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Manchester United have certainly had a hectic few days to contend with off the pitch, after it was confirmed Ruben Amorim had been sacked from his managerial post.

The 40-year-old left the role after 14 months at the helm, but he was only able to achieve a 40% win percentage despite leading the club to a Europa League final.

He leaves the club sitting sixth in the Premier League table, with the Red Devils currently sitting just three points off a place within the division’s top four.

However, matters should still be somewhat focused on recruiting new players, with the January transfer window now open and presenting a chance for INEOS to strengthen any Champions League push.

Despite the managerial situation, the hierarchy have already identified numerous options in the market, with work being done to try and improve the first-team squad.

Man Utd make huge bid to land European sensation

The midfield department at United is one that has needed addressing for many months now, with Brighton and Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba just one option being considered.

Over the last couple of days, the Red Devils have once again registered their interest in the Cameroonian international, but any deal would certainly be expensive for INEOS.

It’s been reported that the Seagulls are demanding a fee in the region of £100m to part ways with the 22-year-old this winter, with the player open to a move to Old Trafford.

However, a new attacker also remains firmly within their sights at present, with RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande another player firmly being pursued by the hierarchy.

According to African Foot via Sport Witness, the Red Devils have made a €90m (£76m) bid to sign the 19-year-old who has scored six times in 14 Bundesliga appearances.

The report also states that the winger is on the radar of numerous other teams in England’s top-flight, with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham all tracking the teenage sensation.

Why Diomande would get Sesko firing at Man Utd

Only last summer, United spent big on new attackers to try and inject needed quality into the frontline to help bolster their chances of success in the Premier League.

Benjamin Sesko was just one of the players signed by the club during such a spree, with the hierarchy paying £74m for his signature from German outfit RB Leipzig.

High expectations were placed on the attacker given the nature of the transfer fee, but it’s safe to say his time at Old Trafford has been a disaster to date.

The Slovenian international has featured in 16 league outings so far in 2025/26, but has only registered two goals in the process – currently enduring nine games without a goal.

At just 22, he has bags of time to turn his career around in England’s top flight, but he could certainly benefit from some added creativity around him in the final third.

A move for Diomande could provide just that, with the Ivorian international enduring a phenomenal breakthrough campaign in Germany under the guidance of Ole Werner.

Whilst he’s only laid on two league assists so far in 2025/26, his underlying stats on FBref showcase the incredible talents he possesses with the ball at his feet within attacking areas.

Diomande, who’s been hailed as a “generational talent” by journalist Bence Bocsák, has completed 6.3 progressive carries and 4.3 successful take-ons in the Bundesliga this season.

Such numbers showcase his ability to get the ball into dangerous areas, with no player in the division able to register higher tallies in the aforementioned departments.

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The teenager has also registered 1.4 key passes and 1.4 passes into the opposition box per 90, subsequently showing the end product needed within the final third.

Yan Diomande – Bundesliga stats (2025/26)

Statistics (per 90)

Tally

Games played

14

Goals & assists

8

Pass accuracy

82%

Progressive carries

6.3

Successful take-ons

4.3

Key passes

1.4

Passes into 18-yard box

1.4

Carries into final third

3.9

Carries into the 18-yard box

3.4

Stats via FBref

His mazy runs, combined with his consistent end product, could hand Sesko the tools he needs to finally hit the ground running after his tricky start to life in Manchester.

As for Diomande, his talents are further reflected with his impressive tally of 3.4 carries into the final third per 90 – also the highest in the league – reaffirming his creative ability with the ball.

£76m would be yet another mammoth statement of intent from the hierarchy, but it’s a deal that would certainly inject the further added quality they have been hunting for.

Whilst the manager situation no doubt remains a priority, whoever takes the reins in the near future would have a serious talent on their hands should a deal be completed for the Leipzig sensation.

Related Better than Glasner: Man Utd enter talks to hire one of the 'world's best'

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Posts 3 ByEthan Lamb

Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg reports that West Ham United are set to give Nuno Espirito Santo one more game to save his job at the London Stadium.

