Australia are flying high in the ongoing Ashes 2021-22 as they have opted to make only one change to their winning combination from the third Test. Usman Khawaja will come in for Travis Head whereas pacer Scott Boland will keep his place after a 'Man of the Match' performance in the Boxing Day encounter. The Aussies who lead the Ashes 3-0 will try to culminate further misery on the English side as the teams prepare for the fourth Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Boland, drafted into the team for the third Test after Josh Hazlewood's injury, was instrumental as the Aussies ran out winners by an innings and 14 runs. The debutant Boland picked up six wickets in the second innings to showcase his brilliance. Head, meanwhile tested positive for Covid-19 and will remain unavailable for the contest. Khawaja, a natural replacement will make his comeback for the national side for the first time since August 2019.
Captain Pat Cummins also confirmed that Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson will also miss out as they are yet to be fit. This also means spinner Mitchell Swepson will have to wait for another turn to make his Test debut.
England on the other hand have drafted back Stuart Broad for the SCG Test. Ollie Robinson, their leading wicket-taker will miss the encounter with a shoulder injury. Broad was dropped for the third Test after a poor showing in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Broad has 526 wickets in 150 Tests matches and will be poised to salvage some pride for England.
Playing XI for SCG Test
Australia XI: Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
England XI: Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson
