The world's oldest and most prestigious cricket series will start tomorrow, the 8th of December. The first test will take place at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane. The rivalry between England and Australia goes back to the 18th century. The series will take place at the Aussie's home grounds. Australia is currently the defending champions and they also exceed England in the tally of total series wins.
Australia
The current T20 champions, Australia lacks the strength that it used to have in the past. The team is still young with most of the players having little experience. Even though their recent form in Test cricket has not been good but overall they are a good team. Pat Cummins will take charge of Australia for the series. Apart from seeing Pat Cummins in a new role, we can also see Alex Carey making his Test debut after Tim Paine's recent resignation. Overall, Australian team is a balanced one and can take advantage of their home grounds. Australian team was not considered as a strong contender in the recent World T20 Cup, but they proved everyone wrong by winning the title. Hence, we cannot underestimate the Australian team.
England
It has been more than eleven years since England won the great test series on the Australian soil. The last time they won this series was under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss. England will desperately try to replicate those results as Australia is one series ahead of them, and they would try their best to even the series wins. The bowlers will have to play a big role, especially in situations that will not be as conducive to fast bowling as they have in England. England bowlers are well accustomed to pitches that provide swing, it will be a test for the English bowlers here in Australia.
Weather Report
The minimum and maximum temperatures at Brisbane will be around 21 and 28 degrees, respectively. The skies will be full of clouds and the chances of precipitation is high.
Pitch Report
The pitch at the Brisbane Stadium would help the batters. Conversely, the bowlers will not get much help from the pitch. The bowlers may have to struggle to pick up wickets. The average first innings score at the ground in the last 5 matches is 273 runs. Both the teams will look to win the toss and bat first.
Probable Playing XI For Australia
Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Probable Playing XI For England
Joe Root (c), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Key Players
Australia:
Steve Smith
David Warner
England:
Rory Burns
Joe Root