The reporter claims that the Portuguese boss is on the verge of being sacked by the Premier League strugglers, but he will be given the opportunity to manage against his former club, Nottingham Forest, on Tuesday night.

It is a huge game at the bottom of the table, with the Tricky Trees one place above them, and a defeat would mean that the Hammers are seven points from safety.

It has been reported that former Hammers manager Slaven Bilic is willing to take the reins until the end of the season, but they should avoid going down that route.

Why West Ham must avoid Slaven Bilic

West Ham should avoid going for Bilic because the Croatian boss has been out of management since August 2024, and has not had much in the way of success in his recent managerial spells.

The 25-year-old manager was let go by Saudi Pro League side Al-Fateh with 1.32 points per game, and more losses than wins, and that came after he left Watford in tenth in the Championship and Chinese outfit BJ Guoan in fifth after 21 matches, per Transfermarkt.

Bilic’s last spell in the Premier League came with West Brom, after he won promotion from the Championship with them, and he was sacked after eight losses in the first 13 games.

Bilic’s last 24 PL matches

Stat

Bilic

Games

24

Wins

3

Draws

7

Losses

14

Points

16

Points per game

0.67

Stats via Transfermarkt

Couple that run with six losses in 11 games at the start of his final season with West Ham, as shown in the table above, and he has a 0.67 points per game rate over his last 24 Premier League games.

Bilic did finish seventh and 11th in his first two seasons at the club, ending his time in London with more losses than wins, but his recent managerial experiences, particularly in the English top-flight, suggest that he would not guide them to safety.

West Ham's possible Bilic alternative

Instead of going for Bilic as a replacement for Nuno, who has won two of his 13 games in charge so far, the Hammers should look to one of their former targets.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

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In April 2024, Ruben Amorim apologised to Sporting supporters after admitting that he did travel to England to hold talks with David Sullivan and Co about potentially replacing David Moyes for the 2024/25 campaign.

After that, Julen Lopetegui arrived at the London Stadium and Amorim eventually replaced Erik ten Hag in the dugout at Manchester United. Both of those moves failed to work out.

The Portuguese boss was relieved of his duties by Manchester United on Monday morning, with the Red Devils sixth in the table, and he departed with a points per game rate of 1.23 in the Premier League.

That is not good enough for a United manager, as evidenced by their decision to sack him, but he had averaged 1.55 points per game this term, per Transfermarkt. Say West Ham lose on Tuesday and sack Nuno, 1.55 points per game would take them to the magical 40-point mark in the final 17 games.

What is good enough for Manchester United at the moment is very different to what is good enough for West Ham, given the situation that they are in, which is why the club should consider taking advantage of Amorim’s sacking with an approach to bring him to the London Stadium.

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The Portuguese manager’s Premier League record this season, with United in sixth place, and his previous managerial experience with Sporting and Braga, suggest that he could be a good appointment.

Amorim’s Liga Portugal record

Season

Points per game

24/25 (Sporting)

3.00

23/24 (Sporting)

2.65

22/23 (Sporting)

2.18

21/22 (Sporting)

2.48

20/21 (Sporting)

2.50

19/20 (Sporting)

1.91

19/20 (Braga)

2.78

Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, Amorim was a serial winner in Portugal, averaging over two points a game in all but one spell, before his move to England.

This suggests that he even has the potential to take West Ham to the next level if he can get his 3-4-2-1 system to work in a way that he was unable to at Old Trafford.

Crystal Palace are a good example of how a midtable team can use a 3-4-2-1 to create a solid base that allows them to compete against the best teams, and it helped them to win the FA Cup and the Community Shield in 2025.

It is a blueprint that West Ham could follow by swooping for Amorim to replace Nuno, in the hope that he can guide them to the magic 40-point mark, before building on that in future seasons.

