Overview
- Ben Stokes won the toss at the MCG and chose to bowl in overcast, bowler-friendly conditions.
- Stand-in captain Steve Smith confirmed no specialist spinner, with Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser joining Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland in a four-man seam attack.
- Richardson plays his first Test in more than four years as Australia left out Todd Murphy and recalled Usman Khawaja, with Josh Inglis omitted.
- Pat Cummins is managed out with a back issue and Nathan Lyon remains sidelined after hamstring surgery, while England replaced the injured Jofra Archer with Gus Atkinson and dropped Ollie Pope for Jacob Bethell.
- Australia lead the series 3–0; Alex Carey starts 128 runs short of Adam Gilchrist’s Australian wicketkeeper calendar-year record.