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England takes on Australia in the 2nd Ashes Test match at Lord’s, and after Australia took the honors in the opening Test at Edgbaston, England will be looking to level the series when the action gets underway on Wednesday. Here we look ahead to their prospects with our free cricket betting picks.
- What; 2nd Test – 2023 Ashes
- Who; England vs Australia (0-1)
- Where; Lord’s Cricket Ground, St Johns, London, England
- When; June 28th- July 2nd, 2023
Phew, what a contest the 1st Test was. England came so close to winning, but in the end, a magnificent partnership from Pat Cummins and Nathon Lyon, saw Australia win by the small margin of 2 wickets.
AUSTRALIA WINS THE FIRST ASHES TEST IN A THRILLER AT EDGBASTON!
MORE: https://t.co/KhJyDW8hzb pic.twitter.com/IOgsfPUKJ0
— CODE Cricket (@codecricketau) June 20, 2023
The match could so easily have gone either way. England will feel they were ahead for the majority of the match, and that will make the loss all the harder to digest. But they will take great heart from the fact that the only time in the match the Aussies weren’t playing catch up was at the death.
England has already shown the Aussies they can compete with them, and the visitors know they are in a real contest. And this sets the 2nd Test match up perfectly.
England vs Australia 2nd Test odds
The finely balanced nature of the series is reflected in the betting to win the 2nd Test. Australia are the favorites to win at +115, with hosts England at +160. The draw is +400.
In the 1st Test, the Aussies were +135, with England at +145. The draw at Edgbaston was +350. So the best cricket betting sites feel Australia are more likely to win in the 2nd Test than they were in the first. This seems slightly surprising, given how much England pushed them at Edgbaston.
| England vs Australia 2nd Test Betting |  |  |  |
| England | +160 | +160 | +160 |
| Australia | +115 | +115 | +115 |
| Draw | +400 | +400 | +400 |
| Draw No Bet | |||
| England | +110 | +110 | +110 |
| Australia | -138 | -138 | -138 |
Our betting table has more odds from the best online sportsbooks for cricket betting. Please visit our best sportsbook sign up bonuses page for more information on the latest new customer offers available from these sites.
Betting to win the series
The closeness of the series and the two teams are also reflected in the betting to win the series outright.
Australia was -120 to win the series before the 1st Test. England was +150, and a drawn series was +600.
After winning the 1st Test by just 2 wickets, Australia is now -200, with England at +260, and a shared series is still at +600.
Although that shows a shortening of the odds for Australia, the shift isn’t seismic in the betting. The odds are saying England is still well in this contest.
Any changes for the Lord’s Test match?
England seems determined to stick to the formula and change as little as possible heading into the second match of the series. There are doubts over Moeen Ali’s fitness after his spinning finger became blistered during the 1st Test at Edgbaston. This affected his performance, and if Ali isn’t deemed fit enough to play, England could hand a start to Rehan Ahmed.
Congratulations, Rehan 🤝
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 23, 2023
Selecting Ahmed would be risky. The Aussies would love to go after an 18-year-old inexperienced player. But England have shown they are bold enough to take such a risk.
Elsewhere, they will stick with Jonny Bairstow behind the stumps after his disappointing performance with the gloves. The only other possible change could see Mark Wood returning to the team. This could be at the expense of either Ali if he is unfit, or maybe Jimmy Anderson.
As for Australia, they left Mitchell Starc out of the 1st Test, and they may be trying to find a way of getting the paceman back into the side. Scott Boland is the player most at risk of losing his place to Starc. England feasted on him at Edgbaston, and the Aussies will be concerned at how many runs the Victorian leaked.
Apart from Starc coming in for Boland, it’s hard to envisage any other changes for Australia. This is a settled side that has just won the World Test Championship. They won’t be making changes just for the sake of it.
Our Pick
This is almost as much a psychological battle as a cricketing one. England got inside the heads of the Australians at Edgbaston. The Aussies were passive and negative from the first morning of the match, and they will never have faced a team that came at them in this manner before.
But from a negative point of view for the English, they threw everything at the Australians and still lost the 1st Test. If the 2nd Test starts badly for Ben Stokes and his team, it could be a long summer if they let the Aussies get on top.
This is why it is such a battle of the mind. Can England keep to their game plan when things are going badly? So far, this style of play has worked almost flawlessly. The 2nd Test will be the first time this style has been truly tested. And how England responds to this match will be key to the remainder of the series.
We feel England could have won the 1st Test if they had just held a couple more catches and batted slightly better. Australia just did what Australia always does. England is the side that has room to improve.
The English have said they will come harder at the Australians, and we have no doubt they will. They have stuck to their word for the last 12 months, so why change now? We’re going for an England win for our betting pick.
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