Archer Ruled Out of Ashes, Bethell Replaces Pope for Boxing Day Test

England’s Ashes campaign suffered another major setback as Jofra Archer was ruled out of the remaining two Tests of the series due to a side strain. The fast bowler will miss the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the final Test of the tour, compounding England’s struggles in Australia.

Archer, who claimed six wickets in Australia’s 82-run victory in Adelaide, was one of England’s standout performers in the series. He was sent for scans in Melbourne on Tuesday after managing only a limited workload in the second innings of the second Test. The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Archer will return to the UK next week for further assessment.

Despite the injury, England remain optimistic that Archer will be fit for the T20 World Cup in February. No replacement will be called up for the final Test, with Matthew Potts and Matthew Fisher already in the squad.

Gus Atkinson will replace Archer for the Boxing Day Test and is expected to share the new ball with Brydon Carse. Josh Tongue retains his place after taking five wickets in Adelaide, while Shoaib Bashir has been overlooked for a fourth straight Test despite captain Ben Stokes maintaining that he remains England’s first-choice spinner. Will Jacks continues at No. 8 as a spin-bowling allrounder.

England have also made a significant change to their batting line-up, dropping Ollie Pope and handing Jacob Bethell a recall at No. 3. Pope has struggled throughout the series and across his Ashes career, failing to register a half-century in 16 innings against Australia. He managed only 125 runs at an average of 20.83 in the current series, leading to his omission for the second consecutive Ashes tour.

Bethell, who made his Test debut in New Zealand last year, will earn his fifth cap on Boxing Day. While he has limited red-ball experience and is yet to score a first-class century, he has established himself as a regular in England’s white-ball sides and captained the T20I team against Ireland in September.

Pope had been England’s preferred No. 3 under Stokes, featuring in 41 of the last 44 Tests. However, his position has been under scrutiny since Bethell impressed with three half-centuries against New Zealand last December. Although Pope briefly revived his Test career with a century at Headingley earlier this year, he failed to build on that momentum, prompting selectors to make the change.

Ben Duckett has retained his place despite modest returns in the opening Ashes innings and off-field scrutiny following a viral social media video. Stokes confirmed that Duckett has his “complete support.”

Australia, meanwhile, are expected to make at least three changes to their XI. Captain Pat Cummins is sidelined with a back issue, Nathan Lyon will miss out due to a torn hamstring, and Steven Smith is set to return from illness and take over the captaincy.

England XI for the 4th Test vs Australia:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue.