The Ashes: The First Test
November 20th, 2013 by G WaldorfIt’s almost here: the England and Australia teams will run out onto the Gabba turf tomorrow morning, and another Ashes series will be underway. But how will the first session go, and which side will take the early initiative?
The early exchanges, the consensus seems to be, will be absolutely crucial. It’s an old truism that Test series are decided by the new ball, but there’s a real feeling that that could be even more true of this series that of others. Are England protecting Joe Root by dropping him into the middle order and opening up with Michael Carberry? Will an English left-handed opening partnership be taking the plaudits come Monday, or it will it be the Aussie lefties who are basking in the praise of the press?
Or will it rain for three days?
The forecast isn’t great for Brisbane, so that might tempt you to bet that the first Test will be a draw – a $2.75 bet on Sportsbet right now, which is incidentally the same odds you’ll get for the Aussies to win and take a 1-0 lead with them to Adelaide and the second Test. We were a little surprised to see that the tourists are a $3.00 bet to win the series opener: they have had their troubles on the tour, and there might be talk in the press about an England side that have peaked, but they will provide a stiff test for Clarke and his men.
And who will be the key players for the Aussies? Throughout the series, we’ll be keeping track of the personal battles, the tussles between the openers from both sides, and the middle-order batsmen, too. For the first Test, though, all eyes will be on the Aussie bowlers. To win the series, they’re going to have to take 20 wickets in a game: will it be the mercurial Mitchell Johnson who does the damage? He’s a $3.50 bet to be the leading wicket-taker in the Gabba Test, with Peter Siddle right alongside him. Ryan Harris is the favourite to strike most often in the first Test (at $3.30) and in the series (also $3.30) – he will be key to Australian success, whichever way you look at it…
And, if you fancy it, you’ll get $1.54 if the first wicket to fall in the Gabba Test Match is out caught, and $2.43 if it isn’t!
Remember, for all your latest Ashes odds, you just have to follow the link…
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