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| England aim to thwart Ashes sweep | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| England will be looking to stave off the first Ashes whitewash since 1920/21 when the fourth Test starts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day. | |
| But with Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath retiring from Test cricket at the end of the series, Australia will be fully focused on a clean sweep. | |
| Warne, playing on his home ground, needs just one more wicket to become the first man to take 700 in Tests. | Warne, playing on his home ground, needs just one more wicket to become the first man to take 700 in Tests. |
| A world record crowd of 100,000 is expected on the opening day. | A world record crowd of 100,000 is expected on the opening day. |
| 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. | 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. |
| There are a lot of lads who want to prove they can win a Test match in Australia Andrew Flintoff | There are a lot of lads who want to prove they can win a Test match in Australia Andrew Flintoff |
| And Warne, who can expect an emotional send-off in his 144th Test, is keen on another humiliation of England. | |
| "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. | "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. |
| "I think if we can win 5-0 that would be a fantastic achievement for a great team." | "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 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. | "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." | "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. | 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 Andrew Flintoff's England team in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. | |
| Read should take the wicket-keeper's gloves from Geraint Jones | 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. | 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 wicket-keeper 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. | 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. |
| Flintoff is determined his side will bounce back, 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. | "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. | "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." | "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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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) | Umpires: A Dar (Pak), R Koertzen (SA) |