Related He's keen on the move: West Ham now eyeing "incredible" £18m English ace

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Posts ByDominic Lund

Derek Shackleton: Shrewdly varied, and utterly accurate © Cricinfo

Derek Shackleton, who played seven Tests for England and took a record 2669 wickets for Hampshire, has died at the age of 83. Only six men have taken more wickets than his total first-class haul of 2857, and none of those operated entirely in the post-war period.Shackleton was a seamer – not fast but metronomic in his accuracy – who was desperately unlucky not to have be called on more by England. Unfortunately for him, he played in an era when Alec Bedser, Fred Trueman and others dominated. “Shrewdly varied, and utterly accurate,” wrote John Arlott, “beating down as unremittingly as February rain”. He was also economical, conceding under two runs an over. Initially he relied on late outswing, but he later developed an equally late inswinger, and he could also cut the ball either way off the pitch.His seven Tests came in two bursts separated by almost 12 years, but he was not as penetrative at the highest level. He played once in 1950 and 1951 and then toured India in 1951-52, finishing with the most wickets but only one more Test. He had to wait until 1963 for a recall, taking 14 wickets at 34.53 against West Indies, including 3 for 93 and a best 4 for 92 at Lord’s.

Shackleton bowling against West Indies in 1963 © Cricinfo

He made his debut for Hampshire, who spotted him while he was playing services cricket, in 1948 and was taken on as a batsman who bowled occasional legspin. Bereft of quick bowlers, Hampshire asked him to give it a try. He took 21 wickets in his first season and a hundred in his second. In a career which lasted until 1969 he took 100 wickets in a season 20 times consecutively, his haul of 172 in 1962, a year after he had helped the county to their first Championship, being the best. Few bowlers have got through so many overs, and those that have have been spinners.In 1955 he took match figures of 14 for 29 against Somerset (including 8 for 4 in their first innings) and five years earlier took five wickets in nine balls for no runs, but not including a hat-trick; that was about the only achievement that eluded him.In all Shackleton took 2857 first-class wickets at 18.65; his 18 Test wickets cost him 42.66.After retiring he coached and acted as groundsman at Canford School in Dorset and had a brief spell as an umpire in 1979. He was one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year in 1959.

The Indian board has confirmed that it will move the ICC’s dispute redressal committee in support of compensation claims made by some state associations in India over loss of revenues that they face by having to stage Champions Trophy matches – an ICC sponsored tournament.”We are with the associations on this issue. We will take the matter to the disputes redressal committee of the ICC,” Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, told the . The Punjab Cricket Association threatened to pull out Mohali from the Champions Trophy claiming that not receiving the television and stadium sponsor revenues meant a huge loss to them. Associations hosting ICC events receive only 70% of the revenue from seats while the rest goes to the ICC.However Shah did not confirm a timeframe for approaching the redressal committee. “It is not that we will take the step today itself,” Shah said. “We will do whatever is necessary at the appropriate time.”Shah also accused the ICC of mishandling the accreditation process of the Champions Trophy. “The ICC has bungled everything by letting Rushman’s handle the accreditation for the officials as well. They are sitting in London and sending cards for people without knowing anything … Gujarat Cricket Association president Narhari Amin was not allowed entry in some areas and then I had to rush to Ahmedabad to get the issue sorted out,” Shah told , a Mumbai-based newspaper. “They are sitting in London and sending cards for people without knowing anything.”We are not saying we would have done it on an independent basis, the ICC could have supervised but we would have done a better job because we know better.”

