Australia’s final XI to be decided tomorrow for the fourth Ashes Test

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia will take an all-pace attack into tomorrow's fourth Ashes Test to face England, but the final XI will be decided on tomorrow morning, with stand-in captain Steve Smith confirming selectors want another look at the MCG surface before making the final decision.

Transcript

00:00Australia's 11 will be decided tomorrow. It'll be based on the wicket. Steve Smith has already

00:06ruled out Todd Murphy. It means the Aussies will head into the fourth test with four quicks

00:11opting for no spinner.

00:12Ten mils of grass, quite furry, quite green, so I dare say it's going to offer quite a

00:18bit. Particularly, I think tomorrow's similar conditions today, quite cold and overcast,

00:23so I dare say there's going to be quite a bit of movement in that surface.

00:28That means Michael Neisser, Jai Richardson and Brendan Doggett will fight for the final

00:32two spots. Steve Smith comes in with Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both ruled out with injury.

00:36You've just got to play what surface you're presented with and this one out here looks

00:41like it's going to offer a fair bit of assistance for the seam bowlers and the weather throughout

00:46the week looks conducive for that too.

00:48It's the traditional MCG Christmas morning for the Australian side, but for fans outside

00:53it may have been a bit weird seeing the English side and the Aussies batting side by side.

00:58It's happened for as long as I can remember on Christmas morning. It's usually a pretty

01:03quiet session. A couple of guys, mainly the batters, just come down, hit a couple of balls

01:07and get out of here and enjoy the festivities of the day.

01:11While the series has been decided, the Aussies are still confident there is plenty to play for.

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