Australia sneaked a two-wicket victory in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston but Ben Stokes' England are aiming to hit back at Lord's, where the second match of the five-Test series starts on Wednesday.

James Milton's 2nd Ashes Test Tips

Australia to win 2nd Test @ 11/10

Ollie Pope over 74.5 match runs @ 5/6

Travis Head to be player of the match @ 14/1

Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.

Setting the scene…..

The 2023 Ashes series was billed as a potential thriller and the first Test at Edgbaston certainly lived up to the hype.

England stayed true to their ultra-aggressive gameplan, declaring their first innings late on day one, and that gamble appeared to have paid off when they reduced Australia to 227-8, chasing 281 for victory on the final day.

However, captain Pat Cummins and number 10 Nathan Lyon shared an unbroken stand of 55 to see the Aussies home and they have fond memories of recent Test visits to Lord's, winning by 405 runs in the 2015 Ashes before a battling draw in 2019.

What	England v Australia
Where	Lord's, London
When	11:00, Wednesday 28th June
How to watch	Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event
Odds	England 13/8, Draw 4/1, Australia 11/10

Australia to win 2nd Test @ 11/10

Australia needed some lower-order batting heroics from Cummins and Lyon to get over the line in Birmingham, where key men Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne contributed just 35 runs between them.

England missed a great opportunity to take a 1-0 series lead at Edgbaston and they cannot bank on getting rid of Smith so cheaply again, especially at Lord's where his last three Ashes scores were 92, 58 and 215.

Home skipper Stokes wanted fast, flat pitches for this series but the deck in the first Test negated the threat of England's record wicket-taker James Anderson.

Australia's bowling attack may well prove superior whatever the conditions, with Mitchell Starc pushing for a recall and spinner Lyon flying high after his eight wickets at Edgbaston.

James Milton's Tip:

England's approach to Test cricket under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum is compelling but risky and Australia, leading 1-0, should be able to dictate the tempo of the second Test.

If they can bat for long periods, as they did at Lord's in 2015, their bowlers have the quality to knock England over and the Aussies are worth backing at 11/10 for a victory at HQ.

Ollie Pope over 74.5 match runs @ 5/6

England's number three Ollie Pope got starts in both of his knocks at Edgbaston, scoring a brisk 31 in the first innings and being bowled for 14 by a beauty from Cummins second time around.

Batting against the new ball at Lord's is a perilous pursuit so Pope will hope England's openers can take the sting out of the Aussie bowling attack before he is required to come in.

However, he has good course form at the Home of Cricket, making 73 in England's first innings against South Africa last summer, when the next-highest score was 20, and racking up 205 off just 208 balls against Ireland at the start of this month.

James Milton's Tip:

Ollie Pope is worth a bet at 5/6 to score over 74.5 match runs at a venue where he made a superb double-century against Ireland in the first Test of the 2023 summer.

Travis Head to be player of the match @ 14/1

Joe Root and Steve Smith are favourites to be player of the match at Lord's, where batting in the middle order is a major advantage, but it could be worth chancing Australia number five Travis Head in that market.

He helped his side weather an early storm in the first Test, scoring a punchy half-century after David Warner, Labuschagne and Smith had fallen cheaply, and he was the leading runscorer in the 2021/22 Ashes in Australia despite missing one match due to illness.

Head is an eye-catching stroke-player who could cause serious problems for England's bowlers as the ball gets soft and the Lord's pitch flattens out.

James Milton's Tip:

Travis Head was player of the match in Australia's victory over India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval at the start of this month and he is a big price at 14/1 to get the same honour at Lord's.

Head has had a terrific couple of years in Test cricket, with his 163 against India the latest highlight, and he looked in good touch in the first Ashes Test.

James Milton's 2nd Ashes Test Tips

Australia to win 2nd Test @ 11/10

Ollie Pope over 74.5 match runs @ 5/6

Travis Head to be player of the match @ 14/1

Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.