Australia Fans Want Four Players Axed After Losing Fourth Ashes Test to England

Australia fans are calling on four players to be dropped from the team after England won the fourth Ashes Test by four wickets in Melbourne.

Jacob Bethell top-scored with 40 on Ashes debut as England successfully chased down a fourth-innings target of 175 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Australia had earlier been bowled out for just 132 in their second innings, having barely fared any better on day one with a score of 152 all out.

Steve Smith's side managed to reach 82 for three on day two, holding a lead of 124, but once Travis Head's innings of 46 was ended by Brydon Carse, the collapse began.

Australia lost their last four wickets for just 13 runs, with only Head, captain Smith and Cameron Green reaching double figures.

In the chase, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett quickly targeted Michael Neser, who went for 54 runs off just eight overs.

They chased down the target in just 32.2 overs, with key contributions from Bethell (40), Crawley (37) and Duckett (34).

The MCG pitch has been heavily criticised throughout the Test match, with 36 wickets falling inside two days.

In Australia's case, though, a number of their dismissals could be blamed on poor shot selection and decision-making rather than the surface.

Green, for instance, premeditated what appeared to be a back-foot cut shot through the slip cordon, which ended up straight in the hands of Harry Brook.

Usman Khawaja clipped the ball off his hip to Ollie Pope on the leg side boundary, while opener Jake Weatherald left a Ben Stokes delivery that hit middle stump.

Despite having already won the Ashes series by going 3-0 up prior to the Boxing Day Test, the defeat has placed a number of Australian players under the spotlight - having already been questioned by fans.

And fans are calling for as many as four players from the XI to be dropped entirely - whether that be for the fifth Test in Sydney or beyond.

Opener Weatherald scored 72 in the first innings in Brisbane but has passed 20 just once in his other seven innings.

All-rounder Green, who became the IPL's most-expensive player earlier this month when he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders, has been occasionally effective with the ball but has been repeatedly criticised for the modes of his dismissals with the bat.

Khawaja, now 39, scored 82 on his return to the team in Adelaide but it remains to be seen as to whether he continues his Test career beyond this series.

Labuschagne has scored only 46 runs in the last two Tests, and looks set to end a third consecutive calendar year with an average of under 35 in the longest form of the game.

One fan wrote: "You could make a pretty convincing case that Australia should run the broom through the batting order despite what will be a comprehensive Ashes victory.

"Weatherald, Labuschagne, Khawaja, Green, Inglis. Have any done enough to guarantee their spot?"

A second added: "Our brilliant bowling performances in this Ashes series has wallpapered the massive cracks in our batting line-up. Weatherald, Labuschagne, Khawaja, Green. All very poor."

A third said: "Aus selection interesting ahead of SCG. Blowtorch Green, Weatherald, Marnus. Farewell game Usman."

A fourth stated: "Jake Weatherald dropped for Sydney who says no."

And a fifth argued: "Not sure we can keep carrying Marnus Labuschagne regardless of how good his catching is. Just a shadow of the batsman he was three years ago."

While a sixth said: "Cameron Green needs to be axed no excuses."