Akshay Thakur - Wednesday, Dec 24, 2025Australia vs England 4th Test Playing 11: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced their playing XI for the fourth Test match of the Ashes series against Australia. This is the fourth match of the five-match Test series, which will be the Boxing Day Test and will begin on December 26, 2025, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. England is currently trailing 0-3 in the series.
For this Test match, the England team, captained by Ben Stokes, has made two changes to the playing XI from the previous Test. Right-arm fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the remainder of the series, while Ollie Pope is also out of the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test.
Jacob Bethell has been included in the playing XI for the fourth Test, replacing Ollie Pope, and will bat at number three. Gus Atkinson, who missed the third Test in Adelaide, is back in the team. Atkinson comes into the playing XI in place of the injured Jofra Archer.
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue
The Australian team has announced a 15-member squad for the Boxing Day Test. Captain Pat Cummins and veteran spinner Nathan Lyon are unavailable for the match.
Off-spinner Todd Murphy and fast bowler Jhye Richardson have been included in the squad and are expected to play in the fourth Test. Steve Smith will captain the team in Cummins' absence, while all-rounders Michael Neser, Beau Webster, and Brendan Doggett have also been added to the squad. Australia defeated England by 82 runs in the Adelaide Test to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
Cummins has been rested from the Melbourne Test to recover from a back injury, but the captain is expected to return for the final Test, which begins on January 4 in Sydney. Murphy has been included in the squad as a replacement for Lyon.