Richard Caborn: ‘There is no intention of the Government to intervene’ © Getty Images

Reports in the weekend newspapers that a group called Keep Cricket Free were going to lobby the government to overturn the ECB’s TV deal with BSkyB have drawn a firm response from Richard Caborn, the sports minister.David Brooks, the former strategy director of Channel 4, set up the group in a bid to get the four-year exclusive contract reviewed, but Caborn made it clear that it was a non starter.”On Friday during the Oval Test this lad stopped me and said he had set up a website for Keep Cricket Free, and would I listen to him,” Caborn told The Daily Telegraph. “I will listen to anyone. But as far as the deal is concerned this is a commercial deal and there is no intention of the Government to intervene.”I am very supportive of cricket and all that the ECB have done. The deal the ECB have done is confidential and we do not know who bid what. But it is clear the terrestrial broadcasters did not bid enough, and the ECB had to do the best deal for cricket.”It was always extremely unlikely that the government would interfere in a private deal which satisfied both the ECB and the broadcaster, and had also been run past media regulator Ofcom before it was completed.

Scorecard

Phil Jaques celebrates his double-hundred as New South Wales take charge against South Australia© Getty Images

Tom Plant and Callum Ferguson were hanging on for South Australia as they faced the almost impossible assignment of batting for more than two days to force a draw against New South Wales at the SCG. Plant was unbeaten on 64 and Ferguson had 41 as they tried to restore some pride to a team that had fallen to 3 for 33 after being dismissed for 29 yesterday.Phil Jaques, who resumed on 154, cruised to his double century as New South Wales built the intimidating lead. Nathan Bracken, who took 7 for 4 on day one, was unbeaten on 34, five more than the Redbacks’ first-innings total.Shaun Tait collected four wickets for South Australia but was slightly expensive through 34 overs while Dan Cullen claimed two victims.

International Women’s Cricket Council TournamentYesterday’s reportIreland moved to the leading position in the International Women’s Cricket Council tournament being played in the Netherlands when they beat the Pakistan team by eight wickets yesterday. It was Pakistan’s first loss of the tournament.Ireland will now be favourites to take one of the two positions up for grabs at the next Women’s World Cup in South Africa in 2005. Ireland played at the last event in New Zealand in 2000.Pakistan scored 143 for 7 in their 50 overs with Zehmurad Afzal scoring 34 and Nazia Nazir 22. Barbara McDonald proved highly effective with her bowling by taking 1 for 13 from nine overs. Ireland reached 144 for 2 in 35.5 overs with Miriam Grealey scoring 61 not out and Catriona Beggs 35 not out.The Netherlands beat Japan by 301 runs after batting first and scoring 375 for 5 in their 50 overs. Pauline te Beest scored 143, the sixth-equal highest-score in women’s ODIs and an extension of the Dutch record she set with her 138 two days ago against Scotland. The total was the fifth highest in all women’s ODIs and bettered the Dutch record they set two days ago against Scotland. Caroline Salomons scored 60 and Helmien Rambaldo 46. Their winning margin of 301 runs is the fourth-highest in all women’s ODIs. Again the Scotland match was their previous highest with a 219-run margin while before that their best was 70 runs against the West Indies at Stoke-on-Trent in the 1993 World Cup. The 74 that Japan scored in reply was their highest innings to date.West Indies were untroubled in crushing Scotland. The hapless Scots were all out for 74 in 35 overs while West Indies scored 75 without loss in only 8.5 overs.

Match 9/15 P W L NR T Pts Net-RR For AgaIreland 3 3 – – – 6 +1.355 291/94.5 257/150Netherlands 3 2 1 – – 4 +3.333 800/150 274/137Pakistan 3 2 1 – – 4 +1.148 488/150 286/135.5West Indies 3 2 1 – – 4 +0.753 253/95.5 283/150Scotland 3 – 3 – – 0 -3.193 264/150 539/108.5Japan 3 – 3 – – 0 -4.599 162/150 619/109

Scattered India face tough task against South AfricaConnor Williams has now swung between two extremes in the littlematter of a week. He appeared a child of destiny when just one, orlet’s say two knocks put him on the plane to South Africa. The scriptseemed to be running the expected course when his seniors encouragedhim on the first two days of the nets and the word leaked he would beplaying the first Test, despite the Chatsworth wash-out. Standing in acorner while Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid practiced in the middleon Friday, he indeed cut a sorry figure. Openers are a dying breed inIndia. There were never many in the first place. A senior member ofthe side was spot on when he said the young openers must be given anextended run. “From pop-gun attack of home, you are suddenly put inthe firing line of the genuine quick bowlers. And then they get only afew Tests to play in a year.”

