Australian captain reveals bowling combination for Boxing Day Test in Ashes 2025-26
While Melbourne Cricket Ground is ready to host the usual Boxing Day Test, Australian stand-in captain for the last two Tests Steven Smith revealed the bowling combination for the fourth Test of the series.
While Melbourne Cricket Ground is ready to host the usual Boxing Day Test, Australian stand-in captain for the last two Tests Steven Smith revealed the bowling combination for the fourth Test of the series.
It is going to be the last Test of 2025, while the hosts Australia have already secured the five-match Ashes Test series by winning the first three matches of the series. The visitors England will play the remainder of the Test series to get back some respect, while the Baggy Greens are ready to continue their domination, despite missing some of their key players.
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We're going to be playing four quicks, no spinner: Aussie stand-in captain Steven Smith
Regular Aussie captain Pat Cummins and experienced off-spinner Nathan Lyon have been ruled out of the series due to injuries. One day before the beginning of the Melbourne Test, the Australian stand-in skipper Steven Smith clarified that they would go with four fast bowlers and no spinner for the upcoming match. The reason for the pace-heavy team is due to the condition of the pitch, where the green grass is furry.
Smith said, "We landed on a 12. I want to just take a look at the wicket tomorrow. We're going to be playing four quicks, no spinner."
The Australian stand-in skipper further commented on the present situation of the pitch by quoting, "10 mils of grass, quite furry, quite green. So, I dare say it's going to offer quite a bit. Particularly, I think tomorrow [will be] similar conditions [to] today, quite cold and overcast. So, yeah, I dare say there's going to be quite a bit of movement in that surface."
The maximum temperature for the first three days is expected to be 26 degrees, as the forecast is cooler for the Test match.
In the second Test of the series, which was a day/night pink-ball Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia went with four fast bowlers, while the experienced spinner Nathan Lyon was benched. Although Lyon returned to the third Test, his injury forced him to miss the last two Tests of the series.
It's certainly nothing to do with Todd's skill: Steven Smith
The 25-year-old off-spinner Todd Murphy has replaced injured Lyon for the last two Tests of the series. However, Smith is unlikely to use Murphy for the Melbourne Test, only due to the seam-friendly pitch this summer.
Speaking about the bowling combination for this Test series, Smith said, "I think a lot of the wickets we're playing on at present are certainly more seam-friendly than spin-friendly. Last week was an anomaly [in Adelaide]. We saw some rough and we saw Nathan come in to play big time last week.
"You've just got to play what surface you're presented with and this one out here looks like it's going to offer a fair bit of assistance for the seam bowlers and the weather throughout the week looks conducive for that too. I think if Nathan was here, we'd probably still be having the same conversation as well. So it's certainly nothing to do with Todd's skill."
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