After defeat in Melbourne in a dramatic Boxing Day Test, England find themselves staring down the barrel of an Ashes series 'Pomwash'.
Positive spin
Having been summoned from Sydney Grade cricket following the sudden retirement of Graeme Swann during the series, Scott Borthwick insists he is fully prepared should the tourists hand him his Test debut at the SCG in place of fellow slow bowler Monty Panesar, who is struggling with a calf injury.
The leg-spinner - who had been due to head home ahead of joining the England Lions squad for their tour to Sri Lanka - admits it has been an "amazing" two weeks after receiving a phone call from team director Andy Flower telling him to travel to Melbourne to join the rest of the England party. The 23-year-old enjoyed an excellent season for Durham, helping them win the LV= County Championship, but knows playing a Test will be a vastly different challenge. "I think as a leg-spinner, you've got to accept that and show a bit of fight, try to get competitive and spin the ball past them. When batters do come at you, it gives you a chance to get wickets," he said.
Flower power
Andy Flower's words in his post-match press conference after the fourth Test offered the kind of solid defence his batsmen have been sadly lacking so far Down Under. There have been question marks over the Zimbabwean's future with England, particularly as he has already relinquished his duties with the limited-overs sides. However, Flower - who is due to meet with the ECB's new chief executive Paul Downton in Sydney - stressed his desire to remain in his role as national director,
particularly now there are "exciting challenges" ahead in terms of building a new-look Test team. "I'd like to carry on. I love exciting challenges," he said. "I would have the appetite to do that. I still have confidence in my ability to lead this group in the right direction."
Panel beaten
The Ashes panel contemplated changes after England's Melbourne mauling - and most think some fresh faces are required to try and avoid being swept. The failure of the batsmen could open the door for Gary Ballance to make his debut -
the young Yorkshireman was certainly giving a ringing endorsement by his county coach, former Australia paceman Jason Gillespie. The bowlers aren't spared from criticism either, having managed just two wickets in the home side's successful fourth-innings run chase.
Sir Ian Botham believes one of the three giant pacemen in the squad needs to come in, with his pick being Boyd Rankin: ""I don't see the point in picking these guys and saying 'we're going to take three tall, quick bowlers and give it a go' and then not play them." The concern for some of the panel, though, is that any alterations made by England won't make too much of a difference to the final outcome of the match.
Venue guide
Found in the east side of the city in Moore Park,
the Sydney Cricket Ground is traditionally the venue for the New Year Test. While it doesn't match the sheer enormity of the MCG, the venue formerly known as the Garrison Ground is renowned for creating a tremendous atmosphere. It also now offers a wonderful mixture of the old and the new. The Members and Ladies stands are heritage buildings that offer a glimpse into the past. Now, however, they are surrounded by some vast new stands that have helped raise the capacity but has meant the once famous hill has now long gone. Indeed, the new-look MA Noble, Don Bradman and Dally Messenger stands will be making their Test debut with the capacity now over 48,000. Sydney has staged an Ashes Test since 1882 but has not just been used for cricket - it is the home of the AFL's Sydney Swans and has staged tennis, both codes of rugby and even motor racing before. In 1938 it hosted the British Empire Games. It is best known for cricket, though, and although synonymous with spin in the past, the seamers have dominated in Australia victories over India and Sri Lanka most recently. The hosts have actually won nine of their last 10 Tests in Sydney. The opposition who denied them perfection in that time? England of course! Andrew Strauss' side secured a 3-1 series result in 2011 with an innings triumph.
Last time
England have played no fewer than 54 Tests at the SCG, winning 22 of them compared to 25 defeats. However, they have enjoyed success there just twice since 1980. Apart from the last tour, the other recent victory came in 2003 under the stewardship of Sky Sports' very own Nasser Hussain. Michael Vaughan made his third hundred of the tour in the visitors' second innings while the skipper himself weighed in himself with 72 to leave Australia chasing 452. They never got close thanks to a stunning seven-wicket haul from Andrew Caddick, meaning England avoided being whitewashed (what they wouldn't give for something similar this time around). Three years ago England underlined their dominance with a resounding triumph built around their first-innings score of 644 that included three centurions in Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Matt Prior. James Anderson claimed three wickets second time around as too did Chris Tremlett, the last of which saw him bowl no 11 Michael Beer to end the match and the series.
Stay up or catch up
You can follow the action from the final Test of this Ashes series in
more ways than ever. Every ball will be screened live on Sky Sports 2 but you can also watch wherever you are on your mobile, laptop and selected tablet devices via
Sky Go. The
Sky Sports Ashes Events Centre - which is available on both PC and iPad - allows you to get a totally different take on each day's play, offering live scorecards, match stats and player profiles - plus you can build your own analysis just like the commentators with Hawkeye, wagon wheels and more! If you can't stay up all night then there are plenty of ways to catch up. Simply press the red button on your TV to see highlights throughout the day or you can log on for highlights on skysports.com and on the Sky Sports iPad app. Wake up to The Ashes Breakfast every morning for extensive reaction to the night's action and our Verdict show will provide in-depth analysis and discussion before The Ashes Extra - Live brings you all the build-up to the start of play.
