The Ashes, England v Australia, 1st Test, Cardiff, Live Streaming
The 1st test of what promises to be a memorable Ashes series gets underway at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Wednesday July 8th. We take a look at the venue, the two squads and some of the key men who help tip the balance in the favour of their side.
The Venue
We have no test match history to guide us as far as Sophia Gardens is concerned. The ground is home to Glamorgan and is a surprising choice to host an Ashes test match. England captain Andrew Strauss is on record as saying both teams do not know what to expect which all makes for an intriguing opening to the series.
Let’s take a look at the squads:
England Squad: Andrew Strauss, Alistair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Ian Bell, Graham Onions.
England resisted the temptation to recall Steve Harmison and Graham Onions retains his place in the squad. With Panesar and Swann, England have the option to play 2 spinners if hey conditions will suit. Of the 13 man squad Ian Bell and one of either Onions or Panesar are most likely to miss out.
Australia Squad: Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Graham Manou, Andrew McDonald, Marcus North, Peter Siddle, Shane Watson.
Update: Brett Lee is an injury doubt for Australia and may miss the first test
The Aussies have just completed a warm up game against an England Lions side. The match ended in a draw and Brett Lee looked awesome when taking 6 wickets in the first innings and Marcus North starred with the 191 not out with the bat. Ponting struggled and opener Phillip Hughes looked vulnerable to the short pitched deliveries, more of which will be served up to him in the 1st test. All in all though, the warm up match is about players getting into shape for Wednesday and I wouldn’t place too much emphasis on it.
The key men:
Strauss was 100% correct when he said all XI need to contribute and there can be no over-reliance on a couple of star players. However there are still some “ifs and buts” that stand out more than others.
Philip Hughes – England’s bowlers will be looking to target the Australian opener in his first Ashes series. Hughes can expect plenty of short deliveries and how he handles it will be a big factor.
Andrew Flintoff – there is no doubt that if he is 100% fit and firing after his injury problems, Flintoff will be a major handful for the Australian batsmen. The “if” is the key word.
The Captains: Ponting will be under more pressure than Strauss, his own recent form has been poor and on the back of a dismal ICC T20 showing, pressure will soon mount if Australia find themselves on the back foot early on.
After Cardiff, there will also be tests at Lords, Edgbaston and Headingley before we finish up at the Oval.
