Ashes 2013: Five reasons why England will win the second Test at Lord's

England do not have much time to celebrate the victory they earned at Lord’s as the battle renews on Thursday. Australia will be a lot more confident going into the Test match despite the defeat as they managed to close the gap of win to just 14 runs courtesy the fight exhibited by the lower order.

The second Test will be critical to the fate of the series as it will be back to square one if Australia level the series with a victory whereas England will definitively close the door if they go 2-0 up in the series.

England have a few concerns to address prior to the second Test such as the form of Steven Finn who was rather expensive in the first innings. It seemed like Alastair Cook was reluctant to hand him the ball in the fourth innings as he only bowled a total of 10 overs. This adds to the workload of James Anderson and Graeme Swann.

England might choose to go with Tim Bresnan for the second Test although it would be slightly harsh on Finn. Joe Root did not have a dream Ashes debut but the team thinktank is likely to back him up. Matthew Prior seems to have hit a bad patch but he must make sure that he supports the frail tail-end batting as Brad Haddin did for Australia in the fourth innings.

Inspite of those flaws, England still have the better team on paper. Here is a list of five reasons why England will win the second Test at Lord’s:

England players watch the big screen after the final wicket of Brad Haddin of Australia was referred to the third umpire during day five of the 1st Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground on July 14, 2013

5. Flawed opposition

Australia might have been close to an improbable victory at Trent Bridge but the matter of fact is that they were largely saved by a miraculous innings by 19-year-old debutant Ashton Agar.

Excepting his innings of 98 runs in the first innings, England could have easily packed up the Test match in three days. The Australian middle order exhibited no resolve, no application in hostile conditions and while Steven Smith was one player who looked like getting runs in both the innings, his inexperience and aggressive stroke-play means that he cannot anchor the innings for Australia.

Australia’s bowling attack is potent but England are already a step ahead in that department as well.