Pink Ball For Making Important Decisions: Everything You Need To Know About The Adelaide Ashes Test

Both Australia and England are poised to change their teams for the second test at the Adelaide Oval as England want to get back on their feet after going 1-0 in the Ashes streak. Australia's changes depend on Josh Hazlewood and David Warner's injuries while England are expected to overhaul their bowling attack to keep the series alive.

Adelaide will see the Pink Ball launched for the first of three day-night tests this summer, which will play an important role in the selection process for both teams. For Australia, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser will compete for last place in the bowling attack due to the unavailability of Hazlewood due to an incidental load.

Richardson has the runs on the board after scooping six wickets in an impressive performance in two Tests against Sri Lanka in 2019, and he has the pace and momentum to succeed at Adelaide. Michael Neser is considered a similar substitute for Hazlewood, however, and deserves his chance having carried the drinks no fewer than 16 times as the 12th man for Australia.

A decision between the two will likely depend on the conditions, but Richardson's experience and pace will likely give him the advantage.

Warner's badly bruised ribs keep him running around the clock to be fit for the second test, with a fitness test on Wednesday set to decide his fate. Should Warner fail, Usman Khawaja will be the favorite for Marcus Harris after his strong start to the season.

Harris is under massive pressure to perform and his testing career could be over if he fails in Adelaide after statistics show he has the lowest opener average in Ashes history. England are expected to call back rested pace legends James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the summer's first pink ball test.

The pair have 1,156 test wickets between them and England have been heavily criticized for banning them from the Gabba series opener. However, England appear to be targeting the three Pink Ball tests for their aging Crazy Jack Leach is expected to make way for Anderson after his horror performance in Brisbane.

Ben Stokes' injury means he will likely only play as a batsman, which means it will take England four pace bowlers to carry the load of bowling with Joe Root to throw some overs of spin. Broad will likely come into play for Ollie Robinson or Chris Woakes, but given their batting battles, they may need Woakes' skill with the Willow.

Jonny Bairstow could also fight for a place in the middle class, depending on Stokes' fitness. Regardless of the final make-up of the two teams, England will be under pressure to show a lot more than they put on the table at Brisbane if they are to create a competitive series.

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Australia has a heavy tip to win all five Tests and England's slap order needs to stand up and give their Adelaide bowlers something to work with. If they don't, it could be another short test, another Aussie win, and a long summer for the tourists.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood*, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

Adelaide XI (Likely): David Warner, Marcus Harris, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler (vc, wk), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Adelaide XI (likely): Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson