Australia to make 11th hour call on team selection for second Ashes Test at Lord’s

Australian captain Tim Paine will make the final call on his bowling attack for the Lord’s Test at the last moment, with a late assessment of the pitch to dictate if a winning team is to be changed.

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The famous Lord’s slope could play a determining role in whether Australia deploys an unchanged line-up from its Ashes-opening victory or shakes up its pace attack.

Australia roared to a 251-run victory at Edgbaston, with Nathan Lyon producing a six-wicket second innings haul to spin the tourists to a famous win, with ample support from his fast bowlers.

Captain Tim Paine has again confirmed that the final spot in the Australian team will be a last-minute decision on Wednesday — similar to at Edgbaston where Peter Siddle pipped Josh Hazlewood on the morning of day one.

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The pitch and weather conditions will be crucial in determining whether Siddle, Pat Cummins and recalled quick James Pattinson keep their partnership going.

Josh Hazlewood is raring to go after an impressive showing in the tour match at Worcester.

Barring injury it seems unlikely that Cummins, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler and the team’s vice-captain, will be overlooked for any of the five Tests.

Siddle has played two Tests at the ground for two losses, but his meticulous line-and-length style was widely praised after Edgbaston and seems tailor-made for this fixture.

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Pattinson bowled with serious pace in the first Test, returning match figures of 2-111, and has been earmarked for a big series by those within the Australian team while left-arm enforcer Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood both looked devastating in the midweek tour-game at Worcester.

Tim Paine must decide whether or not to break up the winning team from Edgbaston.

But, according to Paine, it will be what they see in the clouds and on the pitch which will determined the final call — with a flat deck providing a potential promotion for Starc.

“We’ll make a call on the conditions and what we think is going to be the best combination of bowlers,” Paine said.

“But also knowing this is a big series and there’s going to be a lot of overs bowled, and there’s a lot of cricket coming up.”

Peter Siddle’s place is under pressure but he did little wrong in the first Test victory.

When asked if the slope would be a factor in how Australia would approach the second Test, Paine said: “A little bit. A couple of our bowlers have got very good records here.

“Whether that is just because the wicket offers a bit or the slope, I’m not sure.

“Slope or no slope, we’ve still got to get the ball in the right areas, hit the right length. That we’ve spoken about a lot as a bowling group. If we do that here, with or without the slope, the result will take care of itself.”

Mitchell Starc may be an option if the pitch is deemed as lifeless as that at Edgbaston.

The curiosities of the Lord’s pitch boil down to its famous slope, with one side of the ground being 2.5m lower than the other, and the various ways of unlocking the secret.

Some players, like Glenn McGrath, were masters of using it to their advantage and profited handsomely while others (think 2009-era Mitchell Johnson) got the radar wrong and were punished accordingly.

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England sensation Jofra Archer, who took an eight-wicket haul at the ground for Sussex, said the slope can certainly work in your favour; but good bowling remains good bowling.

“I think the slope did have a hand in some of the dismissals,” Archer said of his bowling at Lord’s.

“If one nips down the slope it’s a good ball, if it doesn’t nip down the slope it’s still a good ball.

“The margin of error sometimes can be a lot bigger than at most other grounds.”