Nasser Hussain's Ashes 2nd Test 2023 preview, predictions and Lord's slope explained
Sky Sports expert Nasser Hussain discusses all the key issues ahead of the Ashes 2nd Test at Lord's, including the challenge of Lord's and whether England can bounce back.
The Ashes returns with the second Test on Wednesday 28th June and England can't afford another slip-up with Australia leading 1-0 after the opening gambit.
RadioTimes.com caught up with Sky Sports expert Nasser Hussain for an exclusive chat to round up the key storylines going into the showdown at Lord's.
The former England captain spoke about key lessons from the first Test, the slope at Lord's and predictions for the Test match ahead. Find out his full thoughts below.
Elsewhere, read about what Hussain had to say about the Sky Sports WhatsApp group exploding into life after Ollie Robinson – under fire for his heated blast at Australian batter Usman Khawaja – dragged Ricky Ponting into the debate.
Ashes 2nd Test preview with Nasser Hussain
Key lessons from the 1st Test
NH: We learned that the hype lived up to expectation. It absolutely delivered for five days at Edgbaston. Absolutely delivered all the way through. I cannot remember a turgid, boring session.
England were in charge for large parts of the game but Australia are world Test champions for a reason. They have some very, very tough cricketers as we saw at the end. This series will go one way then the other and it's going to be a real fascinating watch with the different styles in front of us.
For all the talk about Bazball and the declaration, it was a red herring. England didn't lose that game because of Bazball, they lost it because their spinner couldn't bowl on the last day because his finger had been ripped to shreds because he hadn't bowled with a Duke's ball for three years and Jonny Bairstow didn't have a great game with the gloves and you had to get 22-24 'wickets' to win the game in the end.
They made mistakes, England, that cost them the game. Cut down the mistakes and going ahead England have still got a really good chance. It's still a very good team, well led, but just cut down the mistakes.
Secrets of Success
Watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 7pm on Wednesday 28th June
Nasser has interviewed some of the greatest leaders in sport, including Jurgen Klopp, Ben Stokes, Emma Hayes, Totto Wolff and Christian Horner.
The documentary explores multiple themes, from dealing with mavericks to implementing a top-to-bottom culture of success – whist providing an intimate look into what makes some of the most well-known sport stars and teams standout above the rest.
Hussain told RadioTimes.com: "I didn't leave any of those 12 interviews thinking there was a bit of bluffing, I left every single one going: "Wow, I would like to have either worked for or played for this individual. All of them."
"There were a lot of common threads throughout the documentary, but with hugely different personalities. You couldn't have two more different personalities than Toto Wolff and Christian Horner! Hugely different, but all very successful.
"There was authenticity, they all used the word authentic. They were authentic as leaders – what they say, they did. There was no bluff, there was no hiding, they were true to themselves and true to their team.
"They're all very much about the people that they hire and looking after the people that they hire, but also hiring people not just on how many goals they scored, or runs they got, but on their character."
The Lord's pitch (and slope)
NH: There's always something there [at Lord's] because of the slope – even if it's flat like Edgbaston you have the slope to play with. The ball moves down the slope and, as a batter, if you're slightly out of form, your head moves down the slope, you lose your balance, you're batting at the Nursery End and someone's bowling from the Pavilion End, the slope is going to the leg side.
Glenn McGrath used to bowl brilliantly from that end, because you didn't know whether to play him or leave him. You'd leave him and you're off-stump. The next innings, you'd play him and it would nip up the slope and you'd nick it.
We probably make too much of it, but there's always something to play with at Lord's. It can get very flat at Lord's in the sunshine, second time around, but again you need your balance of attack. I would say out of all the grounds in the first three Tests definitely, seam-wise, swing-wise, you'd think Anderson, Broad, Hazelwood, Starc, Boland, Robinson will be looking forward to Lord's, especially if there's a bit of cloud cover.
Predictions for the 2nd Test
NH: The last Test shows you're a fool to make predictions. I said the series is going to be 3-2, I'm just not sure which way, I've not changed my mind on that. Australia play good cricket at Lord's but so do England.
If England play like they did last game and cut out those mistakes they made, they've got a very good chance, but it's pressure on. Two-nil down, not many sides come back from that. It's an absolutely vital game.
Just as a pundit, and as a fan, I want as much of this [as possible], I don't want this game 2-0, 3-0, I want this to go right down to the wire so that you have the fans at The Oval turning up 2-2 and it would be quite remarkable. Let's hope England bounce back and that it goes one way and then the other throughout the series.
More from The Ashes: Ashes TV coverage | Ashes radio coverage | Ashes schedule | Ashes squads | Ashes predictions | Ashes highlights | Sky Sports Ashes commentators | Test Match Special Ashes commentators
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
