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England are in danger of dropping to their first series defeat in almost year in India, trailing Virat Kohli’s men 2-0 with just two matches left on the tour. The Three Lions have been a resilient outfit under new coach Trevor Bayliss, losing just one of their series since he took charge in 2015, but their below-par performances in the sub-continent may end their solid record.

(Feature Image “Lords” (CC BY 2.0) by HerryLawford)

Alastair Cook’s side have had major issues coping with excellent spinners in their tours to the United Arab Emirates and India. First Pakistan’s Yasir Shah tormenting their batsmen and now Ravichandran Ashwin has ripped through their batting line-up with relative ease to put his team on the brink of claiming a series win over the Three Lions.

Despite their problems in the sub-continent England’s form elsewhere has been impressive, defeating South Africa on their travels, while they are also current holders of the Ashes. Injuries have hit Cook’s men hard over the past year, leaving them without many of their best players for extended periods, including Ben Stokes and James Anderson, while Stuart Broad has also suffered.

The battling qualities the Three Lions have shown over the 18 months will be need in abundance on their next tour of Australia. Cook’s men were hammered 5-0 in a whitewash defeat to the Baggy Greens on their last visit Down Under. As a result, England are backed in the latest cricket odds at 13/5 to triumph over their great rivals, meaning that there is plenty of work ahead for Bayliss, Cook and the rest of the players to retain the Ashes.

On the bright side for England there is no world-class spinner awaiting them in Australia, while their chief tormentors of the 2013/14 series defeat Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris have both been forced into retirement. The Baggy Greens have problems of their own, highlighted in their series defeats to Sri Lanka and South Africa, while a tough challenge lies ahead against Pakistan.

England host the Proteas and the West Indies next year before their trip Down Under. Should the Three Lions win all those series on the bounce they would have a strong chance of ending the year as the number one ranked side in the world, achieving the feat for the first time since 2011. The only potential obstacle could be keeping their key men fit, which has been the biggest issue Bayliss has encountered since taking over the side.

The Three Lions will play a lot of cricket in 2017 and cultivating depth will be a key factor, although there have been problems keeping a settled 11 on the field. Haseeb Hameed proved his quality even at the young age of 19 that he can be a long-term contributor at the top of the order, although the same could not be said of Ben Duckett, who became the latest name on the carousel to fail to lock down his place in the team, joining James Vince and Gary Ballance to struggle at number four this year.

In the bowling department Chris Woakes’ emergence in the summer would have been a huge relief for the coaching staff to alleviate the pressure on Broad and Anderson, but beyond him Steven Finn and Jake Ball are yet to prove that they can be consistent performers in the team. England are blessed with one of the strongest talent pools in the world and should they fail to make the grade the production line will continue to churn players out like Hameed this year.

England have a daunting task ahead of them, but the reward could propel them onto greater things in the future, especially if they can continue to bring young talent through.

After the exciting grand final finish at the MCG last season that saw the Sydney Thunder defeat the Melbourne Stars in a final over thriller, all eight sides will be gunning for the crown in this season’s sixth edition of the competition.

One of the best Twenty20 leagues in the world has commanded some of the best players of the shorter-format once again, as Stuart Broad (Hurricanes) Ian Bell and Mitchell Johnson (Scorchers) headline some big signings, while England captain Eoin Morgan (Thunder), Kevin Pietersen (Stars) and Dwayne Bravo (Renegades) return for another stint at their respective clubs.

Both Melbourne sides are favourites for the trophy and are at $6.00 (odds courtesy of CrownBet), and are joined at the top by Perth and the Sydney Thunder, with BBL06 set to be the tightest it’s ever been.

Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers follow the top four sides on $7.50 with the Brisbane Heat closely behind them on $8.00.

The Hobart Hurricanes round out the sides at $9.00, although with so little space between the top and bottom sides any team is a genuine chance to win the competition.

The Sydney derby kicks off the BBL06 season on December 20, as the first round of the season goes over the opening three days, before a Christmas break halts play until Boxing Day.

When play resumes on December 26 the summer of cricket gets into full swing, as a BBL game is played on every day bar three before the season comes to a close on January 21. The final will be played on January 28.

Despite not making the final last season, Adelaide will be looking to pick up from where they left off, after the Strikers won seven of their eight matches during the season to finish clear on top of the table.

The Stars and Scorchers finished equal second with five wins each, while the Thunder surprisingly won the title from fourth after four wins and four losses throughout the season.

With half the sides making the finals and given Sydney’s recent success from fourth, every team will believe they’re a chance to win the title from any finals position, which is set to make the upcoming season the best in BBL history.

The England all-rounder, Ben Stokes, has been ruled out of the third test against Pakistan at Edgbaston. Could his absence upset the balance of the side and tip the scales in the opposition’s favour?

