STAR CRICKET PREVIEW Weds: Ashes, 2nd Test

After all the build-up, pre-match sledging, and then hype, England find themselves in a depressingly familiar position going into the second Test of an Ashes tour to Australia after defeat in just two days, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

The speed of the defeat was remarkable in itself but what was even more galling was that England were in a strong position on the second day, being 100 runs in front with nine second-innings wickets remaining, to lose by eight wickets less than five hours later.

Now two weeks on, the two to head-to-head for the pink with England’s series in the balance. Go 2-0 down – a 4/6 shot with starsports.bet and Australia will be just one win away from retaining the urn. Manage to level the series however – and England were odds on to take victory in the first test – and confidence could rocket with the momentum headed to the visitors.

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2nd Men’s Ashes Test
The Gabba
Thursday 4th December – Monday 8th December 2025
Daily Timings:
🏏 First ball: 4am
☕️ Tea: 6am – 6.40am
🍔 Dinner: 8:40 – 9am
🕚 Close: 11/11:30am
Live on TNT Sports HD, Discovery+ and BBC Test Match Special

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What Happened In Perth?

Australia won the first Ashes Test at Perth by eight wickets, wrapping it up inside two days after one of the more surreal Ashes matches in living memory. England won the toss and batted but were skittled for 172 in just 32.5 overs as Mitchell Starc took a career-best 7-58, before Ben Stokes dragged them back into the game with 5-23 to bowl Australia out for 132 and leave England 40 ahead at the close of a 19-wicket opening day.

Day two initially belonged to England: they moved into a lead of around 100 with nine wickets in hand and looked well placed to set up a classic low-scoring thriller. Instead, they imploded in familiar fashion, losing wickets in clumps to Scott Boland (4-33) and Starc (3-55) and tumbling to 164 all out, setting Australia just 205 to win.

Travis Head then produced the defining performance of the match, opening in place of the injured Khawaja and smashing 123 from 83 balls, reaching his century from just 69 deliveries in the second-fastest Ashes hundred ever. With Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten 51 in support, Australia romped to 205-2 in only 28.2 overs to take a 1-0 series lead. Starc finished with a 10-wicket match haul and the Player-of-the-Match award, while the game itself went down as the shortest Ashes Test by overs bowled for well over a century – and a pretty brutal examination of England’s Bazball batting against high-class pace.

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☀️ 🌌 Formguide 

There have been 24 day/night tests played so far, 13 of them in Australia, and the trends have been for an advantage batting first in the daytime session before the lights combined with the pink ball make life much harder for batters, with reduced vision and seam movement tipping things in favour of the bowlers.

This first test was dominated by the ball – Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne’s second innings excluded – following a general trend of spicy pitches and more pronounced movement seeing lower totals. Day/night trends have followed this trend with innings totals decreasing steadily (31.5 first innings, 23.3 second innings, 17.6 third innings, 15.99 4th innings). Overall, batting is likely to be tough work for the top order and it would be no surprise if the middle order thrived again. In the last Day/night test – also played here – the Windies’ Joshua Da Silva (in at 7) top-scored with 79, whilst Kavem Hodge (in at 5) was second with 71, whilst Alex Carey (more on him later) top-scored with 65, one ahead of Pat Cummins.

The toss has a massive impact – eight of the 13 day-night tests in Australia have been won by the side batting first, and fifteen of 24 (63%) pink-ball Tests overall.

England neglected to send any of their players to face the Prime Minister’s XI in a day/night warm-up test, trusting their original plans despite the extra days on offer.

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Team News

Just the one change – Will Jacks is in for Mark Wood, whose knee has flared up. Jacks will bolster what’s already a long tail, for all spin isn’t expected to play a major part.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England Second Test XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (c), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Gus Atkinson, 11 Jofra Archer.

Usman Khawaja’s back issues have ruled him out, so expect Travis Head to open the batting and take on the English bowlers once again, alongside Jake Weatherald. Australia will name their team at the toss, with the possibility of a late return for Pat Cummins – if he didn’t return, then it would look likely that Josh would come into a middle-order role ahead of Beau Webster, although Michael Neser would add batting strength.

🇦🇺 Australia Possible Second Test XI: 1 Travis Head, 2 Jake Weatherald, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steve Smith (c), 5 Cameron Green, 6 Josh Inglis, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Brendan Doggett.

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🏏 Match Verdict

4/7 about Australia is fair given home advantage and their fine record in day/night tests, but the importance of the toss and the topsy turvy nature of proceedings take the appeal away from the match odds with starsports.bet.

A quick end would be no surprise, however, and another Day 2 finish could be overpriced again, considering that the batting ought to be harder there than it was in the first test. Session times offer more value for those who fancy their chances, but the player markets could be where to turn.

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Batters – Australia 🇦🇺

Travis Head’s incredible century ended any chance of an English win and he’ll presumably open the batting alongside Jake Weatherald. Opening the batting here, Head could be a win or bust – he had the mastery of England’s bowlers in that second innings but could easily be asked to open under lights or late in the day. If he remains in the same form as last week then 13/8 about a first innings 50 could look generous.

In the first innings, Alex Carey top-scored with just 26 and a similar result would be no surprise here. Carey, who will receive the most protection of any full-time Aussie batter against the new ball, averages a very respectable 28.20 against the pink ball and looks overpriced at 9/1.

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Batters – England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Ollie Pope was the best of the English batters in the first test, with 46 and 33 and 7/1 is far too big based on that form. There is a high possibility that he faces the pink ball under lights if England bat second, but he played the new ball with aplomb in Perth and his technique was more put together than most, especially. Harry Brook’s position makes him of interest here – along with his first innings 50 – but a lack of application is a worry for him and if England were to bat second, he could be facing the pink ball earlier than hoped too. Jamie Smith – an outright fancy for us – is likely to play a key role.

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Bowlers – Australia 🇦🇺

Mitchell Starc was outstanding in the first test with 7 first innings wickets and he will be relishing taking the pink ball into his hands. In 14 day-night matches, Starc has 81 wickets, the most in the history of the game, at an average of 17.08, and he faces an English lineup that he’s already dominated. 13/8 about him leading the first innings wicket-taking charts again

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Bowlers – England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Ben Stokes excelled in the first innings in Perth before Head and Labsuchange took England’s bowlers apart on day 2, and it’s hard to pick between the bowling attacks. This should suit Gus Atkinson a lot, Brydon Carse has an excellent record in New Zealand and took wickets, Jofra Archer has his pace and Ben Stokes looks very fit and has been in form whenever bowling.

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RECOMMENDED BETS – Match
BACK Mitchell Starc Man of the Match 1 pt at 7/1 (boosted) (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

RECOMMENDED BETS – Batters
BACK Alex Carey Top Australian 1st Innings Run Scorer 1 pt at 9/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Travis Head To Score 50+ 1st Innings Runs 1.5 pts at 13/8 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Ollie Pope Top English Run Scorer 1 pt at 7/1 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

RECOMMENDED BETS – Bowlers
BACK Mitchell Starc Top Australian Wicket Taker 3 pts at 13/8 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

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PROFIT/LOSS (DEC 2025): +1.30 points

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