Australia vs England Ashes Tips, Predictions & Odds - Second Test
With the first Test over almost as soon as it had started, it feels as though the Ashes will be getting started for the second time this week, as the teams head to Brisbane for the second Test.
An action-packed two days of cricket in Perth saw England capitulate on the second afternoon and surrender a promising position before succumbing to another embarrassing defeat Down Under, ramping up the importance of the day/night Test at the Gabba, starting on Thursday.
Australia are strong favourites with sports betting sites to go 2-0 up in the series owing to their strong record in pink ball Tests, but Ben Stokes and his players relish in going against the odds and will be out to prove a point.
Free Bets cricket expert, Will Jackson, has picked out some top tips across markets ahead of the second Test, and will have a closer look at each game through the series.
Australia vs England Ashes Tips
Here are our cricket betting tips ahead of the second Test in Brisbane.
Tip 1: Mitchell Starc To Take 5+ Wickets In The 1st Inns
Making any predictions for a day/night Test is pretty tough, because conditions can change so much in the space of a couple of hours.
The general trend I would expect to see is that batting could be fairly straightforward in the early parts of the day, and this is when you would expect batters to cash in.
So if Australia win the toss and bat first, I expect we will see Travis Head come out and play with freedom again and put England on the back foot, whereas if Australia end up batting late on the first day if they bowl England out, then it will be much harder for Head to bat under lights.
So tipping batters is going to be pretty hard, just because we don't know when they will be at the crease.
If you're following this game live, then in-play betting could be a really good option as long as you're aware of the changing conditions.
One thing we can be certain of though, is Mitchell Starc's prowess with the pink ball and his current form.
The pink ball tends to swing more so even if he is bowling during daylight hours, he should cause plenty of problems and build on his 10-wicket haul from Perth.
He also has the wood over Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes already in this series, and he got Joe Root out twice so he will be the man for England to keep out.
Scott Boland came into the game the longer it went on in the first Test. I think he will relish these new conditions and if he sticks to his natural length, he should have more joy against a trigger-happy lineup.
Tip 2: Cam Green to top-score for Australia
I have a sneaky feeling that Cam Green could be the real winner out of Usman Khawaja's injury and enforced absence.
If Travis Head replaces Khawaja at the top of the order as expected, I would expect Green to bat at number five which I think is far more suited to him than number six - where he can be forced into batting with the lower order and tail at times.
A lot has been made of Green being the potential replacement for Steve Smith one day and in his last knock at number four he made a career-best 174*.
He is a proper batter who spends time at the crease rather than a situation-dependent type of player like Ben Stokes is - a more natural number six than Green.
Again, it is very condition-dependent, but Green at five should get far more out of his abilities.
Tip 3: Pope to score 50+, Carse 4+ wickets & Australia win - 6/1
As much as I can see England fighting back in Brisbane, I can't quite seem them getting over the line - but that's not to say I am completely ruling them out.
Unfortunately I think a home win here effectively ends the series, so let's hope that's not the case, but Australia are heavy favourites for a reason.
I'm going to focus this bet builder on two of England's more positive performers from Perth, in Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse.
For me, it was no surprise to see Carse do well. He is a bowler with a lot of strong traits and particularly suitable for these conditions.
And when things are going against you, you need strong characters to stand up for the team and deliver. For me, that's what Carse is and he did well with both bat and ball.
Maybe pitching it up with the pink ball won't quite suit his skill set, but he gets good players out and I'll be interested to see his battle with Steve Smith continue.
Pope was one of the key men in that second-day collapse, but taking that out of the picture, he looked a lot more composed and compact than we have seen him for a while.
Yes he tends to fall away the longer series go on, but I wonder if we might see a bit of a breakout series for Pope this winter - or at least be a bright spark in an underperforming lineup.
Australia vs England Latest Odds
Australia were the pre-series favourites with cricket betting sites ahead of the game, here's a look at the latest odds.
Where to Watch Australia vs England
Looking forward to watching the Ashes? Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
TV Channel
In the United Kingdom the series is being broadcast exclusively on TNT Sports for live coverage of the Ashes Test matches.
Live Stream Information
You can also stream the series in the UK through the discovery+ streaming platform (which carries TNT Sports content) and TNT’s live streaming services, providing on-demand and live coverage of each Test in the series.
Start time
Test match start times will vary by day and Test location, and full daily coverage typically begins each morning in UK time given the matches are staged in Australia.
The second Test will start at 4am UK time.
Fixture date
The second Test will start on Thursday, 4 December.
Stadium
21–25 November 2025 at Perth Stadium (Perth)
4–8 December 2025 at The Gabba (Brisbane)
17–21 December 2025 at Adelaide Oval (Adelaide)
26–30 December 2025 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne)
4–8 January 2026 at Sydney Cricket Ground (Sydney)
