Down 0-3 in the series and having lost another Ashes series, England will aim to play for some pride when they hosts the ruthless Australian side at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne from Boxing Day onwards i.e. from 26th December, 2025. England have been beaten, battered and bruised and will want to come back with a bang and show that pride is still intact. England are searching for their first win in Australia in 18 games having drawn two games.
Australia welcome back Steve Smith back into the side and he comes back as captain with regular skipper Pat Cummins ruled out for the remainder of the series with workload management while Nathan Lyon misses out due to hamstring issues and has had a surgery as well. Australia have named their XII and it will be an all-pace attack in Melbourne with Todd Murphy missing out and two off Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Jhye Richardson getting a go to play the Test match.
England have named their playing XI 48 hours prior to matchday making two changes. Out of form Ollie Pope makes way for young Jacob Bethell while Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the rest of the series due to side strain. For this match, Gus Atkinson replaces him. Two teams with contrasting form comes into this contest. England have been affected by off the field stuff as well which could prove to be a distraction. It remains to be seen whether England can focus on the job in hand and not get distracted by off the field stuff. The stage is set for the 4th and penultimate Test of the series.
Overview
The stage is set for the 4th and penultimate Test to start and it is the Boxing Day Test match set to kick off at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground as Australia takes on England from 26th December, 2025 from 5:00 AM IST onwards. Australia will aim to be ruthless and continue the momentum and take a 4-0 lead while England will play for pride and get their first win in Australia since January 2011 and end the series on a high. Remember, the bigger picture: crucial WTC points for grabs and every Test match and points count a lot.
The Adelaide Test was a must-win game for England and they lost a crucial toss as Australia under Pat Cummins opted to bat first. On the back of a splendid ton from Alex Carey in front of his home ground and a gritty 82 from Usman Khawaja alongside Mitchell Starc also getting a fifty, Australia amassed 371 on the board. Jofra Archer picked up 5 wickets while others chipped in as well.
England in reply got starts but no one kicked on to get big score as they lost wickets at regular intervals as they were 168/8 at one stage. But thanks to Ben Stokes the captain’s 83 and surprise package Jofra Archer’s maiden Test fifty that England recovered and got to 286 which was a decent score as they reduced Australia’s first innings lead to 85 runs. It was a handy lead though for the hosts.
It was the Travis Head show in the second innings for Australia as his 170 took the game away from England. Alex Carey followed up his hundred in the first innings with 72 in the second innings while Usman Khawaja scored 40. England came back well with the ball to elicit a collapse in the end as Australia were bowled out for 349 in their second innings. But the 85-tun lead meant that England had a world record chase of 435 to get in the fourth innings.
In the chase, Zak Crawley made 85 while Joe Root and Harry Brook got starts but fell in their 30s with Brook falling to an awful shot. Jamie Smith looked good for his 60 before giving his wicket away while Will Jacks impressed one and all with his 47 off 137 balls and Brydon Carse looked good for his 39 off 64 balls. But it was a bridge too far in the end as Australia won the game by 82 runs. Dropped catches and lack of game awareness cost England and they were left to rue what might have been.
Australia welcome back Steve Smith and as captain with regular captain Pat Cummins ruled out citing workload management and fellow spinner Nathan Lyon ruled out due to hamstring injury. Todd Murphy and Jhye Richardson have been added to the squad. Australia announced their XII earlier today and they have left out Murphy going with an all pace attack. Josh Inglis gas made way for Smith as well. They will look at the pitch and name final XI from toss time.
England, on the other hand, as usual have named their XI 48 hours prior to the game. They have made two changes from Adelaide with out of form Ollie Pope making way for Jacob Bethell and Gus Atkinson replacing the injured Jofra Archer who has been ruled out of the rest of the series due to side strain. England are having to deal with off-field issues and they must put that to bed and focus on what is ahead of them.
The stage is set for the 4th Test to begin and we have to see whether England puts in the fight or whether Australia will run away with the series as they are at this stage.
