged that have led to the current time of peace. It could be an opportunity to calm the waters before another storm or allow all the tense column inches and discussions regarding cricket’s Spirit of Cricket to blow off in the air, leaving women in charge of the Ashes story for a couple of days.
In any case, this interruption could not have happened at a better moment for the two teams of rivals following a three-match assault that took the sanity out of both teams simultaneously.
England reacted with rage to maintain their momentum with that enthralling three-wicket victory at Headingley, most evocatively captured through Mark Wood’s incredible speed and rawness. Each staccato flash took his battery out even as Wood maintained his 90-degree rate.
Ben Stokes did not bowl in the way of an over during the same Test but instead channeled his attention to that crucial first-innings counter-attack. Stuart Broad – now on the path to take part throughout the five Tests despite being doubtful he’d be able to make it into the attack in the first Test be equally happy to have a more extended period of rest for his aging 37-year-old bones.
It was for Australia similarly an opportunity to disperse and regroup and reconsider a scoreline of 2-1, which – before the start of the match, they would have happily taken at this point in the season – was the perfect opportunity.
In the long sections in the Headingley Test, their attack was seen only to be played through Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, which means Australia has seized this opportunity to make their spearheads sharper as they replenish their weapons by acquiring another top player who is rested, Josh Hazlewood.
Cameron Green has also been returned to his squad following an injury to his hamstring that slowed his run, and Todd Murphy was omitted after an unconfirmed appearance in Headingley.
Then there’s the psychological burden three of these high-octane games will take. On Jonny Bairstow after an uncharacteristic display of wicket-keeping in Headingley; on David Warner following two more sloppy defeats at the hands of Broad, his arch-nemesis Broad.
On Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith, neither of which has been able to find the starting position in the Ashes series their eminent records could be able to have predicted. England’s chillaxed dressing-room style, despite Brendon McCullum’s constant determination to eliminate angst and insist on positive reinforcement – can’t escape the high-profile media attention that is a part of the Ashes season.
We find ourselves. The lock and the reload are in place, with Australia just one victory away from securing their first Ashes victory at home in England since 2001. England just two wins from the first Ashes turnaround after Don Bradman and Co. from 1936-37.
In other times it could be overkill in the present, particularly considering the Manchester weather forecast to cause further disruption on events this week. However, that’s not how the Bazball time period plays out. Drawings aren’t an alternative to Ben Stokes’ England team, as their performance of 12 wins out of 16 games since the beginning of the summer provides statistics to support their insidious belief in their team.
Two days of heavy rain may not suffice to keep the captain of England from executing the possibility of a run-chase coin flip in the middle of the field on tour to Pakistan earlier in December in a whirlwind of possible scenarios in the media before the Multan Test; he admitted that a forfeit of innings would not be out of the realm of possibility should it help accelerate any particular game.
After having successfully gambled and failed to win the opener of the series at Edgbaston, You can tell that Stokes will not be afraid to take on the gamble and again if it’s the sole way to ensure that his Ashes dreams are alive.
So, it’s going to require a lot of puffing and huffing to get the fires to begin to roar following this week of Ashes bubbling. In particular, because England turning to an attack that’s absolutely unbeatable in the field of expertise. James Anderson (41 next week), Broad (37), Moeen Ali (36), Chris Woakes (34) and Wood (33) have experienced everything over the last decade, and so in fact did Stokes as well as Root (both both 32) who are the two other crucial bowling options for the XI which will have 1,974 wickets in the Test series that is higher than any Test team ever in their history, beating their record of 1,777 as recorded at Edgbaston in the very first Test.
For all that is worth, the team is a clear indication of just how fleeting and elusive the Bazball period could turn out to be.
The way this Test and, all things being equally from the viewpoint that the one following in The Oval too – could mark the end of an era as well than a new beginning. It’s not like the two most memorable Ashes battles of the century The epic that took place in 2005, which meant that there was never a chance to be like it was for England for the rest of their lives, and then the revenge mission of Australia in 2006-07 the year that Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne left on an emotional note at Sydney after having their narrative timelines completed.
There’s a feeling that either way it’s likely that we’ll see more expended bodies to come in the next few days. If you do, it’s an infraction to the tension that summer has laid on.
Form guide
England WLLWL (last five Tests, most recent first)
Australia LWWWD
On the news: James Anderson and Marnus Labuschagne
Are we seeing the end of? It’s never too late to learn about James Anderson’s timeless talents James Anderson are concerned, and even James Anderson himself admitted to his death in a recent Telegraph column. He admitted that “nostalgia” by itself would be the sole reason to be recalled to his hometown in Old Trafford.
Yet here he sits, on the brink of celebrating his 41st birthday getting back into the game and not only on merit, but also at an important point in the Ashes series. The numbers to present are alarming with three wickets in 75.33 in 77 runs aren’t the result he’d had hoped for on the tenth anniversary of his Ashes season, however it’s clear that he was enduring the most difficult of conditions on two decks with flat surfaces at Edgbaston as well as Lord’s. Heapingley’s bounce and dynamism probably would be more to his preferences And he’ll hope for the same comfort in northern conditions when his next match starts in his James Anderson End.
Marnus Labuschagne’s Test playing career is coming all the way around on the Ashes tour. He got his first big break when he was an injured substitute following Steve Smith’s tussle with Jofra Archer during the Lord’s Test, and never did he look at the other way.
A half-century and a successful secured urn after that, Labuschagne was a fixture in the middle order of Australia, after which he followed the impact of his hit with four huge hundred-plus scores in his five home tests in the series against Pakistan as well as New Zealand, his march toward the top of Test cricket was well in motion.
