The Ashes is heading to Adelaide for the Third Test of a five-match series, with the First Day scheduled to start late tomorrow evening in the UK.
Australia are 2-0 up after convincing wins in Perth and Brisbane, making this simply a must-win contest for England. Even a draw would see the Aussies retain the urn.
And if Ben Stokes and his wounded soldiers cannot muster a strong response at the Adelaide Oval, and fall to another defeat, the dreaded 5-0 whitewash beckons.
Take a look at our full Third Test betting preview below, and you can also check out all the latest live Ashes odds right here on NetBet.
Where can I watch the Third Test between Australia and England in the UK?
The Third Test between Australia and England will be broadcast live on TNT Sports, with play scheduled to start each day at 11:30pm UK time.
Australia vs England: Third Test Preview
Australia cruised to another eight-wicket victory in Brisbane, despite some spirited resistance with the bat from Stokes and Will Jacks in England’s second innings.
Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook were once again guilty of soft dismissals during the game, while the overall bowling performance ranks as arguably the worst of the Brendon McCullum era.
In contrast, Australia were simply too good and too consistent, even without three big hitters in Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazelwood – though Lyon’s omission was purely tactical.
However, captain Cummins and Lyon will officially return to the XI in Adelaide, but Hazelwood has suffered the same fate as Mark Wood and will miss the rest of the series through injury.
Team news
As mentioned above, Cummins and Lyon are back in place of Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett, despite the pair’s superb displays in Brisbane. Usman Khawaja also misses out again, with Josh Inglis retaining his place in the middle order and Travis Head kept as one of the openers.
Australia Confirmed XI: Weatherald, Head, Labuschagne, Smith, Green, Inglis, Carey, Cummins, Starc, Lyon, Boland.
On the other side of things, England have surprisingly only made one official change to their XI, with Josh Tongue replacing Gus Atkinson.
England Confirmed XI: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Jacks, Carse, Archer, Tongue.
Australia vs England: Third Test Odds
*All odds are subject to change
Australia are huge favourites to take the win in Adelaide, the hosts priced as low as 1.43. An England victory is at odds of 3.28, while the draw is 10.00.
Australia vs England: Third Test Betting Tips
Top bowler – Nathan Lyon @ 7.00
Mitchell Starc has been England’s tormentor-in-chief thus far with 18 wickets. But while it is hard to look past the tall quick, we are backing Lyon to return with a bang in Adelaide. The legendary spinner has taken 110 wickets in Tests vs England, and he also has a great record in Adelaide (63 wickets in 14 Tests) – a ground which can favour spin.
Top batter – Steve Smith @ 4.75
Smith is yet to score a century in this series, but looked very composed with the willow in Brisbane. His 23 off of just nine balls in the second innings secured the win, and with Cummins returning to take the main leadership role, Smith can focus solely on his batting in Adelaide – and that is bad news for England! He averages 55.10 in Tests vs the Three Lions, and if he gets in when the Adelaide conditions are best suited for batting, a 37th Test century awaits.
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