Australia vs England: Fourth Ashes Test predictions, team news, betting tips and odds

Australia vs England date, start time & TV info 

Date Thursday, December 25 to Tuesday, December 30
Starts 11.30pm
Venue Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Competition Test series
TV TNT Sports 1

Australia have won the 2025-26 Ashes against England after victories in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide gave them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Ben Stokes's tourists are aiming to restore some pride in the fourth Test in Melbourne, where Australia will be missing injured captain Pat Cummins and key spinner Nathan Lyon.

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Australia vs England betting tips & predictions

Best bets

England
3pts 23-10 Paddy Power

Zak Crawley to be player of the match
1pt 22-1 bet365, Paddy Power

Alex Carey to be Australia top first-innings runscorer
2pts 9-1 bet365

Australia vs England preview 

Lots of bosses worry about poor workplace productivity and excessive drinking at this time of year – and the ECB's managing director Rob Key is one of them.

Key's review into England's Ashes failure started even before visiting fans touched down in Melbourne, the venue for the fourth Test.

Australia have wrapped up the series before Christmas and the greatest gift that England can offer their supporters is denying the Aussies a 5-0 whitewash.

Every facet of England's tour is under scrutiny after their defeats in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, including an allegedly boozy break on the Queensland coast between the second and third Tests.

But England fans could raise a glass to a consolation victory in Melbourne against an Australia side missing three of their four modern-day bowling icons due to injury.

Captain Pat Cummins, spinner Nathan Lyon and paceman Josh Hazlewood are sidelined so Steve Smith, who missed the third Test due to vertigo, will lead the hosts at the MCG.

England's most painful hangover of the tour stemmed from their collapse in the first Test in Perth, where they were 100 runs ahead with nine second-innings wickets in hand on day two.

Just five hours later, Travis Head's scorching century had powered the Aussies into a 1-0 series lead but England finally showed some fight with the bat in Adelaide.

The 82-run margin of defeat made it one of their best recent efforts down under – the bar is extremely low – and Zak Crawley's measured innings of 85 off 151 balls hinted at a smarter approach from their batsmen.

Mitchell Starc, England's chief tormentor with the ball, may have lost some of his zip after bowling 33 overs in Adelaide. 

And, while Australia are odds-on to complete a 5-0 clean sweep, some drop in intensity is inevitable from the victorious hosts.

Crawley and Carey can build on Adelaide innings

England opener Crawley was in the firing line following his pair in Perth but he made 76 and 44 in Brisbane and played one of his most mature Test innings second time around in Adelaide. At 22-1, he merits a small bet to be named player of the match.

Hometown hero Alex Carey scooped that award in Adelaide, where he scored 106 and 72, took six catches and stumped Crawley in the second innings with another slick display of glovework.

The wicketkeeper top-scored with 26 in Australia's first innings of the series and made a useful 63 at the Gabba. 

Coach Andrew McDonald is keen for Carey to bat at number six at the MCG, where he scored his maiden Test century in December 2022 against a fearsome South African pace attack.

Travis Head averages only 29 in Melbourne and Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green have had plenty of low scores in the first three games so Carey is an eye-catching price to be Australia's top runscorer.

Key stats for Australia vs England

♦ Steve Smith has scored five centuries and five fifties in his last ten MCG Test matches
♦ Ben Stokes has scored at a rate of 37.5 runs per 100 balls in this series, compared with his career strike-rate of 58.6
♦ England's last four Test series in Australia have produced 16 defeats and two draws
♦ Josh Tongue has taken four or more wickets in six of his first seven Tests

Australia vs England team news and predicted line-ups

Australia

Steve Smith has recovered from vertigo and should captain the side as Pat Cummins has been ruled out for the rest of the series. Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Jhye Richardson are competing to replace Cummins in the pace attack and spinner Todd Murphy is set to come in for Nathan Lyon, who requires hamstring surgery.

Predicted line-up: 1 Travis Head, 2 Jake Weatherald, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steve Smith (c), 5 Usman Khawaja, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Cameron Green, 8 Michael Neser, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Todd Murphy, 11 Scott Boland

England

The tourists have named their team for the MCG. Jacob Bethell replaces Ollie Pope at number three and Gus Atkinson comes in for Jofra Archer, who has been ruled out of the series with a side strain. Spinner Shoaib Bashir has again been overlooked.

Predicted line-up: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (c), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Josh Tongue

Australia vs England betting odds

Sign up with bet365 to bet on Australia vs England in the fourth Test. Here are the latest odds for Thursday's match.

Odds correct at time of publishing

Want more top sports betting advice? Make sure you take a look at Racing Post Sport's tips for more of the latest picks from our experts.

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FAQs for Australia vs England

When is Australia vs England in the fourth Test?

The five-day match starts at 11.30pm on Thursday, December 25.

Where is Australia vs England being played?

The fourth Test is taking place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia.

How can I watch Australia vs England?

There is live coverage of the fourth Ashes Test on TNT Sports 1.

What is the match betting for Australia vs England?

Australia are 8-15 favourites to beat 9-4 shots England and the draw is 10-1.

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