Pummelled Poms boot four from Boxing Day Test lineup
Australia's attack has punished England on the pitch while COVID does likewise off it. Photo: Getty
Under-siege England have made four changes for the must-win Boxing Day Ashes Test.
Opener Rory Burns and paceman Stuart Broad have been dropped, along with Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes.
Bowlers Mark Wood and Jack Leach will return to the XI, while Zak Crawley and Jonathan Bairstow will play their first Tests in this series.
England also confirmed Jos Buttler will continue as wicketkeeper, rather than Bairstow taking over the gloves.
“We’re certainly not here to just take part and let 70,000 people enjoy another Australian victory,” Buttler said.
“We have to fight back, we want to win the series and we want to win this Test match. We’ll take that ‘backs against the wall’ attitude because that’s what we need to have.
“I’m sure it will be a hostile environment here but that’s to be embraced and enjoyed, everyone is excited to be here.
“This is why you play the game because you want to be part of big occasions. It isn’t always going to be easy, but you need to turn up in tough situations and play well when it’s hard.”
ENGLAND: Joe Root (capt), Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Butler (wk), Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
-AAP