© CricInfo

“The rest of the time, it is Sourav and Sachin opening the innings insome 40-45 one-day internationals per season. How does a young guygain in experience and confidence?”Indeed, the Test openers in India get international matches in fitsand starts only. Either you got to be patient with them or ask recordbreakers Ganguly and Tendulkar to make way for young openers in onedayers so they get more used to international fast bowlers. It is amalaise which befalls a lot of young Indian openers including oncehighly rated Wasim Jaffer of Mumbai. “He looked an extremely goodopener to me at one stage,” said legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar “Butlately I am not too sure of that.” Vinayak Mane is another youngsterwho has been shortlisted by those who matter as an opener with afuture.Wright has no doubt the success of openers will go a long way indetermining India’s performance in this series. A case in point is theHarare Test in Zimbabwe where Das had two partners in Hemang Badaniand Sameer Dighe in the two innings and both came a cropper. Theresult – India couldn’t chase even a score of 200-odd and lost thematch.

© AFP

It has fallen on Rahul Dravid’s lot to shore up the sagging Indianship as its helmsman for the first Test. He is a team – man but nottoo inclined on opening the innings. His dilemma is understandable -he is well and truly established in the middle order and if hesucceeds, he might just be burdened with the job for many more Testmatches to come. He must be asked to produce the goods within hiscapacity and every issue of the team must not be laid in front of hisdoor.So we have a situation where a South African team is announced a weekin advance whereas the Indians are struggling to put their elevenliterally going into toss on the morning of the match. The wash-out atthe Chatsworth has been a body blow for the Indians. It was the onlygame they could have tried out the five new members flown especiallyfor the Test series. The sad part is, everyone knew there was littlepossibility of play at least a day before the match was set to roll.But neither the Indians tried too hard nor the KwaZulu-Natal Union,the cricket body under which falls the purview of Chatsworth body aswell, was keen to arrange a game for the visitors elsewhere in Durban.Indians did not protest aloud then and are now sulking in silence atthe lost opportunity for some time in the middle.Ganguly meanwhile has now received his new bats from a Meerutmanufacturer and it weighs more than 10 grams less than his 150-gramplus stick of willow for the one-dayers. Quite possible the Indiancaptain realises he would be peppered with short stuff and he musthave a light stick to move into position quickly in the Test series.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will travel to the Midlands and is expected to play in Australia’s tour match against Derbyshire as he seeks to regain his place after standing down from the team for the Lord’s Test for family reasons.As Peter Nevill made himself at home in the XI who dealt out a 405-run hiding to England, Haddin spent parts of the match in hospital with his ill daughter, Mia. Nevill’s seven catches – a record for a wicketkeeper on Ashes debut – and 45 nifty runs were significant aids to Australia’s cause, but as the senior man, Haddin will be given the chance to press for his place.None of the vice-captain Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson or Josh Hazlewood will make the journey to Derby, allowed some time off in London after their exertions over the first two Investec Ashes matches. The coach Darren Lehmann said the tour match would be a factor in the deliberations he and the selection chairman Rod Marsh have about whether Nevill should stay or Haddin return.”Selection’s always difficult, so Rodney and I will have to sit down and work out which way we go,” Lehmann said. “We have to get Brad back playing cricket before we cross that bridge, if that makes sense. Just trying to work out what happens moving forward and hopefully he’ll be available for the Derby game.”Both Nevill and the allrounder Mitchell Marsh made strong contributions to a winning team, Marsh’s energetic batting and high impact bowling providing a marked contrast with the performance put on by Shane Watson in the first Test. Lehmann said the selectors were gratified by the way their changes had helped the side, and now looked forward to watching England face some of the harsh critiques directed the tourists’ way after their opening defeat in Cardiff.”It’s always tough to have those decisions to make, one forced and one unforced,” he said. “For us we were really pleased with both performances from Mitchell and Peter, I thought they did a really good job for us and injected some enthusiasm in the group, played really well and did their job, which was pleasing for us.”For us it was about doing a lot better job than we did in Cardiff, I was really pleased with the way the players turned that around really quickly in a short space of time. It’s a good thing for us to have that short break, they’ve got a bit more time to think about it,” Lehmann said.”The media gave us a pretty torrid time in Cardiff and fully deserved, we didn’t play well enough, it’ll probably be the same for them for a bit. For us it’s about getting on with the next game. We will have to play with the same intensity we had in this game, if we back that up then the result will look after itself.”Lehmann offered rich praise for Mitchell Johnson, who terrorised England on an unhelpful surface, and also gave a broad tick to the whole bowling attack. After two Tests they have picked up the full tally of 40 English wickets – take 100 over the five Tests and there will be little doubt as to the destiny of the Ashes.”He was brilliant today, bowled fast, I thought he bowled alright in Cardiff and bowled better in the second innings,” Lehmann said of Johnson. “He didn’t get the rewards he would have liked but he’s a great athlete to watch, we enjoy watching him when he’s on song. He’s had some difficult times in England in the past but he’s a different Mitchell Johnson you see playing for Australia now.”Our whole bowling group was fantastic, even Mitch Marsh and I thought Nathan Lyon bowled beautifully as well today and first innings. The whole bowling unit got us 20 wickets again, and we’ve done that for the last four Test matches, they keep finding a way, and that’s really important when you’re trying to win Test matches all the time.”

