Australia Plays XI vs England – 4th Test, The Ashes 2025:
Openers: Travis Head, Jake Weatherald
Australia will look to continue the momentum they have gained from a win in the first three matches of The Ashes when they take on England in the fourth match of the series.
However, the home side will have to make at least three changes to the squad, with the team’s vice-captain expected to return as captain for this particular match in the absence of Pat Cummins, who has been rested for the past two matches.
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Along with Smith, Jhye Richardson is likely to be part of the playing XI in place of Cummins, with Todd Murphy replacing Nathan Lyon, who suffered an injury on the final day of the Adelaide Test.
Smith’s return would mean a middle-order rejig with Usman Khawaja, who was included in the playing XI at the last minute in the final Test and expected to bat at number five, meaning Josh Inglis could miss out in Melbourne.
The rest of the batting line-up should remain the same, with Travis Head scoring his second century in the ongoing series and opening the batting with Jack Weatherald.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk),
Australia’s middle order consists of Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja and first-innings centurion from the previous match, Alex Carey.
Australia would want their middle order batters to put up a similar performance in the upcoming match as they did in Adelaide when the team lost early wickets.
The pair of Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey formed a vital partnership for the fifth wicket and helped the team reach safety, and were supported by lower-middle order batting such as Mitchel Starc, who also scored a half-century.
The onus will be on the top five batters to score the bulk of the runs for the team and not depend on the lower order batters to get them out of trouble.
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland, Jhye Richardson
Unlike the batting, which won’t see many changes, Australia’s bowling line-up will be without the services of regular captain Pat Cummins and veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, as mentioned above.
The pair will be replaced by Jhye Richardson and Todd Murphy respectively, both of whom have been included in the squad for this particular match.
The team would back the duo for a good performance and continue the good work done by other bowlers in the first three matches.
In addition to Richardson and Murphy, the bowling attack will also include Scott Boland, who will have fond memories of playing at this venue against England in 2021 and would be looking to repeat the same effort in the next match.
Boland is joined by Mitchell Starc, who has an Ashes to remember with both bat and ball, and fast bowling all-rounder Cameron Green.
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