Ashes: England look to recover some pride against Australia in Sydney

SYDNEY: While rising COVID-19 cases and rain will present logistical challenges to this week's fourth Ashes Test, another limp performance from

England

would be a threat to the already damaged credibility of the iconic series.


Without a single century or five-wicket haul to their collective name in three heavy losses in the series to date, the tourists have only pride to play for when they take to Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for day one on Wednesday.

Day three on Friday will mark exactly 11 years since England last won a Test match Down Under, a famous January morning when Andrew Strauss's side mopped up the remaining three Australian wickets to secure an innings and 83-run victory.


A crowd of 19,000 England fans celebrated wildly at the SCG as the wickets tumbled to seal an emphatic 3-1 series triumph built on disciplined bowling and big batting.

Since that morning, England have managed to eke out just a single draw in 13 Tests over three tours and the last two Ashes Tests in Sydney have resulted in humiliating defeats.

Australia

have enjoyed dominance for lengthy periods before, and England will feel they can still be competitive on home soil, but the lustre of the Ashes so apparent in 2011 has dulled considerably over the last month.

Preparations for the Sydney Test have been as complicated as the rest of the tour with England coach Chris Silverwood unable to travel with the squad because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the camp.

The under-utilised Stuart Broad has finally been brought back into the bowling attack for the match and England fans will be hoping it is not a case of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Embattled captain Joe Root, who will not consider his position until after the tour, defiantly maintained that his squad has the talent to challenge Australia at the SCG and in the fifth Test in Hobart.

"We are better than the performances we have put in, and we have two chances to try and get something from the rest of the tour," he told reporters on Monday.


Australia, by contrast, could hardly be in better shape as they look to sweep the series to bolster their position in the World Test Championship standings.

Travis Head

, who tested positive for COVID-19, will be replaced in the middle order by Usman Khawaja, who made his Test debut in the 2011 Ashes Test at the SCG.

Paceman Josh Hazlewood is still struggling with a side strain he picked up in the series opener in Brisbane so the selectors have stuck with

Scott Boland

.

Boland's six for seven in the second innings on his Test debut helped the hosts to an innings and 14-run victory in Melbourne, underlining the current depth of Australian fast bowling.

Glenn McGrath, one of Australia's all-time great pacemen, is likely to be absent from the SCG after testing positive for COVID-19 but his breast cancer charity will again turn the ground pink on day three of the Test.

McGrath will perhaps be comforted a little by the knowledge that his traditional Ashes prediction of a 5-0 whitewash for Australia remains very much on the cards.

Following is a fact box on the fourth Ashes Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Wednesday.

WHERE?

Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney - Capacity: 48,000

WHEN?

January 5 to 9. Play starts at 10:30 a.m. local time (2330 GMT Tuesday)

AUSTRALIA (World ranking: 3)

Team: Pat Cummins (captain), David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.

Coach: Justin Langer

ENGLAND (World ranking: 4)

Team: Joe Root (captain), Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.

Coach: Chris Silverwood

WHAT THE BOOKMAKERS SAY*

Australia win: 6/5

England win: 9/1

Draw: Evens

MATCH OFFICIALS

Umpires: Rod Tucker (Australia), Paul Reiffel (Australia)

TV umpire:

Paul Wilson

(Australia)

Match referee: Steve Bernard (Australia)

HISTORY

Previous Australia v England Tests in Sydney

Matches: 56

Australia wins: 27

England wins: 22

Draws: 7

YEAR WINNERS MARGIN

1882 Australia 5 wickets

1882 Australia 6 wickets

1883 England 69 runs

1883 Australia 4 wickets

1885 Australia 6 runs

1885 Australia 8 wickets

1887 England 13 runs

1887 England 71 runs

1888 England 126 runs

1892 Australia 72 runs

1894 England 10 runs

1895 Australia inns & 147 runs

1897 England 9 wickets

1898 Australia 6 wickets

1901 England inns & 124 runs

1902 Australia 7 wickets

1903 England 5 wickets

1904 England 157 runs

1907 Australia 2 wickets

1908 Australia 49 runs

1911 Australia 146 runs

1912 England 70 runs

1920 Australia 377 runs

1921 Australia 9 wickets

1924 Australia 193 runs

1925 Australia 307 runs

1928 England 8 wickets

1932 England 10 wickets

1933 England 8 wickets

1936 England inns & 22 runs

1946 Australia inns & 33 runs

1947 Australia 5 wickets

1951 Australia inns & 13 runs

1954 England 38 runs

1955 Match drawn

1959 Match drawn

1963 Australia 8 wickets

1963 Match drawn

1966 England inns & 93 runs

1971 England 299 runs

1971 England 62 runs

1975 Australia 171 runs

1979 England 93 runs

1979 England 9 wickets

1980 Australia 6 wickets

1983 Match drawn

1987 Australia 55 runs

1988 Match drawn

1991 Match drawn

1995 Match drawn

1999 Australia 98 runs

2003 England 225 runs

2007 Australia 10 wickets

2011 England inns & 83 runs

2014 Australia 281 runs

2018 Australia inns & 123 runs

SERIES

First Test Australia won by nine wickets at the Gabba

Second Test Australia won by 275 runs at the Adelaide Oval

Third Test Australia won by innings and 14 runs

Fifth Test January 14-18 Bellerive Oval (Hobart)