Big Picture: Can England stop the wheels falling off?

While some might say the point has already been reached at 3-0 down, there is a sense this tour could descend into chaos for England with the Ashes gone. The build-up to the Boxing Day Test has become dominated by continued fallout from their mid-series trip to Noosa, firstly with director of cricket Rob Key saying claims of too much drinking would be investigated and then, a few hours later, video emerging of Ben Duckett late at night.Captain Ben Stokes looked emotional when speaking to the media on Christmas Eve, saying that he will do everything in his power to protect his players. He insisted there was still the belief that they could take something from this tour, but stopped short of echoing Zak Crawley’s comments that 3-2 wouldn’t be such a bad scoreline.Related

• Australia prepare for life without 'shattered' Nathan Lyon

• A brave keeper, an unhappy bowler, and the genesis of an ingenious plan

• Stokes promises 'complete support' to embattled Duckett

If England can play as they did for the latter half of the Adelaide Test they may stand a chance against an Australia side that won’t be at full strength, although that was also the case in the first two Tests and still, to a lesser extent, last week given Josh Hazlewood hasn’t featured at all. Having not really answered a question about where this Australia side compares to others he’s faced when asked after Adelaide, ahead of the fourth Test, Stokes said: “I hope it doesn’t get lost, but this Australian team is very, very good.”Pat Cummins declared it “job done” after Adelaide with the Ashes retained, but while the major prize is secured, their drive is now for a whitewash and important World Test Championship points. In 2021-22 they were denied the 5-0 when England survived nine down at the SCG while in 2017-18 it was Alastair Cook’s double ton on a featherbed MCG surface that forced the stalemate. This team is looking to emulate 2006-07 and 2013-14 in sending England home with absolutely nothing.However, for Cummins himself, it is mission accomplished: he won’t feature in the remainder of the series with the decision made that there is no value in risking long-term damage to his back, after a remarkable comeback to bowl brilliantly in Adelaide after five months with no cricket.As in Brisbane, Australia will be without three of the big four but this time Nathan Lyon has been sidelined by injury rather than selection. However, they have opted against a like-for-like replacement, leaving out Todd Murphy in what will be an all-pace attack for the second time in the series. It could include Jhye Richardson for the first time in four years and there is a sense of the next generation getting closer to their moment.In terms of the Australia’s side post-Ashes, the most intriguing decision was around Usman Khawaja who scored 82 and 40 in Adelaide after a last-minute recall to replace the ill Steven Smith. That has been enough for him to keep his spot in the middle and his career could now play out on his terms. Australia will make more changes than England, but their adaptability and pragmatism has been a hallmark of this series.

