After a crazy opening Test in Perth, The Ashes moves to Brisbane for the day-night Test at the Gabba. Can England bounce back after a horror performance with the bat? Or will Australia keep their excellent day-night record intact?
Jack Tobin brings you his full preview and betting tips for the 2nd Test of the Ashes below, with odds thanks to Neds!
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Australia vs England 2nd Test Preview & Betting Tips
The Gabba, Thursday 4th December, 3pm AEDT
Australia
Squad: Steve Smith, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
Australia have named an unchanged squad, with Pat Cummins not quite ready in time for the second Test. The big question for Australia will be around the opening position after Travis Head’s heroics in the first Test as an opener, it would be hard to not keep the South Australian at the top of the order. If Head went to number one, it opens the door for Beau Webster or Josh Inglis to come into the middle order, adding further strength and versatility to the Australian eleven.
The first Test threw up a mixture of performances for Australia. A brilliant bowling performance on day one was followed up with a woeful performance with the bat on the same day. However when the Test match looked like it was slipping away Australia’s bowlers lifted once again to get the Aussies back into the match. Travis Head then took the game by the scruff of the neck in the fourth innings, smashing 123 off just 83 deliveries to see Australia to a dominant 8 wicket win. Marnus Labuschagne supported Head with a well made 51 off 49, but the entire batting unit will need to lift in Brisbane.
Despite missing Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Australia once again got the job done with the ball, led by Mitchell Starc. Starc led the way with 7/58 and 3/55 in a man of the match performance, while Scott Boland 4/33 turned the match in the second innings, picking up the wickets of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook. Brendan Doggett showed he was certainly capable in the Test match arena, taking 2/27 and 3/51 on debut.
England
Squad: Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
England will be forced into at least one change after Mark Wood was ruled out with a knee injury, the same knee that the paceman missed nine months after getting surgery on in March. England will likely choose between Josh Tongue or Shoaib Bashir, but if their attitude that they went to Perth with is any indicator, it’s difficult to see England picking Bashir.
Bazball was at its most Bazball in the opening Test, showing the highs and lows of their style in a chaotic two days. Some brainless batting saw England dismissed for 172 in the first innings, where they scored at five an over largely thanks to Harry Brook (52) and Ben Duckett (41). However they bounced back brilliantly with the ball to bowl Australia out for 132, led by Ben Stokes (5/23), Brydon Crase (3/45) and Jofra Archer (2/11). England then looked in a prime position in the second innings as they led by 100 with nine wickets in hand, before an implosion of 4/12 in the middle order triggered a collapse to see England bowled out with a lead of only 204.
England’s bowling in the second innings was all over the place as Ben Stokes doubled down on his short ball tactic against Travis Head, which went horribly wrong. After looking so hard to play in the first innings, England’s bowling attack was slaughtered in the second innings. Carse went at an economy of 8.25 an over, Mark Wood went at 7.67, Gus Atkinson went at 6.78 and Archer went at 5.62. A big concern for England was the big drop in Archer’s speed after his first few overs, if Australia can get a hold of him early, he drops away quickly.
Match Prediction
One thing that has been a common trend in the BazBall era is the ability to bounce back from poor performances, however the pink ball Test throws up a challenge for England. Australia have comfortably played the most day-night Tests of any nation, and have a brilliant record with 13 wins and just one loss. Australia have played England in three pink ball Ashes Tests, with Australia winning all three.
Australia have won 16 of their last 21 Tests at home, while England have lost eight of their last 11 Tests away from home. Australia are also unbeaten in their last 16 home Tests against England, highlighting perfectly how hard it is to beat Australia in these conditions, even if they’re undermanned and behind in the game.
Day-night Tests generally speed the pace of play with difficult evening and night batting conditions, teams generally look to be more aggressive to take advantage of these periods with the ball. Obviously Bazball has a tendency to speed up play anyway, so we’re likely set for another chaotic Test. One clear theme that came out of the first Test was Australia’s willingness to hang in the game while things were difficult, while England were at the complete opposite scale, particularly with the bat. A key element to winning day- night Tests is being able to dig in when the conditions aren’t in your favour, and that’s something England don’t look capable of. Australia know that if they win this Test it’s going to break the spirit of England and put them on the cusp of a series win, so expect a fired up Australian side to continue their excellent record with the pink ball.
Australia to Win
$1.52 (1.5 Units)
The Ashes 2nd Test Player Prop Bet
Without Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia needed Mitchell Starc to stand tall and he delivered in spades. A man of the match performance with 10 wickets continued Starc’s remarkable year run where he is arguably performing at the best he has in his entire career. In 2025, Starc has taken 39 wickets in 8 Tests, at an average of 15.72. It’s a career best average in a calendar year for Starc, with his next best average in 2020 when he played only 3 Tests.
Not only is Starc in career best form, but he is also the best pink ball bowler the game has ever seen. Starc has played in all 14 of Australia’s day-night Tests, taking 81 wickets at an average of 17.08 with a strike rate of 33.3. To highlight his dominance with the pink Kookaburra, the next best bowlers in day-night Tests are Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon with 43 wickets. Expect Starc to continue his hot form with a big performance at the Gabba.
Mitchell Starc: Australia Top Wicket Taker 1st Innings
$2.50 (1 Unit)
