No spinner for Australia on ‘grassy’ MCG pitch

Australia won’t play a spinner in the Boxing Day Test against Australia, which Melbourne pitch stand-in Steve Smith described as “quite furry, quite green.”

For the fourth Ashes Test against England, which will begin on Friday (23:30 GMT on Thursday), the home side has selected a 12-man squad.

Off-spinner Todd Murphy misses out because the group only has experienced pace bowlers.

Australia will play four seamers, including Cameron Green, according to Smith, who will serve as Pat Cummins’ captain. In the final XI, Michael Neser, Brendon Doggett, and Jhye Richardson are competing for two spots.

Smith has missed his third Test due to illness, so he is back. In Adelaide, Smith was replaced by Usman Khawaja, who was initially dropped from the third Test and came in with scores of 82 and 40.

Josh Inglis is kept in Melbourne while Khawaja is retained. With Green becoming the seventh-rounder, Khalifa will start at number five.

England were bowled out for 185 and 68 in the previous Ashes Test in Melbourne in 2021, but the match was over in three days.

In his Christmas Day press conference, Smith said, “I daresay it’s going to offer quite a bit.”

“Tomorrow’s weather is similar today: quite cold and cloudy.” That surface is going to have a lot of movement going for it.

According to Smith, the description is furry and green because there is 10mm of grass on the surface.

After winning the first three Tests with a 3-0 lead, Australia has already won the Ashes. England are now aiming for a fourth straight win while the home team are also aiming for an 18-game winless streak.

On Christmas morning, England’s players and staff sat side by side in the nets while many of them donned Father Christmas hats.

Before the squads left to celebrate, families made their way to the Melbourne Cricket Ground outfield for a brief period of time.

As a result of Josh Hazlewood’s absence from the series, Australia are without captain Cummins, who is still dealing with a back issue.

In the third Test, off-spinner Nathan Lyon was called into the squad because he suffered a series-ending hamstring injury in Adelaide.

After making his Perth debut in the series opener, Doggett made his debut in the first two Tests. In the second match of the series in Brisbane, Neser took five wickets in England’s second innings, which was his first Test for three years.

Four years ago, Richardson played the final of his three Test matches in this nation’s final Ashes series match. The 29-year-old recently had shoulder surgery and had only been out for ten months.

We are aware of his abilities, despite his lengthy layoff, Smith said. “He’s back in the fold, I think it’s exciting.”

On Wednesday, England announced their starting lineup. Ollie Pope has been replaced at number three by Jacob Bethell, and Jofra Archer, the series’ starting pace bowler, has been sidelined.

In the past, Smith and Archer have engaged in thrilling on-field combat. Archer struck Smith in the head during his Lord’s Test debut in 2019.

When Archer bowled Smith in the final match of this series in Brisbane, the two men exchanged words.

Smith hasn’t stated whether or not he will play in the 2027 Ashes series, which raises the possibility that he won’t face Archer in Test cricket.

“You never want to see good players squandering chances,” Smith, a 36-year-old man, said. Fast bowlers are the cause of injuries. Although it’s unfortunate that he won’t be around, they still have some top seamers.

Following rumor reports of excessive drinking during a break between the second and third Tests in Noosa, England has come under fire. Rob Key, the director of cricket, has confirmed that he will look into the behavior of Queensland’s players.

Ben Stokes, the captain, expressed “empathy” toward his players on Thursday. Following his involvement in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal that led to his dismissal as Australia’s captain, Smith has undergone extensive public scrutiny.