BEN STOKES – (CC BY-SA 2.0) by NAPARAZZI

Ben Stokes missed England’s first test against Pakistan emerged as victors by 75 runs. The 25-year-old returned to the fold for the second meeting of the two sides at Old Trafford, as England bounced back to level the series at 1-1. The hosts annihilated their opposition, and won by 330 runs. Stokes put in a fairly decent performance with 34 runs and 2 wickets, but it was perhaps his dressing room and on-pitch presence that helped spur the Lions on to victory.

In the stunning victory, Stokes received the crushing blow that his injury woes are far from over. He tore a muscle in his right calf while bowling, and has not been selected for the Edgbaston test that starts on Wednesday. After suffering from knee problems that saw him miss most of the Sri Lankan tour and the first test against Pakistan, the player who has been compared to Andrew Flintoff by some will be desperately hoping he can recover quickly. If he had managed to avoid injury and had the chance to push on properly after his record innings of 258 against South Africa last year, he could have been on the path towards becoming one of the world’s best.

Even in the all-rounder’s absence, England at odds of 4/6 in the cricket betting to win the series at the time of writing. If they fail to win the third test, though, the best they can hope for is a draw, with the odds for that outcome currently at 5/2.

JOE ROOT – (CC BY-SA 2.0) by NAPARAZZI

The Lions are well favoured for the series after Joe Root’s imperious form shone through in the second test. The Yorkshireman bagged 254 runs in the first innings against Pakistan at Old Trafford, and followed up his career best with 71 not out in the second innings. Certainly, with the 25-year-old fresh from such a huge confidence boost, the Lions will fancy their number 3 batsman can build upon those astonishing hits. The captain, Alastair Cook, is also in fine fettle having scored a century and two fifties so far in the series.

On the back of a solid performance in the second test, England should be able to push on and gain the upper hand in the third. The Lions already have another all-rounder at their disposal in Chris Woakes, who has made an excellent case for his permanent inclusion. The 27-year-old has already picked up 18 wickets and is odds on at 1/16 to be England’s bowler of the series. He hasn’t been quite as convincing with the bat, though, so England may want to play a specialist batsman in Stokes’s place.

There is no doubt that the absence of Stokes is a huge blow for the player and the team, but England have shown how devastating they can be, and can push on to win this series.

Australia surrendered the Ashes without a huge fight in the 2015 series as Stuart Broad led England to victory to reclaim the urn.

The Baggy Greens put in weak efforts with the bat at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge allowed Alastair Cook’s men to avenge their whitewash defeat 18 months prior.

However, they are backed at 2/1 in the latest cricket odds to win back the Ashes Down Under next year, although both teams are a long way from being ready for another encounter.

The series defeat in England brought about the end of Michael Clarke’s career as he struggled with a back injury throughout the summer, while Chris Rogers also departed the international arena, leaving huge voids in the line-up.

Steve Smith continued his impressive run of form in the series with centuries at Lord’s and The Oval, but failed to make an impact in bowler-friendly conditions.

He inherited the captaincy from Clarke and the Aussies made a strong start under his reign by overcoming their defeat to England as they brushed aside New Zealand.

Their dominance with the bat proved to be the difference between the teams in a 2-0 victory on home soil as the Baggy Greens just edged out the Black Caps in the first day/night Test match to clinch their win.

The form of Smith and David Warner at the top of the innings proved to be crucial in the victory, while Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns also notched centuries to solidify their place in the line-up.

Adam Voges was the key figure in the following series win over the West Indies with 375 runs in the three matches, most of which came from an unbeaten innings of 269 in the first Test.

Meanwhile, James Pattinson returned to the fold to provide support for Josh Hazlewood in the absence of Mitchell Starc and led the wicket column with 13 strikes.

Australia continued their resurgence under Smith with another comfortable series win in their tour of New Zealand, with Voges again leading the way with the bat, while Burns scored his second Test century.

Hazlewood stepped forward as the leader of the attack and Jackson Bird offered another option on the bowling front with a five-wicket haul to guide the Aussies to victory in Christchurch.

Smith’s men have developed consistency in their batting line-up with all of their players making contributions to their recent Test victories.

However, the runs were made against mediocre attacks and favourable home conditions, leaving with much to prove before they face off against Broad and James Anderson once again in the pressure-cooker environment of the Ashes.

Their series against South Africa later in 2016 will be key to see if they can hold up against the quality of a varied pace attack as Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada will offer a potent threat.

Encouragingly for Smith and the Aussie selectors the team have managed to build a solid stock of pace bowlers, even though injuries have forced them to include players out of necessity.

Starc and Pattinson’s fitness problems could be a cause for concern over the long term as will Pat Cummins, who has also struggled to remain healthy despite his talent.

Hazlewood has risen to the occasion since leaving England after an underwhelming Ashes series, and it will be on him most of all to improve his wicket-taking ability and temperament, given his exploits against the Black Caps.

Elsewhere Bird, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon all offer solid complements, but the Baggy Greens will need their pacemen to fire to retake the urn back next year.