England and Australia are set to do battle at Lord’s just eight days on from the thrilling conclusion to a first instalment that saw the tourists prevail by two wickets with just 27 balls remaining.
Ben Stokes will be keen to improve on profligacy in the field and build on more of his batters’ strong starts, while only two of their Aussie counterparts made more than 50 in either innings at Edgbaston.
Our England vs Australia second Test betting tips expect more of the same from a born-again opener and a totemic twirler, while a Lords’-loving all-rounder looks a great top bowler bet for the hosts if making the XI.
England vs Australia Lord’s Test Match Tips
Usman Khawaja top Australian run scorer (first innings) @ 4/1
Nathan Lyon top Australian wicket taker (first innings) @ 3/1
Chris Woakes top England wicket taker (first innings) @ 10/3
Bet on the latest Cricket odds at Betzone
Khawaja conundrum can continue to confound England attack
Usman Khawaja is enjoying a fantastically fruitful late-career rebirth as a Test Match opening batsman and underlined his temperament for the role with a matching-winning knock at Edgbaston.
The 36-year-old lefty helped himself to match-high 206 runs, gleaning them, with a healthy dose of restraint, from a whopping 518 balls-faced.
Khawaja looks great value to top the Aussie scoring charts for a second successive Ashes Test with Steve Smith (11/4) ahead of him in the market and Marnus Labuschagne also trading at 4/1.
Both are elite level batsmen, but the pair scored a combined 35 runs across both innings last time out, struggling to deal with the ‘outswinger’ Stuart Broad developed especially for them.
Smith and Labuschagne have reportedly been doing extra work in the nets ahead of Lord’s, but whether this will be enough to see them sharpen up remains to be seen. ‘Uzzy’ looks far more likely to hang around and therefore is the most trustworthy candidate to rack up the runs.
Bet: Usman Khawaja top Australian run scorer (first innings) @ 4/1
Bazball belligerence gives superb spinner Lyon plenty to feed upon
Nathan Lyon is set to start his 100th successive Test Match for the boys in baggy greens at the ‘home of cricket’ and can cross the 500 Test wicket Rubicon with five more dismissals.
Nasser Hussain may have suggested that Lord’s isn’t likely to offer much assistance to spin, but that shouldn’t hinder a seasoned campaigner like Lyon.
His eight wickets at Edgbaston were the most taken by a bowler on either side and the three stumpings among them a testament to his ability to exploit the aggression inherent in Bazball.
Broad suggested England would respond to their first Test defeat by doubling down on the aggression in London and that should play right into Lyon’s hands.
Bet: Nathan Lyon top Australian wicket taker (first innings) @ 3/1
Woakes can build on awesome Lord’s bowling CV if selected
The relentless schedule of this year’s series means that it’s expected that both sides will rotate their seamers across the five matches. Now would be a great time to call upon Chris Woakes.
Woakes hasn’t played for England at Test level since March 2022, but his Lord’s bowling figures for his country in the five-day game are streets ahead of any of his squad rivals.
Over the past decade six home bowlers have bowled over 100 Test overs at HQ, Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Woakes.
The best balls-to-wicket average among the other five is Anderson’s 23.13. Woakes’ is 11.33. During the same timeframe the Warwickshire all-rounder took a wicket every 25.9 deliveries. The next best among the sextet is Stokes with one dismissal for every 54.2 balls bowled.
Bet: Chris Woakes top England wicket taker (first innings) @ 10/3
