Third ashes test preview

England’s comprehensive victory inside four days in the second test means Australia have to win to keep their Ashes hopes alive.

Anything over than an Aussie victory will at least see England retain the Ashes, however with the real possibility of a 5-0 whitewash on the cards, England will certainly be going gung ho!

Team News
England have called up Monty Panesar to the 14 man squad ahead of the test match at Old Trafford with the pitch likely to spin more than the previous two.

James Taylor and Chris Tremlett have also both earned recalls for the game, however both will only start should others fail fitness tests.

Taylor has been selected due to the calf injury Kevin Pietersen sustained during the second match, with the Surrey batsmen’s selection for the third test still up in the air.

With both Steven Finn and Graeme Onions dropped for the third test match, Tremlett has been called up for cover for the trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan.

After making two changes for the second match, Australia will once again change their starting XI come Thursday.

The series ending injury to James Pattinson means another quick will have to come in, with the decision to recall Mitchell Starc from the first test or Jackson Bird the dilemma Australia are facing.

David Warner scored a fantastic hundred for the Australian B squad against South Africa last week and many feel he’ll be selected.

Warner, who lost his place for disciplinary reasons, has previously opened for Australia, however may have to do with batting in the lower regions of the Aussie line up.

Betting Tips
England once again are favourites and can be best found at 33/40 with Bet Victor.

After the way the Australian batting line up crumbled at Lords, it’s hard to look past another England win.

The break will certainly have favoured the Aussies though, as they were given another chance to impress in a warm-up match with numerous batsmen scoring runs at Hove.

Steve Smith and Phillip Hughes both failed at Lords, however between them nearly scored 200 in the first innings against Sussex, with Smith scoring an impressive ton.

At 4/1 with the majority of bookies, this is the longest you’ll find Australia to win a test match, however only the way they’ve been bowling this series gives you any justification as to backing them!

England to win the 3^rd test match – 33/40 with Bet Victor

Top Batsmen
Alastair Cook has so far failed with the bat this series, scoring just one half-century to date.

The England captain however usually does score big at least once in a series and at 5/1 with Coral, there is a lot of value in backing him to be England’s top run scorer at Old Trafford.

As for the Aussies the only world-class batsmen in their line-up is as short as 3’s and I suggest looking elsewhere especially given how he gave his wicket away to Joe Root last time out.

When Hughes has got in he has scored runs this series (granted was only once) and on the back of a good knock against Sussex, I suggest a small wager on Hughes at 6/1.

Alastair Cook to be England’s top run scorer in the match – 5/1 with Coral
Phillip Hughes to be Australia’s top run scorer in the match – 6/1 with numerous bookies

Other bets
Ryan Harris top Australian Wicket Taker – 5/2 with majority of bookies
Graeme Swann top English Wicket Taker – 3/1 with bet 365