In the 41st Test in his playing professional career, Labuschagne’s average of 53.80 accurately confirms his place among the best player of his generation. however, his summer returns in 211 runs 26.37 over four Tests which includes an appearance in the World Test Championship final against India is a major reduction from the norms. Additionally, his home-and-away divide has begun to distinguish him from the rest of his teammates too which is a remarkable 2397 runs in 70.50 during 37 Test home innings, as compared to 1208 runs at 36.60 for 35 international.
In the summer of 2018, he’s discovered his decision-making outside of off to be lacking especially with regards to his first-ball snick-off with Broad in Edgbaston. He’s worked every day to improve his performance even “taking the hotel bed to his nets” in response to the captain Pat Cummins. In addition, with cricket’s Ashes on at stake time, this would provide the perfect opportunity for his hard work to be rewarded.
Team News: Anderson, Hazlewood, Green make a return to the fight
England like they habit, named their team just 48 hours prior to the test, and made just one personnel change since the three wicket win they scored at Headingley. Anderson returned on the ground he plays on at home as the replacement for Ollie Robinson who announced himself “100 100% healthy” following the back spasm that he suffered mid-match, however, his impact on the ball this time was not quite to the expectations to his motor-mouthed speech (not that 10 wickets in 28.40 and an economic of 2.76 shows a complete inability to speak the language).
One of the more interesting aspects in the eyes of England are the changes that they’ve not made. Even though they only contributed five from fifteen balls during the Headingley run-chase, the team hasn’t been able to stop them from pushing Moeen to move up to No.3 at the sort of promotion that is intended to provide a more structured foundation to the middle of the order in which Bairstow is still as wicketkeeper, despite his unremarkable performance to the present. One of the impressions from the first three Tests was Bairstow’s terribly damaged leg is hampering his performance behind the stumps, which has an knock-on result on his dazzling batting. But, since Bazball was the original image-boy following his derring-do incident in the year 2022 England has decided that this that this is not the right time to abandon their faith. This could be a risk which will decide the outcome of the show.
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson
The selection of Australia is a similar mix of difficult and obvious selection. Hazlewood’s selection to the cost of Scott Boland is a no-brainer The England nemesis for 2021-22 was dispatched at nearly five an over after the two wickets he took of Edgbaston and Headingley and will make the way for a bowler who’s six wickets at the Old Trafford Test in 2019 proved crucial in the retention of Australia from the Ashes. Hazlewood’s participation in the opening two tests of summer are his first two-in-a-row appearance since Jan. 2021. But after an almost three-week absence He’s bound to be in good shape and firing.
The other option they have had to make is somewhat than a problem. Mitchell Marsh’s shocking performance in Headingley is a guarantee of his future However, it leaves Green in the dark regarding his place within the XI. There were various options thrown out with the exclusion of Warner as a result of his ongoing struggles against Broad however, they’ve chosen to eliminate the spinner Murphy in spite of the fact that Old Trafford is one of England’s most spin-friendly surfaces. They also rely on two all-rounders to provide some ballast to seams as well as providing a considerable expansion to the bat line-up.
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Pat Cummins (capt), 11 Josh Hazlewood
Conditions and pitch
The jet stream is the culprit in this one, it seems. When the continent of Europe is sweltering in temperatures that exceed 40 degrees Celsius and the UK is proving to being a wet rock within the North Atlantic, with grey skies with drizzle, and general dampness predicted for the whole Test week. The stereotypical Manchester weather is a better description that could also be a knock-on effect for making the field fresher for seamers between a series of inevitable interruptions due to rain. 24 hours later the pitch appears rough and brown without any discernible grass on the show. It appears like a bat first deck but overheads could suggest to be different. The reverse swing has been a major tool in the game at Old Trafford in previous Ashes matches, however Stokes said that the abundant outfield could probably thwart that possibility.
Statistics and trivia
Australia has won nine times in their 31 previous Tests on Old Trafford, against seven loss, the last one coming a past time ago. Ian Botham’s Ashes-sealing assault in 1981 was the last England Ashes win on the field. Since then, they’ve won 3 and lost 4 times in their last match of 2019.
Moeen has reached 200 wickets in Test cricket at Headingley at the beginning of this month. He needs to add another 23 runs to reach 3000 Test run and a goal which he claimed “feels as if it’s miles away” on the eve of the test.
Broad requires two more wickets to make it to 600 during Tests. That will make Broad the fifth bowler in all to achieve the milestone in Tests, but only the second seamer following his teammate Anderson (currently at 688)
Stokes reached 6000 runs in Headingley However, he still requires three wickets to get to the 200-run mark. He did this having decided to not to bowl in the third Test because of to his knee injury that has been lingering for years.
Anderson isn’t part of the Test win against Australia after when he played in the Edgbaston Test in the year 2015. Anderson has been involved in nine losses and two draws over the course of four seasons.
New Zealand’s offensive against Australia in Christchurch in February of 1986 (Richard Hadlee Gary Troup, Ewen Chatfield, and Jeremy Coney) was the final time that a Test team was able to field four specialist seamers of 33 years or more. The last time that New Zealand had an Ashes team that was in the field was Australia in Brisbane in 1928. It was when Bradman’s debut was made.
Quotes
“If we win this one then going into the last game at 2-2, it would be hard not to say this is the best men’s Ashes series in a long time, if not the best. Overall, take away Australia and England: the cricket that’s been played has been absolutely brilliant.”
Ben Stokes is gunning for the series decider as England look to battle back from the brink
“When you look back to a few of the recent tours we’ve had in Pakistan or India, we played some of our best cricket at the end of the tour. Hopefully this one’s the same, even getting more and more used to the conditions.”
Pat Cummins is hopeful that Australia peak at the right time
