Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith explained why the side decided to go for an all-pace attack for the Boxing Day Test against England that will commence from December 26 in Melbourne. He feels that it is hard to reserve a spot for a specialist spinner in the playing XI considering the conditions at the MCG.
After taking a look at the surface for the 4th Test, Smith remarked that it will mostly offer help to the seamers and pointed out that most of the tracks that they have played on as of recent have all favoured the fast bowlers.
“A lot of wickets we’re playing on at present are certainly more seam-friendly than spin-friendly. Last week was an anomaly; we saw some rough, and we saw Nathan come into play big-time," Smith said at the pre-match press-conference.
“It’s a tricky one. 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,” he added.
Lyon dropped once again
Notably, Australia had used both Nathan Lyon and Travis Head for the third Test in Adelaide where the track had provided assistance to the spinners. Lyon even proved to be quite effective on the pitch and racked up a total of five wickets in the match. However, the veteran spinner has been dropped for the fourth Test just like he wasn't included in the squad for the second Test in Brisbane.
Australia have already won The Ashes
Meanwhile, Australia sealed the Ashes series by deffeating England in the third Test by 82 runs. They have already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the assignment with two matches yet to go. The Three Lions will be playing for pride in the final two games and while they cannot win the series, they will be hoping to put an end to an almost 15-year drought and finally win a Test on Australian soil.
Australia's XII for 4th Ashes Test: Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson.