The second Ashes Test match between England and Australia will be played today on 16th December 2021. This pink-ball match will be played from 16th December to 20th December 2021 at Adelaide Oval Ground. With a lead of 9 wickets, Australia won against England easily in the first Test.
Pat Cummins picked up five wickets in his first Test as a full-time captain, helping Australia thrash England for just 147 runs in the first innings. Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc each took two wickets. As a reply, Australia scored 425 runs. David Warner (94 off 176) missed out on a hundred by just six runs. Labuschagne scored 74 off 117. The star of the evening, however, was Travis Head, who scored 152 runs from 148 balls.
In order to win the Test, England must bat really well in the second innings. Throughout Joe Root's innings (89 off 165) and Dawid Malan's innings (82 off 195), England was in a pretty good position.
However, as the pair, wickets began to fall, and England was bowled out for 297 runs. After going wicketless in the first innings, Nathan Lyon returned with 4 for 91 in the innings. In addition, Green and Cummins each pick two wickets. The Australians only needed 20 runs to win the Test, and they won with nine wickets in hand.
On Thursday, England selected their 12-man squad for the second Test against Australia. James Anderson and Stuart Broad, two senior fast bowlers, have both returned and are expected to be included in the playing XI. Mark Wood has been rested after playing in the first Test. Due to an injury, Australia's Josh Hazlewood has been given rest for the second Test, and Jhye Richardson will take his place in the playing XI.
The pitch at Adelaide is projected to be good for batting, as it is basically flat for the first three days of a Test match. However, under lights, the ball may seem slightly, putting the spinners into the game as the match progresses. Teams batting first have won 38 of the 79 Tests played at the Adelaide Oval, while teams batting last have won 22 times.