AAP

England swing four changes for Boxing Day

AAP logo AAP 25.12.2021 05:47:57 Roger Vaughan
Jonathan Bairstow is one of four changes to the England line-up to take on Australia at the MCG.

England have recast their side for the must-win Boxing Day Ashes Test, axing Rory Burns and Stuart Broad amid four changes.

Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has continued the tourists' fighting talk since the second Test debacle in Adelaide, promising a much better contest.

England are 2-0 down and must win at the MCG to keep the five-Test series alive.

They also dropped 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.

The eyes of the Australian batsmen would have lit up at Leach's recall, given the savaging the spinner endured during the first Test in Brisbane.

Buttler said England are determined to spoil the host nation's Boxing Day festivities.

"We're certainly not here just to take part and let 70,000 people enjoy another Australian victory," he said.

"That's why you play the game. You want to be part of big occasions and it doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

"You need to turn up in tough situations and play well."

Buttler will stay wicketkeeper, despite him dropping chances in Adelaide and fellow gloveman Bairstow coming into the side.

"I made some mistakes in Adelaide. It's how you park them and move on and continue to catch the next one," Buttler said.

"There's nowhere to hide as a wicketkeeper. You have to front up, be honest, keep training hard and be ready for the next one."

But Buttler also impressed with the bat in the second Test, curbing his combative instincts during the second innings.

He held Australia at bay with 26 from 207 balls.

"The way I try to play cricket is to play the situation," he said.

"International cricket demands that of you - wherever you're playing in the world, you have to adapt.

"The situation I found myself in the other day, that was all I was trying to do.

It was a fine example of the greater discipline that the English batsmen need to show if they are to be a chance in this series.

"Just watching some of the Australian guys bat, the way they leave on length, the way they don't really change their tempo," Buttler said.

"As a batting group, that's something we need to be able to do and we haven't really done that yet.

"It's a bit of a lesson, the way they've certainly left some very good balls."

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.

samedi 25 décembre 2021 07:47:57 Categories: AAP

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