The second Test of the 2025/26 Ashes series kicks off tomorrow (December 4). Who will star at the Gabba?
Who will score the most runs?
The second Test is upon us, with England in desperate need of a win after taking a hammering inside two days in Perth. Our partners at Spreadex have a number enticing options available in their Ashes spread betting markets.
When it comes to batters in the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, Travis Head and Steve Smith are tipped to make the most runs, with their Batter Performance spread (i.e., runs in the match) available to buy or sell at 82-90 and 81-88 respectively.
From the England side, Joe Root and Harry Brook's spreads are identical, available to be bought or sold at 72-79. Will Jacks at 42-48 might be a solid bet as well. The young batter is well and truly capable of cracking a quick fifty down the order.
Which bowler will take the most wickets?
Given their familiarity with the pink ball, Australia's bowlers are strong favourites to outperform their English counterparts. Spreadexassigns points for Bowler Performance as follows: 10 points per wicket, and a 25 point bonus for a five-wicket haul.
Mitchell Starc's spread is available to buy at 64-69, reflecting that he could take six or seven wickets in the Test. He is certainly capable of outperforming that.
Starc's teammate Scott Boland is also a solid bet at 48-53. England quick Jofra Archer's Performance spread is the same, but may be less likely to do as well as Boland. Never say never, of course.
How does spread betting work?
Spread betting involves betting on whether a particular outcome will be above or below a bookmaker’s prediction, known as the spread. For example, a spread might be set on the number of runs England will score in an innings—say, 280–290. If you believe they will score more than 290, you “buy” the spread. If you think they’ll score fewer than 280, you “sell” it.
Your profit or loss is determined by how far the actual result deviates from the spread. So, if you bought at 290 and England score 310, you win 20 times your stake. But if they only score 270, you lose 20 times your stake.
The same principle is applied to a variety of other markets that revolve around individual scores or a match result, with a wide range of markets and cricket spread betting options covered.
Read more about the risks and rewards of spread betting here.
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