England recall Broad, Khawaja replaces Head for fourth Test

England have recalled seamer Stuart Broad to the side for the fourth Ashes Test but the batting line-up that was dismissed for 68 in Melbourne has been kept intact, assistant coach Graham Thorpe said on Tuesday.

The second-innings collapse at the Melbourne Cricket Ground led to an innings and 14-run defeat which secured Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series and the right to hold onto the tiny urn until 2023.

Broad's absence from two of the three matches in the series so far has confounded many observers, including Australia's Steve Smith, but the 35-year-old will be back bowling in tandem with James Anderson at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes both have shoulder injuries, Thorpe said, so Mark Wood and spinner Jack Leach will round out the specialist bowling unit.

Ben Stokes will add seam support and Thorpe said he hoped the charismatic all-rounder would take out the frustrations of a disappointing tour on the Australians.

For Australia, Usman Khawaja will replace Travis Head in Australia's middle order for this week's fourth Ashes Test against England in the only change to the side that wrapped up the series in Melbourne last week, skipper Pat Cummins said on Tuesday.

Khawaja's return for his first Tes since 2019 was expected after Head was ruled out by a positive Covid-19 Test but the retention of pace bowler Scott Boland was something of a surprise.

Teams

England:

Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson.

Australia:

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.