The Ashes | 3rd Test Preview - It is do or die for Joe Root’s England
England head into the third Test match of the Ashes Down Under 0-2 down, with Joe Root’s men in all sorts of trouble. The tension was palpable after the end of the last game in Adelaide after an unlikely Root outburst where he put the blame straight on the bowlers. And things did not end there. In a column with English news publication The Telegraph, star pacer and one of the most influential members of the English squad - James Anderson, hit back at the batting department for not scoring enough runs on board, calling the Adelaide pitch one of the flattest of all time. The whole scenario is fitting of a facepalm emoji. As if England did not have enough problems already. England make four changes After the whole meltdown, England have made four changes in their playing XI for the Boxing Day Test match. The divisive position of Rory Burns has been handed to another divisive opener in the English circuit, Zak Crawley. Both batsmen, however talented, have come under fire for their silly modes of dismissals. Coming into the MCG Test, Crawley has not had a prolific time in domestic cricket. After his debacle in the two-Test matches against New Zealand at home and then another failure against India, Crawley has scored three fifties in four first class matches. Barring Crawley, England have removed Ollie Pope, the 23-year-old promising youngster, who has been dismissed against all lengths in the last two Test matches. Pope has gotten out twice to Nathan Lyon - once trying to defend the ball and once punching the ball into the hands of the slip fielder. The other two dismissals of the right hander have come against pace - once while trying to hook a short ball, and the other one edging a fuller length ball to the keeper. And who have they brought in as the replacement? None other than the white ball maestro Jonny Bairstow, another player who divides opinion in England over his place in the long format. Bowling changes The final two changes out of the four have been on expected cards. With the inclusion of Jonny Bairstow in the batting department, England have chosen to bench Chris Woakes who played 97 balls in the second innings, delaying England’s defeat for a considerable period of time. His place is taken by Jack Leach. Stuart Broad also finds his way out of the playing XI and is replaced by right arm quick Mark Wood. All in all, this England attack looks more rounded with Ollie Robinson and James Anderson giving them the new ball prowess. Mark Wood will be injecting much needed pace in the attack with Jack Leach playing the role of a primary spinner. Australia bring in Scott Boland For any English fan Australia’s pace bowling riches is scary. The primary bowling line up of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins routed them in the first match of the Ashes series. England would have hoped for some reprieve after both Hazlewood and Cummins were ruled out of the second Test, but it was not to be. The new look attack comprising Jhye Richardson and Micheal Neser demolished the English batting making sure that there was nothing loose offered to the tourists. Pat Cummins returns for the MCG Test match in place of Neser and Australia have decided to give a surprise debut to Scott Boland, who replaces Jhye Richardson. Richardson has been benched over fitness concerns and with Hazlewood not making a return to the playing XI, Boland will be taking over the pace bowling duties. Pitch Report & Weather conditions Melbourne over the past couple of seasons has seen big change in the pitch conditions. In the India series last year, MCG had plenty of grass cover to aid the pace battery of both teams and spinners were helped as well once the freshness died out. One can expect similar conditions and with no rain to affect the game, both Nathon Lyon and Jack Leach can come into play in the later stages of the game. Match Details Australia vs England Match Number - Third Date & Time - 26-30 December, 5:00 Am IST Venue - Melbourne Cricket Ground England Probable XI Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, James Anderson Australia Probable XI David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon CE Fantasy XI Alex Carey, David Warner (c), Steve Smith, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Cameron Green, James Anderson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins (vc)
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