Australia on track for a clean-sweep, England desperate for redemption as Ashes heads to Melbourne
The Ashes are over as a contest with Australia 3-0 ahead in the five-game series. England only have pride to play for, which begs the question, which England will show up in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test? Will it be a brow-beaten England, bereft of confidence and continually second-guessing themselves; or will it be an England side able to play with freedom now that the weight of expectation has been lifted?
England are currently seventh on the WTC rankings with 27.08% while Australia are first at 100%.
This is the fourth successive Ashes tour in which England have lost the first three Tests.
By the time Australia tour England in 2027, it will be 12 years since England last won an Ashes series.
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has had surgery on his torn hamstring and will miss the remainder of the series. While nothing has been said, the injury could spell the end of his illustrious career. Off-spinner Todd Murphy, who has seven Test caps to his name has been called up as a replacement for Lyon.
Steven Smith is fully recovered from his vertigo and will return to the starting XI where he will assume the captaincy from Pat Cummins who is unlikely to play.
Jhye Richardson is in contention to play his first Test in four years – the big question for Australia is do they play a spinner or do they go with an all-fast bowling attack?
With Smith back in the mix and Usman Khawaja amongst the runs in Adelaide it looks likely that Cameron Green will lose his place in the side for Melbourne. If he stays, then Josh Inglis could be the man to carry the drinks.
England have now gone 18 consecutive Tests in Australia without a win. That’s a streak that began with their 5-0 drubbing in the 2013-14 Ashes.
Thus far the series has seen just 4719 deliveries – it’s the second fewest balls bowled to achieve a series win in the history of the Ashes. The fewest was the 3991 balls sent down in the 2001 series.
England’s Jofra Archer has sustained an injury to his side and flown home. he will miss the remainder of the series as he tries to recover in time for the T20I World Cup. Archer will be replaced in the starting XI by Gus Atkinson.
England’s Ollie pope has paid the price for his diminishing returns and poor shot selection by being dropped. In his place England have named youngster Jacob Bethell, a player with plenty of potential but one who has yet to score a First-Class century.
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
England have won 20 of the 57 Tests they have played at the MCG.
The last time England won at the MCG was in 2010 when an undefeated knock of 168 from Jonathan Trott saw the tourists to victory by an innings and 157 runs.
Australia have played 117 Tests at the MCG – of those they have won 68, lost 32 and drawn 17.
The MCG is a venue where you want to bat first – of the 117 Tests played there the skipper who won the toss opted to bat first on 82 occasions. Fielding first has been the choice just 35 times.
The team batting first at the MCG has won 58 times, lost 42 and drawn 17 times.
The average first innings score at the MCG is 307.
The highest total made at the ground was Australia’s 624 for eight in 142 overs made against Pakistan in 2016.
England hold the record for the highest score successfully chased at the ground to win a Test. Back in 1928 they scored a record 332 for seven to win by three wickets.
Weather:
After a chilly Christmas, Melbourne’s daytime weather shifts from cool to hot. Boxing Day remains crisp at 16 degrees under cloudy skies. Temperatures climb to 19 on the 27th and 23 on the 28th as sunshine returns. Heat peaks on the 29th at a sunny, before the 30th brings a slight dip to 29°C with late-day rain – the only time in the current long-term forecast where any rain is predicted.
Form (most recent game first):
Australia: W, W, W, W, W.
England: L, L, L, L, D.
Key player:
Australia, Alex Carey: The Australia wicketkeeper has been sensational all series, both with the bat and behind the stumps. He delivered a Man of the Match performance in Adelaide with scores of 106 and 72 while also bagging six catches and a stumping. He has scored 267 runs in the series at an average of 66,75. His ability to stand up to the stumps to bowlers like Scott Boland and others has also rattled England as they have not been able to exercise the levels of aggression they would like. As it stands Carey is well on his way to being named Player of the Series.
England, Ben Stokes: If the England skipper hopes to hold onto his job once the series is over, he needs to step up and be the rallying point for his team. Stokes has had a solid tournament thus far with his first innings knock of 83 in Adelaide noteable for its circumspection and patience. In what appeared to be a marked step away from the BazBall approach, Stokes got his head down and grafted. He will need to show plenty more of that grit if England are to have any chance of salvaging some pride. Thus far in the series Stokes has passed 50 twice. He has scored 165 runs at an average of 27.5 and taken nine wickets at an average of 25.88. It has been a good all-round performance – but England still need more.
Verdict: Australia
England haven’t won a Test in Australia in their last 18 attempts and that is a stat that doesn’t look likely to change. Speaking to ABC Radio after Adelaide Marnus Labuschagne said: “We have to say, being called the worst Australian team in 15 years… like it’s nice to be sitting where we are, 3-0 up. But the job’s not done yet. We want to make sure it’s 5-0 and really take that urn.” Expect unrelenting pressure from Australia as they look to drive home their dominance.
