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Hoggard warns of whitewash danger Australia gunning for Ashes sweep
(about 1 hour later)
Bowler Matthew Hoggard fears an Ashes whitewash could leave mental scars on England's next generation. England will be aiming to stave off the first Ashes whitewash since 1920/21 when the fourth Test starts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day.
England, down 3-0 going into the fourth Test on 26 December, have only been swept 5-0 once, 86 years ago. But with Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath retiring from Test cricket after the final game in Sydney, Australia will be fully focused on a clean sweep.
"We have got to prove to the guys on the tour, to ourselves, that we can beat Australia," Hoggard said. Warne, playing on his home ground, needs just one more wicket to become the first man to take 700 in Tests.
"We need to not get mentally scarred, saying Australia are unbeatable, because it's going to be a different story in 2009 and different personnel." A world record crowd of 100,000 is expected on the opening day.
With Michael Vaughan injured and Marcus Trescothick and Ashley Giles having returned home, Hoggard and Steve Harmison are the only remaining members of the squad who played on the last Ashes tour of 2002/03. All tickets have been sold for Boxing Day to surpass the 90,800 for the second day of the fifth Test against the West Indies at the MCG in February 1961.
Australia were in an upbeat mood in training Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And Warne, who can expect an emotional send-off in his 144th Test, is keen on another humiliation of England.
But Hoggard admitted the tourists were struggling to stay positive. There are a lot of lads who want to prove they can win a Test match in Australia Andrew Flintoff
"Everybody's gutted. We wanted to come out here and play to the best of our abilities and I don't think we've done that," he said. "As far as I'm concerned we've got two Test matches to play and I just want to finish the series on a high," Warne said.
"But Australia have proved what a good side they are ... you don't stay the top side for six years without putting in some great performances." "I think if we can win 5-0 that would be a fantastic achievement for a great team."
With team departures dominating headlines ahead of the Melbourne Test, coach John Buchanan said he would work on keeping his team focused on the task in hand.
"With a range of news around us it might be a bit of a distraction but hopefully we are a better team than that," said Buchanan.
"Our mission here is not only to win the Ashes but also establish a huge gap between us and England."
Australia, who should be unchanged for the fourth Test, took just 15 days to seize the urn off England, rebounding spectacularly from last year's series loss in England.
The much-anticipated series has been a huge let-down with Australia romping to massive wins over Freddie Flintoff's England team in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Read should take the wicket-keeper's gloves from Geraint Jones
Australia have only been dismissed twice in six innings and the sorry England performance has left coach Duncan Fletcher under intense pressure going into the final two games.
One casualty in Melbourne is likely to be wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, who registered a pair of ducks in Perth and has scored only 63 runs at 10.50 in the series.
Nottinghamshire's Chris Read is expected to be behind the stumps in the fourth Test, while Middlesex all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple could replace Saj Mahmood with a view to strengthen the batting.
England skipper Andrew Flintoff is determined his side will bounce, especially with a large proportion of the crowd expected to be England fans.
"It hurts a lot, but we have to get over losing the Ashes and we've got two big Test matches still to play," he said.
"There are a lot of lads who want to prove they can win a Test match in Australia and prove they can play against Australia.
"As well as playing for ourselves and the country we want to play for the supporters who have made the trip."
With attendances of more than 95,000 likely over the opening three days, the record of 350,354 - set in the third Test of the 1936/37 Ashes series - is under threat.
However, with showers forecast for the first day followed by overcast conditions, that record - and an Australian whitewash - could be under threat.
Australia (from): R Ponting (captain), J Langer, M Hayden, M Hussey, M Clarke, A Symonds, A Gilchrist, S Warne, B Lee, S Clark, G McGrath, M Johnson.
England (from): A Flintoff (captain), A Strauss, A Cook, I Bell, P Collingwood, K Pietersen, G Jones, C Read, M Hoggard, S Mahmood, S Harmison, M Panesar.
Umpires: A Dar (Pak), R Koertzen (SA)