England have announced their squad for the fourth Test against Australia which will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The team has made two changes – fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out due to left side strain and Ollie Pope will also miss out. In their place, Warwickshire’s Jacob Bethell will come in to bat at number three, and Surrey’s Gus Atkinson returns to the team after missing the previous Test.
England squad for 4th Test
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (Captain), Jamie Smith (Wicketkeeper), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue
England still searching for a win
The Ashes this time has been extremely humiliating and disappointing for England as the team has failed to win a single match and Australia currently leads by 3-0. Both captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum acknowledged the mistakes made by the team and took full responsibility of the failures in the last three Tests. Now Ben Stokes and co. will be playing for pride and will be aiming for a victory which will also give back a little confidence.
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Australia captain Pat Cummins misses Boxing Day Test
Steve Smith will also be taking over the captaincy as Pat Cummins will sit out for the Boxing Day clash as a part of his workload management despite collecting six wickets on his return from a back issue in the third Test. With Australia already holding a commanding 3–0 lead, Cummins’ availability for the Sydney Test also remains uncertain.
