The stand-in captain, Steve Smith, has revealed Australia’s plan for the fourth test of the Ashes 2025-26, which will be played at Melbourne.

He indicated that the pitch would reward movement, making an extra fast-bowling option feel more valuable than a frontline spinner. Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins are already out of the fourth test, and Josh Hazlewood missed the entire tournament due to injury.

Australia secured the series with a 3-0 lead and will be aiming for a clean sweep to establish their dominance against England.

Hence, looking over the conditions, the hosts have decided to attack the MCG with an all-seam bowling line-up, leaving specialist spinner Toddy Murphy on the sidelines for the fourth test.

“A lot of wickets we’re playing on at present are certainly more seam-friendly than spin-friendly,” said Steve Smith. “Last week was an anomaly; we saw some rough, and we saw Nathan come into play big-time.”

“It’s a tricky one. You’ve just got to play what surface you’re presented with, and this one out here looks like it’s going to offer a fair bit of assistance for the seam bowlers,” added Steve Smith.

In the scenarios, captains tend to chase control through pace, cycling bowlers, attacking the stumps, keeping sharp fields, and hunting breakthroughs in short bursts.

Steve Smith’s Adelaide reference is also revealing. He called it an anomaly because it was one of those rare wickets where the surface visibly roughed up and spin suddenly became a decisive lever.

He said that Todd Murphy’s omission had nothing to do with ability and that the young off-spinner remains in strong contention for Sydney next week.

This will make a major change in the batting order as well, with Usman Khawaja to bat at No.5, Alex Carey to bat at No.6, and Cameron Green to slide down to No.7 after returning from back surgery.

Steve Smith returns after missing the Adelaide Test with Vestibular illness and says he is ‘100 per cent’ fit. His comeback would leave Josh Inglis on the sidelines, while Jake Weatherald retains his opening spot.

Australia Playing 11: Steve Smith (c), Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett

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