Melbourne: Both Australia and England will have new faces in their pace attacks when the Boxing Day Test gets underway at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here, Tuesday. The hosts will have Jackson Bird replacing the ‘heeled’ out Mitchell Starc while England will have Tom Curran replacing the injured Craig Overton. Skippers of the both the sides, Steven Smith and Joe Root confirmed the changes while talking to reporters here Monday.
Smith also admitted that he still had pain in his right hand after being struck in the nets Sunday but would play. Australia have already reclaimed the Ashes after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series and are chasing a 5-0 whitewash over the beleaguered tourists.
Smith said Bird, the leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker with 25 at 16.56 in four games for Tasmania this season, deserved his chance.
“He’s (Bird) worked very hard. He hasn’t played since this game last year and he’s been on a few tours,” Smith told reporters. He’s bowled exceptionally well in the first couple of Shield games that he played (this season). Hopefully he goes really well here.”
Smith, who boasts a Test average of 127.6 at the MCG after posting centuries in the past three Boxing Day games, said he still wasn’t feeling 100 per cent after taking a blow on his right hand.
“It was a little bit sore today (Monday) while playing a few different shots,” Smith informed. “But I’ll be able to deal with it and I’ll get on with it. Maybe I’ll just have to use a bit more of my top hand throughout the game, a bit less wristy.”
Smith also said the MCG drop-in wicket looked flat meaning hard work for the bowlers. “It looks pretty flat. It doesn’t look like there will be great deal of sideways movement, maybe a bit of reverse swing as the game goes on,” he pointed out.
Smith also said wicket-keeper Tim Paine has joined his teammates at training after his arrival here was delayed by family health problems.
Meanwhile it will be a great opportunity for Curran to prove his credentials. He has played three T20s and an ODI and was not originally chosen in England’s Ashes touring squad. But he got his chance when Steve Finn left the tour early with knee cartilage problems and now has a Test opportunity following Overton’s injury setback.
“Tom offers a lot and is a real competitor,” Root told reporters. “The way he goes about things is very similar to Craig (Overton) actually.”
Apart from Curran’s selection, under-fire senior players Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad held their team spots, while out-of-sorts Moeen Ali was preferred to young leg-spinner Mason Crane as the sole spinner.
Agencies