Australia have taken a bold gamble for the pivotal fourth Ashes Test, opting for an all-out pace attack and omitting a specialist spinner from their squad for the Boxing Day clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Murphy Misses Out on MCG Debut
The selectors' decision means Victorian off-spinner Todd Murphy will not make his Test debut, despite being called into the squad as cover for the injured Nathan Lyon. Lyon, Australia's premier spinner, sustained a hamstring injury during the series-clinching victory in Adelaide.
Stand-in captain Steve Smith, who returns to the side after experiencing vertigo symptoms, confirmed the team's direction after inspecting the MCG wicket. The surface, reported to have up to 10mm of grass left on it, convinced the leadership that seam bowlers would dominate.
Smith Backs Seam-Heavy Strategy
"A lot of the wickets we're playing on at present are certainly more seam-friendly than spin-friendly," Smith stated on Thursday. He acknowledged that the Adelaide Oval was an anomaly where Lyon's off-spin proved decisive but insisted the Melbourne pitch demanded a different approach.
"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," Smith explained. He was quick to defend Murphy, emphasising that the omission was purely tactical and not a reflection of the young spinner's skill.
This marks the third time in Australia's last five Test matches that they have entered a game without a frontline spinner, following similar decisions in Jamaica last July and for the second Test in Brisbane earlier this series.
Green Retained as Richardson Pushes for Recall
The 12-man squad sees all-rounder Cameron Green retain his place, albeit sliding down to bat at No.7 following Alex Carey's outstanding performances with the bat in Adelaide. Fast bowler Jhye Richardson is in contention to play his first Test in over four years after a string of injury setbacks, joining fellow quicks Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett in the squad. One of the trio will be omitted from the final XI.
Veteran batsman Usman Khawaja, who impressed with scores of 82 and 40 in Adelaide, keeps his spot and will shuffle down to No.5 to accommodate Smith's return. The opening partnership of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald remains unchanged.
With the Ashes already retained, Australia's focus now shifts to inflicting further misery on England by pursuing a 5-0 series whitewash, a feat not achieved since the 2013-14 series. England's woes are compounded by the absence of pace spearhead Jofra Archer, ruled out of the Melbourne and Sydney Tests with a side strain.
