England v Australia Fifth Test Day 2 In-play Tips: England under pressure

• Australia have best of day one

• batting conditions tricky

• England need Anderson to step up

England v Australia
Friday 28 July, 11:00
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Fifth Test match odds

Australia took a big step towards taking a series (and moral) victory at The Oval on day one. They bowled out England for 283 and then negotiated what could have been a fiendish 25 overs at the end of the day, losing just the one wicket.

They are 1.9110/11 favourites on the match odds market with England 2.809/5 and the draw at 8.07/1. But it was another topsy-turvy day, perfect for traders who would have been in the position to back-and-lay both teams for more than a green tinge to their garden.

England had rattled along superbly to take charge in the opening exchanges. They crashed to odds-on with Harry Brook and Moeen Ali swashbuckling their way to 183-3 at more than five an over.

If we learnt anything series, however, it is not to trust odds-on favourites so early in the piece, particularly if it is England. Australia, who had been generally sloppy dropping five catches and missing a run out, claimed four for 28 and eventually did the job Pat Cummins asked of them when winning the toss and batting.

There is perhaps no need to start piling in on the tourists as, surely, there will be plenty more flips and flops. But if we had to have a bet at this stage it would probably be on Australia. The likely absence of Moeen Ali, who has a groin injury, could be pivotal in any fourth-innings chase for Australia on a wicket which is increasingly dry.

Lay Australia 1st inns runs

Australia still have much work to do. They will know the potential for failing to grind out a lead after they bowled out India at The Oval for 296 in June in this innings.

On historic second-innings scores this could be a one-dig shootout. The average in the second-innings is just 258 in the last ten years (11 Tests) although that figure is probably artificially inflated by monster totals in 2014 and 2016. The wicket looks to be slightly trickier these days.

England are perhaps at their best counter-punching with the ball. They've not fancied being put under pressure in favourable conditions. At Lord's in the first-innings and Old Trafford in the fourth (71 overs don't forget) they looked leggy and flat.

With expectation slightly diminished, they could hit back, although that appears to be reliant on old stagers James Anderson and Stuart Broad going to the well for surely the penultimate time in an Ashes series.

Anderson's selection for this game was a surprise. He averages more than 40 against the Aussies on this ground and it could be that England live to regret (not that they'd admit it in their tiresome fashion) that Ollie Robinson or Josh Tongue would have been a better bet.

Still, the weight of evidence suggests that Anderson is threat. And that is what England point to. Only last year he took 36 wickets in nine Tests at 19 apiece. England need him to find his form - and quickly. As for Broad his task is to get the legs pumping.

There should therefore be enough faith to consider shorting Australia runs on the par line at 349.5. That line didn't budge much, though, and a shrewder move may be the lay of 375 or more at 2.546/4. No team has made more than India's 296 in second-innings since 2016.

With the weather forecast suggesting another grey, muggy, moisture-filled day - there could be some showers - any Aussie batter hoping for a sun's-out guns-out approach will be disappointed. Batting conditions are likely to be far from perfect.