Head-To-Head
Australia and England have played against each other in 364 matches. Australia have won 155 off those contests while England have won 112 contests. 97 Test matches have ended in a draw. Australia have dominated England recently and in Australia, it is 16 matches to Australia and 2 matches ended in a draw while England are winless in these last 18 games. England will be up against it in this Boxing Day Test.
Pitch & Weather Report
The pitch at the MCG Test will be a balanced surface with a green tinge expected alongside moisture on Day 1. The ball is expected to swing first up. The pitch tends to flatten out on Day 2 and Day 3. The set batters can cash in and then spinners will come into play towards the backend of the innings. It will be interesting to see the toss decision on Day 1 morning.
Day 1 is expected to be played under mostly cloudy and breezy conditions with temperatures hovering about 16 degrees Celsius during the day. Strong winds will make batting tricky and there is going to be assistance for swing. While there is a small chance of a light shower, rain is unlikely to disrupt play. Day 2 should bring similar challenges for batters with persistent low clouds and cool weather continuing to aid seam movement. Afternoon winds are expected to pick up, further assisting the pacers.
Day 3 will see sunshine and warmer temperatures and there is no rain expected. Batting is expected to become better as the game wears on. Day 4 is likely to be played under bright sunshine and rising heat. The warmer conditions will test players’ stamina. and as the surface starts to show wear, spinners may finally come into play. Day 5 is expected to be the hottest with very warm and clear conditions favouring aggressive batting. The weather will be largely uninterrupted making for a fascinating Test with bat and ball.
Predicted/Announced Playing XIs of both sides
Australia Announced XII: Travis Head. Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Jhye Richardson, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser.
England Announced XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash
Travis Head: Travis Head is having a series to remember with two tons already secured and enjoying his time at the top of the order. He will once again want to give his side a fast start and then take the game away from them. Head has hurt England in this series and will want to fire on boxing day and help Australia get closer to another win.
Mitchell Starc: Mitchell Starc is the leading wicket-taker this series and once again came good when the team needed it on the final morning getting 3 wickets and cleaning up the tail. With Cummins, Lyon and Hazlewood ruled out of the remainder of the series, the onus is on Starc to do well and strike early to put England under pressure. If he does that, then expect England to be on the back foot yet again.
Joe Root: England’s best batter, Joe Root has blown hot and cold this series. He got a hundred at the Gabba but apart from that he has got starts but not converted into big ones which is very unlike Joe. For England to compete and salvage some pride, they will require their talisman to stand up and score big runs and be counted. If he can do so, then we might see England compete otherwise not.
Gus Atkinson: Gus Atkinson returns to the XI after being axed from Adelaide game. He could be the inclusion England needs at the MCG. He is a good bowler and can trouble the Aussies if he gets it right with the new ball. He has got the talent and enough expertise to challenge the Aussie batters and would like to do so in this particular match.
Key Stats/Records to look out for in this clash
- Harry Brook needs 7 runs for 3000 runs in Test cricket. If he did it in his next innings, he would equal Denis Compton (57 innings) as the second fastest for England.
- Ben Duckett needs 31 runs to reach 3000 runs.
- Only Adam Gilchrist, on four occasions, has scored more runs in a year as an Australian Test wicket-keeper than Alex Carey.
- Travis Head’s strike-rate of 90.63 is the highest for an opener in an Ashes series (minimum 100 runs).
Predicted/Possible Outcome of the Match
It is difficult to predict which way this match is going to go. Australia with injury concerns of their own but will believe they can beat England again while England will battle for pride. But with all things going on off the field and everything happening on it, we believe that England will find it hard to come back in this series. So, we reckon Australia will start as favourites to win this match and go 4-0 up in the series. England can upset the apple cards though.
Let’s see how things unfold at the iconic MCG from Boxing Day onwards.
Also Read:Â Ashes 2025-26: Australia Aim To Seal Series Against Bruised England.