Australia vs England Odds: Three tips - Labuschagne to put England to the sword again

The five match Ashes series continues on December 26th and we have enlisted our cricket specialist @OddsTerrier to preview the 3rd test and pick out a few attractive propositions for your betting needs.

'Go home England - You're drunk!' . Well this isn't going as we wanted is it? Yet more questions are being asked about team selection after England went with five right arm medium pace bowlers and no spinner in Adelaide - we even saw Ollie Robinson bowling off spin in his shades at one point! The anticipated swinging pink ball didn't really do much under lights and the Australian batsmen made hay whilst the sun shone. Other than a small spell where Joe Root and Dawid Malan put on another 100+ Partnership, the England batting line up looked more dubious than a business meeting at Downing Street. 

The end result was another brutal victory for the Aussies; winning on day 5 by 275 runs despite a steadfast effort by Jos Buttler, before he stepped on his own wicket. The whole series so far can probably be best summed up by the tweet below. Australia are now as short as 7/4 to win the series 5-0!

Onto more positive news and we are absolutely killing it here at BettingOdds.com. Two out of two winning tips in the second test mean 3/5 for the series so far. That man Marnus Labuschagne strolled past 36.5 runs for a 5/6 winner and one of England's bright spots Malan top scored in the England 1st innings for a cracking 6/1 return. Let us know if you were on...

I've picked out another three juicy tips for the Melbourne test and you can read my justification below. 

As always please gamble responsibly. 

Team news and predicted teams:

Australia have reacted to their emphatic start to the series by naming their 15 man squad for the last three tests. Back in to the fold come captain Pat Cummins who has finished his Covid isolation and Josh Hazlewood will return after a slight side strain. You would expect both of them to come into the team at the MCG. The big question for the Aussies is whether to replace struggling opener Marcus Harris with Usman Khawaja, who averages 96.8 from five tests in the opening role. 

Australia:  David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Whereas the Australian line up is fairly fixed the England selectors are in absolute turmoil. There are big chances here of a recall for Zak Crawley for either Rory Burns or his opening partner Haseeb Hameed who have both looked like walking wickets. Will Dawid Malan be asked to move up the order and open? He's certainly looked like one of the few top order batsmen comfortable against the new ball. 

Could there also be a return for the much maligned Jonny Bairstow instead of Ollie Pope? Pope has looked out of his depth thus far and although Bairstow has had problems versus the straight ball, there can be no questions about his fighting spirit and temperament. 

In the bowling department its obvious that more variety is needed. One replacement is assured in Mark Wood who was badly missed at Adelaide. His 95mph pace will be sure to give the Australians problems here. Secondly there is a decision to be made about the spinner. It's clear that a spinner will be played but will it be Jack Leach, who still has mental scars from Brisbane, or Yorkshire's Dominic Bess? Bess has talent for sure but his discipline of line and length is extremely questionable. In Australia you can't bowl a four ball every over to alleviate pressure.

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Zak Crawley, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

This is a recurring bet for us here at BettingOdds.com. We tipped up this selection in the second test and it landed with ease. Labuschagne looked imperious, batting with patience and determination as he strolled along to his sixth test match hundred. As mentioned in our previous analysis Labuschagne averages over 62 in tests and is particularly strong in the first innings where he averages 83.05!

Paddy Power have upped the run line slightly to 38.5 but I will still take that one on. He has scored over 38.5 runs in the first innings in his last 11 test first innings.

'I don't believe my Geordie eyes' - legendary Darts commentator Sid Waddell once said and I'm guessing Mark Wood said something similar when he saw the Adelaide test team selection. Durham's Wood was one of the few positive England performances in the Brisbane test - bowling with aggression and spite. He hurried the top order and made them play and miss over 20 times without reward.

Wood's figures of 3-85 in 25.3 overs didn't do his effort justice and he will have been gutted to miss out last time out. I realise the selectors are trying to protect their one true fast bowler for the rest of the series but it could be all over by this time next week and its a high-risk strategy. He will have a point to prove here in Melbourne and I expect him to take it. With so many unknown variables surrounding the England bowling selections this looks a smart bet as he is sure to play. 

He's 7/2 at Paddy Power to top England's bowling figures in the first innings.

We return to the mercurial Labuschagne for our last pick. Marnus romped to the MOTM trophy at Adelaide with his 154 runs scored across the two innings and I like his odds to do so again here. No other player in either side looks as comfortable at the crease or as likely to accumulate runs (with the possible exception of Joe Root who will likely be on the losing side) as Labuschagne. The 27-year-old South African born no.3 is on a tear right now and doesn't look like getting out. His judgement of length in particular has been a pleasure to watch -  less so his extravagant leaves and running commentary. 

Batsmen receive this award far more than bowlers in test cricket and If Labuschagne top scores for the Aussies here (he's as short as 5/2 to do so) then there is a strong chance he will pick up the award for a 2nd test running. He's 7/1 at Paddy Power to repeat the feat.