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Australia, England regroup in Ashes

Some Australians are sore, but England are broken.

The day-four finish to the Boxing Day Ashes Test at the MCG will give the two sides extra time to regroup before the last match in Sydney starts on January 3.

Australia will head north aiming for a rare series whitewash.

The main focus for the home team over the next few days will be the fitness of allrounder Shane Watson and paceman Ryan Harris.

Watson suffered another injury in the first innings when he strained his groin while bowling, but was able to play out the match and made an unbeaten 83 in the second dig.

Harris continues to be a match-by-match proposition, mainly because of a sore knee.

He only bowled 10 overs in the second innings at the MCG and went wicketless.

The only good thing for England out of the fourth Test is they have no such fitness concerns.

But they are a rabble.

They took control on the opening two days for the first time in this series, only to fall apart miserably.

After letting Australia off the hook early on day three, they failed to press home the advantage in their second innings.

They still had a strong chance to win on Sunday, but dropped crucial catches early.

Australia cruised to an eight-wicket win on the back of a career-best 116 from Chris Rogers and his 136-run stand with Watson.

England captain Alastair Cook said he wants to keep the role, but admits the final decision will rest with the selectors.

AAP

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