Oz hands Test debut to Boland, England makes four changes

Australia will give fast bowler Scott Boland a Test debut in the third Ashes match, beginning Sunday at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, while England has made four changes to its playing eleven.

Boland was brought in as cover earlier this week and received the starting nod when fellow fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser were ruled out because of muscle soreness. Josh Hazlewood was already out as he continues to recover from a side strain, meaning that captain Pat Cummins and Boland are the two inclusions to the Australian line-up.

“Jhye and Neser were a little bit sore after Adelaide, so we have decided to go with Scotty,” said Cummins, who missed the Adelaide Test after being a close contact of a COVID-19 case. “It is a luxury to have someone like him, who is fresh and ready to go,” added skipper Cummins.

Australia, which leads the five-match series 2-0, can wrap up the series and clinch the Ashes with a victory at the MCG. England, meanwhile, dropped opening batter Rory Burns and pace bowler Stuart Broad, along with Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes.

Fast bowler Mark Wood and left-arm spinner Jack Leach return to the side, while Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow will play their first match in this series. England also confirmed that Jos Buttler would continue as wicketkeeper, despite the presence of Bairstow. Buttler was in a confident mood on Saturday, at a Christmas morning media conference.

“We are certainly not here to just take part and let 70,000 people enjoy another Australian victory,” Buttler said. “We have to fight back; we want to win the series and we want to win this Test match. I am sure that it will be a hostile environment here, but that is to be embraced and enjoyed. Everyone is excited to be here.”

LINE-UPS: AUSTRALIA: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland

ENGLAND: Joe Root (c), Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach and James Anderson