All you need to know ahead of the fourth Test between England-Australia at Chester-le-Street..
Jamie Tate Sunday Herald Sun August 09, 2013 2:23PM
CAN Australia, buoyed by their performance in Manchester, finally pull off a victory when the Ashes series travels to Durham for the fourth Test?
HOT SPOT BACK ON AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA made all the running at Old Trafford, but was denied a decent shot at victory by the wet weather.
The tourists are doing a lot of things right. They score faster than England; their bowlers have done their job welland share their bowling workload better than England and managed to keep major players Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott very, very quiet.
Yet still Australia can't win.
Of major concern is that England has the greater scope for improvement from the third Test. Trott, Cook and Jimmy Anderson all had poor matches in Manchester. When they fire, Australia is in trouble and such is their quality they won't be down for long.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
ENGLAND has won all four Tests at Chester-le-Street, but the quality of opposition has been poor Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and West Indies twice.
Fast bowlers have enjoyed the ground with Steve Harmison (16 wickets @ 23.2), Anderson (15 wickets @ 14.0) and Matthew Hoggard (13 @ 14.1) the most successful bowlers in Tests at the ground. Monty Panesar, the walking fire-hydrant, is next on the list with six scalps at 13.3 apiece from his one Test at the venue against West Indies.
Another dry and firm surface has been prepared, one that is sure to assist England's Graeme Swann, the series' leading wicket-taker with 19.
The weather won't help the pitch crumble, with the top temperature unlikely to reach 20C during the Test.
Some showers are expected, but the forecast cloud cover will be the seamers' biggest ally.
Chester-Le-Street forecast
Today: Morning showers. Max 19C
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. Max 17C
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Max 17C
Monday: Scattered showers. Max 17C
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Max 18C
THE MATCH
The pattern of the series is pretty clear. Every pitch is bone dry to aid England's big advantage - Swann - while also dulling Australia's main weapon - their fast bowling attack.
Win the toss and bat is the order of the day, every day.
Stumps scores day one
Trent Bridge: England 215 & Australia 4-75
Lord's: England 7-289
Old Trafford: Australia 3-303
The only opening day that went against the grain was at Trent Bridge and it was no surprise that the scores were affected by a day of heavy cloud cover.
Expect the team batting first to post a first-innings score of at least 350, with the only rider being that such a score might not be attained if it's overcast and the ball swings.
Batting on a sunny day one is Australia's best chance of getting ahead in the game in a similar fashion to Old Trafford.
QUESTION TIME
Was the third Test an aberration or a true reflection that the gap between the two teams is narrowing?
Australia was lamentable at Lord's on the back of a three-day break. It needs to show more maturity with a similar turnaround here.
England looked tired in Manchester. It has already played two Tests against New Zealand this northern summer, the Champions Trophy and now the Ashes. Those who play both Tests and one-dayers like Cook, Trott, Anderson, Joe Root and Stuart Broad gave little last Test. Can they rebound?
Ryan Harris's fitness. He's been superb (11 wickets at 18.0 apiece) in partnership with Peter Siddle (16 wickets @ 21.7).
But back-to-back Tests hurt his body. It would be a major blow should he miss, even though Jackson Bird looks a more than capable Test bowler.
It's ironic that Australia's batsmen struggle to deliver consistently, but it's the bowling line-up that regularly changes despite it being the strong point of Michael Clarke's team.
Clarke made 217 runs for once out in Manchester as Australia made 699 runs for the game. Can Australia thrive if Clarke has an average or poor match? We doubt it.
Chris Rogers and Steven Smith have shown encouraging signs, but the pressure will always be on Clarke to lead from the front until others start making regular centuries.
David Warner looked good with a quickfire 41 at Old Trafford. Wouldn't it be lovely if he punched out a dashing ton!
HOW TO MAKE A DOLLAR
THE weather will intervene at some point, but it doesn't look as threatening as Manchester where a day's play was lost overall.
So a result looks on the cards.
Await the toss and a look at the opening day's weather. Should the batting team enjoy long periods of clear sky, then the bowling side is likely to struggle and their odds lengthen.
That could open up betting opportunities.
Cloud cover on day one should benefit the seamers, see wickets fall and the draw drift out of the equation.
TAB odds
England $2; Draw $3.40; Australia $3.60.
If Australia bats first you should be able to get close to $3 England on day one - a great price on the favourite.
An Australian price around $6 would also be tempting, but the $3.60 is far too short for a side that has not won in their past seven attempts.
Rogers is growing in confidence and represents value at $5.50 (TAB) to be the highest scorer in Australia's first innings. Clarke is again favourite at $3.50.
Kevin Pietersen loves the limelight and after the Hot Spot fiasco of recent days it wouldn't surprise to see his ripping form continue and be England's top scorer in the first innings ($4.40 TAB). He's far better value than an out-of-form Jonathan Trott at the same price.
WHO WINS?
Can't go past England, unfortunately.
Australia's performance in Manchester was highly encouraging, but Clarke's side has yet to display consistency.
Another strong showing here would be a massive step forward for the return Ashes series.
It would not surprise to see Australia be the more aggressive of the two teams in an attempt to continue the Old Trafford trend, but surely Anderson hits back at a ground at which he has an impressive record.
And then there is Swann ...