Form guide

Australia WWWWW
England LLLLDJacob Bethell will return to the England side for the Boxing Day Test•Getty Images

In the spotlight: Jake Weatherald and Jacob Bethell

Largely by accident, Australia have stumbled across a new opening pair. Jake Weatherald and Travis Head have had two significant impacts together in the second innings in Perth and first in Brisbane. Weatherald played superbly at the Gabba for his tone-setting 72, but away from that the returns have been a little lean although he would have saved himself with the DRS in the second innings in Adelaide. The selectors will be desperate to stop the revolving door but Weatherald probably needs one more substantial score in this series to avoid months of speculation before Australia play Tests again in August.Is Jacob Bethell, who has yet to score a first-class century, really the next big thing in English batting? After pre-series talk that he may challenge Ollie Pope for the No. 3 spot the change has come with the Ashes gone after Pope’s increasingly underwhelming series to continue a year of diminishing returns. Bethell averages 28.27 in 26 first-class with his high score of 96 coming in a Test against New Zealand. He scored half-centuries in all three second innings of that series in 2024. His left-arm spin will provide another option for Ben Stokes alongside Will Jacks.Todd Murphy bowls in the nets•Getty Images

Team news: Australia delve into their depth, Pope dropped

For the second time this summer, and third occasion in the last five Tests, Australia will go all-pace with no place for Todd Murphy, although Steven Smith said he was a very good chance for Sydney. The final decision will come down to two out of Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Jhye Richardson. If the latter gets the nod it will be his first Test since the 2021-22 Ashes. For Neser, it would be his first red-ball Test. Meanwhile, Cameron Green has been demoted to No. 7 in the order amid a lean time with the bat. Khawaja will bat No.5 and the in-form Alex Carey continuing at No. 6.Australia (possible): 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Usman Khawaja, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Cameron Green, 8 Michael Neser, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Brendan Doggett/Jhye Richardson, 11 Scott BolandEngland have backed Ben Duckett amid the controversy of the last 24 hours but Ollie Pope has finally paid the price for his underwhelming returns with Jacob Bethell recalled to bat at No. 3. Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the tour with a side strain so Gus Atkinson returns to the pace attack. There remains no space for specialist spinner Shoaib Bashir.England 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Josh Tongue2:46

Is this the end of Nathan Lyon’s Australia Test career?

Pitch and conditions: Hoping for the perfect balance

Matt Page, the MCG curator, said he was hoping to replicate the surface which produced the gripping Test against India last season that finished deep on day five. On that occasion he left 7mm of grass with the surface offering something for everyone following a few years of it being very bowler-dominated but Steven Smith said there was still 10mm on as of Christmas Day and he expected plenty of assistance for the quicks. There will be a range of temperatures during the game: Boxing Day is set to be cool with things warming up to the low 30s later in the match. There is a chance of a shower on the first and last days.

Stats and trivia

• Harry Brook needs seven runs for 3000 in Tests. If he did it in his next innings, he would equal Denis Compton (57 innings) as the second-fastest for England. Ben Duckett needs 31 to reach 3000 runs.
• Only Adam Gilchrist, on four occasions, has scored more runs in a year as an Australia Test wicketkeeper than Alex Carey.
• Travis Head’s strike-rate of 90.63 is the highest for an opener in an Ashes series (minimum 100 runs)

Quotes

“Pumped to be back at the ‘G. I think, for me, getting towards the back end of my career, anytime I can play at the ‘G, and play the home Test is pretty special. So I’m really looking forward to the next week.”
“We still have a hell of a lot to play for. I’m very determined to leave Australia with something positive to look back on.”