Clash of strategies for final Ashes Test

The final Ashes Test in Sydney might be a dead rubber for all intents and purposes, what with Australia holding an unassailable 3-0 lead. But as with everything cricket, the intrigue lies in the details.

For starters, there promises to be a clash in strategies. England will replace Chris Woakes, the injured paceman, with an exciting young legspinner in Mason Crane. That means the visiting side goes in with an attack comprising two pacemen and two spinners, Moeen Ali being Crane's spin partner.

Australia, meanwhile, is set to go in the opposite direction. Mitchell Starc, who sat out of the Melbourne Test with a heel injury, is in line to return in place of Jackson Bird. Ashton Agar, the left-arm spinner, is set to continue warming the bench.

There is a reason for such contrasting readings of the pitch. This will be the first first-class encounter in Sydney since Adam Lewis took over from long-time SCG pitch curator Tom Parker. The Sydney pitch has traditionally taken to turn, but there have been reports of tinges of green on the latest version of the SCG surface.

"I think the wicket's got a fair bit of grass and looks to be a pretty good wicket, so I'd say we'll probably opt for just the one spinner,” said Steve Smith, the Australian captain, on the eve of the match.

Joe Root, his English counterpart, thought otherwise. "It (the SCG pitch) looks like it should give a bit of turn throughout, it generally does here anyway. I think once we got here and we saw the surface, that (retaining Moeen Ali) was a clear indication of what team we wanted to go with.”

All of which means all eyeballs will be on Crane. The youngster will have the exciting honour of making a debut in an Ashes Test, but with it comes pressure.

The 20-year-old is expected to cope well though. In fact, he is expected to more than just cope. Crane has past experience of playing at the SCG – he played for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield last summer, and has the distinction of being the side’s first overseas star since Imran Khan in 1983-84.

"On this surface, he (Crane) is going to be a really good option," said Root. "It looks like it should give a bit of turn throughout. The way he's conducted himself throughout the whole trip has been outstanding."

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, insisted Crane had the mettle to handle Test match pressures. "There's maybe no time like the present to find out," said Bayliss when asked if Crane could cope. "We think he's a guy that has got the goods, and the more he plays at this level the better he will get. You've got to start somewhere."

There is a fair bit riding on this Test for England. The visiting side, having been outclassed in the first three matches, fought back in Melbourne with Alastair Cook scoring an unbeaten 244, the highest by a visiting batsman at the MCG. England will hope for more of the same and end what has been a challenging series on a high. "It's paramount we win this game,” said Root. “It's really important to me and this squad moving into the rest of this winter, and then the summer, and build on that for four years' time.”

Australia would love nothing more than spoiling it for England – it’s only a dead-rubber on paper.

Teams (probable XI):
Australia: Cameron Bancroft, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

England: Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, Stuart Broad, Mason Crane, James Anderson