Australia win toss and bowl in fourth Test
Melbourne (AFP) - Australia won the toss and chose to bowl in the fourth Ashes Test against England at an overcast Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Australia have secured the best-of-five series after winning the first three Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
England dropped vice-captain Matt Prior and named Jonny Bairstow as wicketkeeper, while Monty Panesar was chosen as the specialist spinner following the shock mid-series retirement of Graeme Swann.
For the first time since August 2008 England go into a Test without Jonathan Trott, Prior or Swann.
Prior, a 31-year-old veteran of England's three consecutive Ashes wins over Australia since 2009, has played 75 Tests.
Prior has averaged 17.83 with the bat in the series. The 31-year-old made crucial mistakes behind the stumps in the third Test in Perth leading to his demotion.
Australia, who have already wrapped up the Ashes following their series-sealing victory in the third Perth Test before Christmas, named an unchanged side for the fourth consecutive Test.
Teams:
Australia: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon.
England: Alastair Cook (capt), Michael Carberry, Joe Root, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
TV umpire: Billy Bowden (NZL)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
