The Ashes 1st Test: England begin campaign to regain urn from Aussies

Australia’s batting line-up, though, will certainly be tough to crack, with world number one-ranked Steve Smith (3/1 to be his team’s top batsman in the first innings) likely to be in higher up the order at three. Opener David Warner (3/1) and skipper Michael Clarke (4/1) will also be big threats if allowed to get into their rhythm.

For England, they will be under the leadership of Australian Trevor Bayliss for the first time, and they will be hoping that they can gel in such a short amount of time.

The hosts arguably have a batting line-up to match the Aussies, with Joe Root (3/1 to be best England batsman in the first innings) the answer to Smith.

Captain Alastair Cook (7/2) will also be looking to get in amongst the runs, as will elder statesman Ian Bell (9/2), whose call-up was questioned by some due to his poor recent form. Don’t count out rising stars Gary Ballance (5/1), Ben Stokes (8/1) and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (12/1) either.

In the bowling department, there could be a first Test call-up for Yorkshire leg-spinning all-rounder Adil Rashid (9/2), with Moeen Ali (11/2) the only real slow delivery option.

Record England Test wicket taker James Anderson (5/2) and Stuart Broad (11/4) will lead the pace attack, with Stokes (9/2), Mark Wood (7/2) and Steven Finn (7/2) other possible options.

Take a look at our Ashes special bets here.

Coral’s betting tip – Root is top England batsman (first innings) @ 3/1