England’s Ashes tour, already wobbling, took another heavy hit on Christmas Eve. Jofra Archer, their most threatening bowler of the series, has been ruled out of the remaining two Tests with a side strain, while Ollie Pope’s struggles finally cost him his place in the XI for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
The timing could not be worse. Australia, 3-0 up and smelling blood, unveiled their squad a day earlier with Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both missing, but with Steve Smith returning as captain. England, meanwhile, are already embroiled in controversy after Rob Key dissected their drinking habits in the ‘Noosa’ episode.
Pope dropped, Bethell promoted as England shuffle
Ollie Pope’s Ashes nightmare finally ended. The former vice-captain of the side departs after 125 runs from six innings, no fifties in 16 Ashes innings, and mounting pressure that never eased. Jacob Bethell steps in at No. 3. It is a bold call for a player without a first-class hundred and only one Championship match last summer, but England are gambling on talent. They had to since Pope has been given a run of 64 Tests and yet still his average in the World Test Championship (WTC) matches is just 32.18.
Ben Duckett keeps his spot despite form and off-field noise, with Stokes publicly backing him. Joe Root, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes remain the backbone, while Jamie Smith and Will Jacks fill out the middle order.
Ollie Pope Test stats in Australia
| Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 0s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 12 | 192 | 46 | 16.00 | 55.01 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Archer’s exit leaves England painfully exposed
Archer’s absence is massive. He has been England’s standout bowler on this tour, taking nine wickets at an average of 27, including a superb 5 for 53 in Adelaide that briefly dragged England back into the third Test. He even got his maiden Test fifty in Adelaide. But somehow, everyone knew that he can’t sustain five consecutive Tests and that is what has happened. However, England is confident that Archer will be fit for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Now he is flying home for further assessment, leaving England with an attack that looks thinner by the minute. Gus Atkinson comes in, set to take the new ball with Brydon Carse. Josh Tongue keeps his place after his five-wicket haul in Adelaide. Shoaib Bashir, once again, watches from the sidelines despite being labelled England’s “No. 1 spinner”.
With Archer gone, only two specialist bowlers from both teams have played all four Tests of the series: Australia’s Mitchell Starc and England’s Carse. However, Carse hasn’t bowled well at all.
England Playing XI for 4th Ashes Test
- Zak Crawley
- Ben Duckett
- Jacob Bethell
- Joe Root
- Harry Brook
- Ben Stokes
- Jamie Smith
- Will Jacks
- Gus Atkinson
- Brydon Carse
- Josh Tongue
