England washed the Australian hopes of a Whitewash after managing to squeeze out a draw in the 4th test match at Sydney. However, Pat Cummins would be fine with a 4-0 win for his debut Australia vs England series. For the English side, it will be another chance to get something out of this series. They will be motivated by the fight they showed in the last innings of the Sydney Test. Therefore a win would be pretty remarkable for the struggling Englishmen after what they have gone through in the whole series. England is expected to make some changes to their line-up as Jos Buttler has flown back while both Stokes and Bairstow are battling with injuries. Meanwhile, Anderson is also tipped to be rested for the final test. Sam Billings could make his test debut as a wicket-keeper.
Australia on the other hand has decided to drop Marcus Harris and Usman Khwaja is expected to take his place as an opener as Travis Head will make his comeback into the XI after missing the previous game. Also, Hobart will be hosting its first-ever test match in 5 years.
Pitch and Conditions
Date: 14-January-2022
Venue: Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Weather Forecast: The weather at Hobart during this test match will be mostly cloudy. On the first few days, there may be some rain with cloud cover up to 99%. Other than that, the temperature will be hovering around approximately 21-22 degrees Celcius throughout the 5 day period.
Pitch Conditions: The pitch at Bellerive Oval remained green the day before the game but there will be some uncertainty as to how it will play. It may need a brave decision at the toss. As there are showers forecasted on the first two days, the team winning the toss would like to bowl first.
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When, Where, and How to Watch
When: 14th to 18th January 2022
Time: 9.30 AM I.S.T, 3.00 PM Local
Where: Sony Sports Network and Sony Liv App
Australia vs England Head to Head Record
| Total Matches | 355 |
| Australia Won | 149 |
| England Won | 110 |
| Draw | 96 |
| Tied | 0 |
Top 3 highest runs scorer in Australia vs England battle
| Rank | Player | Match | Runs | Average | Best |
| 1 | Steve Smith | 31 | 3017 | 61.57 | 239 |
| 2 | Joe Root | 28 | 1971 | 39.42 | 180 |
| 3 | David Warner | 27 | 1888 | 40.17 | 124 |
Top 3 highest wicket-takers in Australia vs England battle
| Rank | Player | Match | Wickets | Average | Best |
| 1 | Stuart Broad | 34 | 125 | 29.56 | 8-for 15 |
| 2 | James Anderson | 35 | 112 | 33.76 | 6-for 47 |
| 3 | Nathan Lyon | 27 | 101 | 29.42 | 6-for 49 |
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Previous performances of both teams:
Team Australia’s performance in the last three test matches
| Against | Date | Venue | Result | Team Score | Opponent Score | Highest Runs | Highest Wickets |
| England | 4-Jan-2022 | Sydney | Draw | 416/8 & 265/6 | 294/10 & 270/9 | Usman Khwaja 137 & 101* | Scott Boland 4/36 & 3/30 |
| England | 26-Dec-2021 | Melbourne | Win | 267/10 | 185/10 & 68/10 | Joe Root- 50 & 28 | Scott Boland- 1/48 & 6/7 |
| England | 16-Dec-2021 | Adelaide | Win | 473/9 dec & 230/9 dec | 236/10 & 192/10 | Marnus Labuschagne- 103 & 51 | Mitchell Starc- 4/37 & 2/43 |
Team England’s performance in the last three test matches
| Against | Date | Venue | Result | Team Score | Opponent Score | Highest Runs | Highest Wickets |
| Australia | 4-Jan-2022 | Sydney | Draw | 294/10 & 270/9 | 416/8 & 265/6 | Usman Khwaja 137 & 101* | Scott Boland 4/36 & 3/30 |
| Australia | 26-Dec-2021 | Melbourne | Lose | 185/10 & 68/10 | 267/10 | Joe Root- 50 & 28 | Scott Boland- 1/48 & 6/7 |
| Australia | 16-Dec-2021 | Adelaide | Lose | 236/10 & 192/10 | 473/9 dec & 230/9 dec | Marnus Labuschagne- 103 & 51 | Mitchell Starc- 4/37 & 2/43 |
Fantasy Dream XI Picks
Wicket-keeper: Jonny Bairstow
Batters: Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khwaja, Steve Smith, Zack Crawley
All-rounders: Joe Root and Cameron Green
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Mark Wood, Scott Boland
Captain: Usman Khwaja
Vice-captain: Cameron Green
Also Read: Top 10 greatest leg spinners of all time
Injury And other updates
- Jos Buttler has flew home. Won’t be available for this match.
- Stokes fighting with his side injury. Will not bowl if plays.
- Bairstow also recovering from his thumb injury.
- Scott Boland might not play due to elbow and rib injury occured in previous test.
Probable Playing XI
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland/Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon
England: Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (capt), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope/Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings (wk), Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad
Players to watch out for
By Steven Smith’s high standards, the series has been relatively quiet with an average of 36.16, his lowest in an Ashes series since his first appearance in 2010-11, as a lower-order batter and spinner. He would not want to make it his first Ashes series without a hundred to his name. However, Hobart is the only venue he has not scored a century at after playing more than 1 test.
Similarly, another legend of the game, Stuart Broad would also like to end the series on a high. After picking up a fifer in the previous match, he must have been thinking about the missed opportunity to bowl on the bowling-friendly wickets in Melbourne and Brisbane. Therefore he will be hoping that the grass cover on Hobart’s pitch remains there.
Additional Information
Broadcast Details: Starting on 14th January 2022, From 9.30 a.m. IST on Live on Sony Sports Network and Sony Liv app
Umpires: Paul Wilson and Rod Tucker
TV Umpire: Paul Reiffel
Reserve Umpire: Donovan Koch
Match Referee: David Boon
Some interesting stats
- Australia have won 9 and lost 2 test matches at this venue out of total 13 played. In the previous match here in 2016 against South Africa, Australia lost by an innings and 80 runs.
- David Warner has scored 373 runs in 4 matches at this venue with an average of 62.16.
- Only on three occasions have England not crossed the 300-run mark in a series of at least five matches, with their current top score in this series being 297.
- The last time Hobart staged a day-night first-class match was in 2016, and in the three games overall, the batting average is 28.03.
Records that can be broken in this match
- Sam Billings will be England’s 700th men’s Test cricketer if he makes his debut in this match.
- Steve Smith is just one century away from to tie with Michael Clarke on 28. Currently, he is tied with Virat Kohli, Graeme Smith, and Allan Border on 27.
- Nathan Lyon can go clear of Harbhajan Singh(417 wickets) and Shaun Pollock(421 wickets) in the list of most wickets in test matches of all time. Currently he has 415 wickets in 104 matches.
Conclusion- Writer’s Opinion
The English players must be feeling some confidence after being able to manage to eke out a draw in the New Year’s Test at the Sydney. However, the visitors have to be ready for another stern test as they visit the green turf of Bellerive Oval at Hobart. There will be some changes in the squad for sure with some players facing injury problems while some may be rested. Australia on the other hand has not done anything much wrong throughout the series. But they must be looking at the Sydney Test as a missed opportunity of Whitewashing the Poms. For England, it is a chance to build on the fight shown at the SCG before the tour is picked through back home and futures are debated.
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