Australia vs. England- Third Ashes Test Preview

Australia, for the first time in long time, looks vulnerable and there for the taking as England surge onto Western Australia in search of retaining the Ashes.

After a serious dose of reality checks at both Brisbane and Adelaide, the hosts will be looking for anything less than a loss as these two teams meet at a crossroads in the series.

England leads the five-match contest 1-0 and for the first time in 25 years will retain the Ashes with a victory. The hosts will be keen to wrap this one up at the Waca, as never in their 133-year history of touring down under have they secured the urn before Christmas.

The WACA is a happy hunting ground for the hosts with an astonishing record of 21 wins out of 37 Tests played at the ground.

The middle however has changed somewhat from the days of being a paceman’s paradise, with many feeling that an in-form spinner could be the winner here- cue Graeme Swann.

England head into match up on a positive note, knowing that all of their batsmen with the exception of Paul Collingwood, have registered three figures on the tour so far.

Cook’s concentration and form at the top of the order has been phenomenal, cutting out high-risk shots and getting England off to stable starts alongside skipper Andrew Strauss.

Things could not be more to the contrary in the Australian dressing room.

Calls for a return from Australian legend Shane Warne have highlighted a team in crisis. Phil Hughes is set to open the batting replacing injured Simon Katich, while first class rookie Michael Beer, who has shot into limelight from obscurity at the expense of Xavier Doherty, has caught the imagination of the viewing public.

Beer has played a total of five first class games in his career, and England will undoubtedly look to crush his spirit on debut.

Mitchell Johnson returns for the hosts, and one can be sure that he will look to extract some pace and bounce out of the legendary pace strip.

Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Steven Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Michael Beer, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.

England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 James Anderson, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 Steven Finn.

Australia's main concern heading into the opening day surrounds whether to play Peter Siddle, the bowler who kicked off the series with six wickets on the opening day of the series. Siddle lost form in the latter half of the First Test and hasn't claimed a victim in Australia's past two innings.

England`s only change will be that of Stuart Broad’s replacement, after the paceman suffered a strained stomach muscle in the Second Test.

It has come down to a two-man race between Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan, with Tremlett being the favourite on the selectors’ lips at present.

Interestingly the bookies have England and Australia at equal odds to prevail here- with the host’s past record at the ground having a lot to do with this liberal assumption.

However, it is clear to all that this is not the Australian side of old, and besides the obvious difference in make up- the skill to win just does not seem there.

A lot of questions will be answered on the opening day of this Test, however England have the best chance in three decades to attack an Aussie team on the ropes.

If they wrap this test up it will most certainly be a Merry Christmas for the old colonial foe.