talkSPORT betting tips – Best bets and expert advice for the Ashes fourth Test

Australia have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five-match Ashes series against England, who will be aiming to at least stop the rot in the fourth Test in Melbourne.

Huge numbers of English cricket fans will be at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test, desperate for Ben Stokes’ side to dash the Aussies’ dream of a 5-0 clean sweep.

Australia are likely to be without injured spinner Nathan Lyon and captain Pat Cummins, who both played key roles in last week’s victory in Adelaide, while star batter Steve Smith is a doubt after missing the third Test due to vertigo.

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Ashes fourth Test tips

• Alex Carey to be Australia top batter in first innings @ 13/2
• Zak Crawley to hit over 2.5 fours in first innings @ 4/5
• Will Jacks to be England top batter in first innings @ 9/1

Carey primed for another crucial contribution

Australia’s Mitchell Starc has tormented England with both bat and ball in the first three Tests and Travis Head, promoted to open the batting, has delivered brilliant centuries in Perth and Adelaide.

But wicketkeeper Alex Carey is also in the running to be the hosts’ player of the series after his impeccable glovework and crucial contributions with the bat.

With Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green short of runs and Smith a fitness doubt, Carey looks a tempting bet to top-score in Australia’s first innings in Melbourne.

It may feel like a distant memory for England, but Australia were skittled for 132 in their first innings of the series in Perth, where Carey top-scored with 26.

He followed up with 63 in the day-night Test in Brisbane and 106 and 72 at the Adelaide Oval, his home ground, last week.

The left-hander should be brimming with confidence after his displays behind and in front of the stumps. 

Carey will be looking forward to another crack at England’s bowlers at the MCG, where he scored his maiden Test century against a top-class South Africa attack in December 2022.  

Expect more cracking strokeplay from Crawley 

The only way was up for England opener Zak Crawley after his pair in the first Test in Perth and he has responded positively in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Crawley thumped 17 boundaries in innings of 76 and 44 at the Gabba before being dismissed for 9 at the Adelaide Oval.

Second time around, he played one of his most mature Test innings, hitting eight fours in a measured knock of 85 from 151 balls.

More of the same is required at the MCG, where Australia will be missing star bowlers Cummins, Lyon and Josh Hazlewood, so Crawley should be backed to hit at least three fours in the first innings.

His last three innings against India in the summer yielded 29 fours and he is handling the extra bounce in Australia better than most of his teammates. 

Jacks could shine in struggling batting unit

England’s reckless batting has undermined their hopes of upsetting Australia in this series, but all-rounder Will Jacks has dug in impressively in the last two games.

His Surrey team-mate Ollie Pope is under huge pressure at number three and Jacks is a candidate for promotion after making 19 and 41 in Brisbane and 6 and 47 in Adelaide.

He faced 289 balls over those four innings – more than Pope, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith managed in their six knocks – and looks overpriced to top-score in England’s first innings.

Jacks is a destructive white-ball batter, scoring an IPL century for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in April 2024 and his defensive technique looked sound in his first two Ashes appearances.

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All odds correct at time of writing.

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