Ashes Second Test Preview: Australia’s Selection Puzzle & England Under Pressure

On the eve of the Second Ashes Test, Cricket Unfiltered breaks down all the chaos, controversy and selection intrigue surrounding Australia and England. Menners and Damian Watson dissect Australia’s secretive team decisions, including Usman Khawaja’s injury, the Travis Head opening experiment, and the possible return of Pat Cummins. England’s turmoil is laid bare — from injuries and questionable selections to ongoing complaints about the pink ball Test. The episode also reflects on Khawaja’s career, covers the latest domestic cricket headlines, and pays tribute to the late Robin Smith. Plus: strong opinions on Bazball, Ben Stokes, WBBL, IPL withdrawals, India’s collapse at home, and why Australia looks set to dominate this Ashes series. (06:10) – Australia’s selection mystery, Head opening and England admitting they were “rattled” (15:00) – Usman Khawaja injury, career reflection and retirement debate (24:50) – England meltdown: Ben Stokes, pink ball complaints & Bazball reality check (33:40) – Tribute to Robin Smith and reflections on his career and legacy 🌎Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here ↣ ⁠https://nordvpn.com/cricketunfiltered⁠ It’s risk- free with Nord’s 30-day money back guarantee! 👍 Cricket Unfiltered Merchandise is Here! We’ve launched our official Cricket Unfiltered merch store thanks to a brilliant partnership with Exactamundo , a longtime supporter of the show. 🛒 Shop now: https://www.chickensaltoftheearth.com/shop/category/Cricket-Unfiltered?c=5469591 🎁 Use Promo Code: CU10 for 10% off your first order! From caps to tees, rep your love of cricket with some top-quality gear. Exactamundo is a video, animation, design and content production company. They produce digital signage, on-screen graphics, sideline animations and videos for sports teams like the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League, Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL and numerous American NBA, NFL and MLB teams. They also create high quality videos and animations for the corporate world, such as product promos and explainer videos. Check them out at exactamundo.com.au Get the inserted AD’s FREE VERSION of the show on our Patreon Page Subscribe to our YouTube page for live streams: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7koDKpKxe0e3yC7NXQx6Q Linktree for listening on podcast apps and finding us on social media: https://linktr.ee/cricketunfiltered Show twitter: https://twitter.com/auscricketpod Menners on twitter: https://twitter.com/amenners TIKTOK: @cricketunfiltered Sponsorship enquiries for host read ads: andrew@piccolopodcasts.com.au Email the show your cricket takes: cricketunfilteredpodcast@gmail.com Piccolo Podcasts: https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/ Founder Andrew Menczel. The first episode aired August 2013. It is a multi award-winning podcast team, the show has featured 15 Australian captains and some of the greatest legends of cricket and an episode is archived in the Australian National Film and Sound Archive. Menners is an accredited cricket journalist and commentator and his interview with Alex Blackwell won a Cricket NSW Media Award. The show was the first ever regular weekly Australian cricket podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices