Ashes Test series: Pride at stake for wounded England

Melbourne: England have lost paceman Craig Overton and may make a further change as they try to restore some pride in Tuesday’s fourth Melbourne Test after surrendering the Ashes to Australia. It’s been a tour from hell for Joe Root’s beleaguered team, succumbing to three heavy defeats which rendered the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney “dead rubbers.”

Root has been in the eye of the storm over the tourists’ underwhelming efforts, with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting deriding him as a “little boy” who has been a “bit soft” during the one-sided series. Several other under-performing senior players, notably Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali, have also been under the gun as some critics call for their axing. Overton was ruled out on Sunday with a rib injury, with either Tom Curran or Mark Wood likely to replace him, while young leg-spinner Mason Crane is pushing for a Test debut.

England and Wales Cricket Board chief Tom Harrison typified the feelings inside the team when he said earlier in the week: “I don’t think this is the moment for rash decisions.” Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow has called on his teammates to rally behind their under-fire skipper. “We don’t just owe him (Root), we owe ourselves as well,” Bairstow said. “We’ve got to go out there and try and win both of these Test matches.”

Talking is one thing, doing is another for England, who have had their moments in the series but have been blown away by big losses — 10 wickets in Brisbane, 120 runs in Adelaide and an innings and 41 runs in Perth. Cook, who became the first Englishman to play 150 Tests during the series, has scored just 83 runs in six innings, while Root has two half-centuries but only a total of 176 runs at 29.33. 

In comparison, Australia skipper Steve Smith is in cracking form and is coming off a Test-best 239 in the third Test. He is averaging 142 for the series.  Smith’s phenomenal form has him in rarefied company, occupying joint second position in the ICC’s all-time rankings list.     

Starc out, Bird in for Boxing Day Test

Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Starc was on Sunday ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test with a heel injury and will be replaced by Jackson Bird. Starc, who is Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the series with 19, bruised his heel bowling in Australia’s series-clinching third Test win in Perth last week.

There wasn’t enough time for him to recover from the injury to his landing foot, with team management officially ruling him out two days before Tuesday’s Melbourne Test. While Starc had been optimistic about his chances of playing, Australia’s selectors took a cautious approach with their star paceman ahead of a key series against South Africa early in the new year.

Starc said he hoped to return for the series-ending Sydney Test on January 4. “It’s never nice to miss but it would be pretty selfish of me to go in to a game not at 100 percent,” he told reporters. “It’s nice that we have won the series and we can play it a little bit safer now. “I think the discussions (with selectors) lasted about 30 seconds... and it gives me a good chance now to have a bit of time off,” he added.