Steve Smith confirms all-pace attack for Australia in Boxing Day Ashes Test on green MCG pitch

3 weeks ago 3

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The iconic Boxing Day Test promises a fierce contest as Australia chase a commanding lead against England.

Ashes cricket Test match between Australia and England(AFP)

Stand-in captain Steve Smith has locked in an all-seam bowling line-up for the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), favouring pace on a grassy surface while omitting specialist spinner Todd Murphy.

Smith, returning to lead after recovering from illness, described the MCG pitch as "quite furry, quite green" with 10mm of grass cover. Cool and overcast conditions forecast for the opening days should provide plenty of assistance for swing and seam.

Steve Smith's bold pace-heavy strategy

Australia will go spinner-less for the third time in five Tests, a tactic that proved successful earlier in the series.

"I dare say it's going to offer quite a bit," Smith said. "Particularly, I think tomorrow's similar conditions to today, quite cold and overcast. I dare say there's going to be quite a bit of movement in that surface."

He noted that recent Australian pitches lean towards seam rather than spin, calling Adelaide's turning track an outlier where the injured Nathan Lyon excelled.

"I think a lot of the wickets we are playing on at present are certainly more seam-friendly than spin-friendly," he said. "This one out here looks like it's going to offer a fair bit of assistance for the seam bowlers. The weather throughout the week looks conducive for that, too."

Smith added that the discussion about dropping spin would have happened even if Lyon was fit.

"It's certainly nothing to do with Todd's skill. We know he is a quality bowler... I am sure he is going to have a pretty good chance to play next week in Sydney."

Jhye Richardson eyes Test comeback

Jhye Richardson stands poised for his first Test in four years, having rebuilt fitness after shoulder surgery. He faces competition from Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett for the final spots alongside Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.

"He has just got a great set of skills," Smith said. "Swings the ball both ways, seams it, accurate. He is a bit more skiddy than some of the others, he's a little bit shorter, bowls decent pace... If he gets his opportunity tomorrow, I'm sure he'll be extremely excited."

Lineup tweaks and confidence in Cameron Green

Usman Khawaja keeps his spot, moving to No. 5 as Smith slots in at four. The opening pair of Jake Weatherald and Travis Head remains intact, while Cameron Green drops to No. 7 behind Alex Carey amid a lean run.

Smith defended Green, praising his bowling and fielding. Notably, selectors resisted replacing Green with Beau Webster, showing continued faith in the talented all-rounder.

"He is bowling nicely," Smith said. “Obviously picked up a key wicket in the last game with Harry Brook... It's about just making those starts and turning them into bigger scores. We've seen how talented he is... Hopefully, he can make some runs this week.”