In festive mood, England walk into the MCG cauldron

The English players had started their training session on Thursday with a game of soccer, with each one of them donning their Christmas caps. It was the day for it. It was also in keeping with the general festive spirit at the MCG around the eve of a Boxing Day Test each year. There were kids running around, families posing for pictures, and a lot of greetings being exchanged.

So, when Harry Brook walked into the nets area with his Christmas cap still on and even ended up facing an over of throwdowns with it, there was nothing untoward about it. Yet, there was a beeline for anyone with a camera standing behind the nets to capture an image or clip of England's vice-captain facing the cricket ball with his fancy headgear on.

Not that much was made about it. But it was just another reminder of how England's Ashes campaign or what's left of it has now quickly shifted more towards what they get up to off the field. It is both a sign of the times we live in and also a tad unfair on a bunch of professional cricketers who are away from home on a long tour, and especially during this time of the year.

This has not been a fun tour for Ben Stokes and his team on the field to start with, and the recent drama surrounding their time in Noosa has only made it tougher. With their chances of winning this series now done and dusted, all England have left is to play for pride, as the cliche goes, but also to save some face before they head home in just over two weeks' time. And probably ensure that the focus around what they're here to do shifts back to what they manage to do on the field. It doesn't get any easier though now that they have to face the music in front of over 90,000 fans at a packed MCG on Boxing Day.

The task for Australia is rather straightforward, as is the case each time they go 3-0 up in a home series. Now that the Ashes have been retained, and the English resoundingly beaten, the stage is now set for the home team to impose some bitter humiliation on their arch rivals, especially in a series that had kicked off with such promise around what England could potentially achieve this time around. And the quest for a whitewash for the Aussies, who too had more of a workout in the nets than usual, starts this week in Melbourne.

When: December 26-30, 2025, 10:30 hrs Local Time (05:00 hrs IST)

Where: Australia v England, 4th Test, MCG, Melbourne

What to expect: Four years ago, the surface at the MCG was so lively that the batters from both teams had such a struggle on their hands that the game was sealed before lunch time on Day 3. It was the Scott Boland show. And according to Steve Smith, the Australian captain for the remainder of the series, what he's seen of the pitch on Thursday suggests to him that this could be livelier. There's the 10 mm grass that Matt Page the curator has left on top, but also the furry nature of the grass that should aid the fast bowlers in abundance. Unlike last year, the first three days of the Boxing Day Test are expected to be much cooler, so the sun will have little impact on the surface. All pointing to the possibility of an early finish again at the 'G.

Team News

Australia:Smith wasted no time during his press conference to declare that Australia would be going in without a specialist spinner for the second time in three Tests. It was under his charge that Nathan Lyon had missed out at the Gabba and now it's the turn of Todd Murphy to be on the bench. The bigger story is the return of Jhye Richardson after a four-year hiatus from the Test team. He's bowled the house down in the nets since joining the squad and looks set to torment the English again like he did in 2021 in Adelaide.

There was some concern around Scott Boland's hip two days out from this Test but he did bowl for a decent amount of time to Jake Weatherald on Thursday morning. Usman Khawaja keeps his place in the team and will bat at No 5 while Cameron Green, who as recently as July as talked up as being a long-term No 3, will drop down to No 7 for the first time in his career. Injuries notwithstanding the final call should be between Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett for the fourth fast bowler's spot.

Probable XI:Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Mitch Starc, Michael Neser/Brendan Doggett, Jhye Richardson, Scott Boland

England:A major chunk of the build-up for England leading up to the Ashes centred around the damage that Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were planning to cause on the Aussie batting. And though Archer has by far been the most impressive bowler for the visitors so far, there's some irony in the fact that both express pacemen are now ruled out of the series with two Tests still to go. That leaves England with a pretty under-strength bowling attack of Carse, Atkinson and Tongue with Will Jacks the spinner on a pitch that might suit their fast bowlers. Jacob Bethell, the only reserve batter, finally gets a go in place of Ollie Pope at No 3, and batted the longest across both days of training in Melbourne. And now gets to play his first Ashes Test in front of the cauldron of the 'G.

Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue