Ashes 2013

England take on Australia in the fourth and penultimate game of the Ashes as the visitors look to salvage some pride, having lost the series 3-0 already.

Where to Watch Live

Play is scheduled to start at 12:30am GMT on 26 December. Live coverage will be available on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD.

Overview

Australia are in the mood to take England by the scruff of their neck and aim for a whitewash, with the men down under currently in scintillating form, the best they have been this year.

The Ashes win will give them some much needed confidence and boost them towards getting back to their best and reclaiming their throne, which they have presided over most of the past decade. Michael Clarke has to marshal his troops properly so that they do not slack off, having won the silverware already, and push harder to make the series even more miserable for the visitors.

Clarke has won the toss on all three occasions this series and as lucky he has been with the coin, his team have managed to take the luck on to the field and consistently perform at their highest level.

They won the first Test in Brisbane by a massive 381 runs and followed that up with a similar performance in Adelaide, where they won by 218 runs. In the last Test, barring a period of trepidation in the final innings, they managed to see off the visitors by a margin of more than 100 runs yet again and claim the urn.

For England, it will be a period of recollection, one where the team has to come together and pull themselves together, after what has been a humiliating turn of events for the visitors. Having won the reverse fixtures, England were favourites coming into the series and have fallen face down on the expectations shouldered on them.

Alastair Cook needs to take charge of the situation and urge his players to keep their heads high and come out of the series the stronger team. Graeme Swann's retirement in the middle of the crisis has made the situation all the more worse, but a proper performance here will do their confidence a whole lot of good with a few tough fixtures coming up.

Team News

Australia

Probable Line-Up: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (c), Steven Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon.

England

Probable Line-Up: Alastair Cook (c), Michael Carberry, Joe Root, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Matt Prior (wk), Tim Bresnan, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Monty Panesar.

England Australia