PERTH, Australia (AP) – Needing to avoid a loss to keep the Ashes series alive, England skipper Joe Root won the toss Thursday and elected to bat in the third test against Australia.
The Australians won the first two matches in Brisbane and Adelaide and have only ever lost one test at the WACA ground to England, back in 1978.
England retained the same starting XI from the loss last week in the augural day-night Ashes test in Adelaide, with a minor change in the batting order to have Jonny Bairstow batting at No. 6 and Moeen Ali dropped to No. 7.
Australia made one change, recalling allrounder Mitchell Marsh at the expense of middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb.
Australia captain Steve Smith said recent statistics at the WACA led to the change, with more backup needed for a bowling attacking featuring three pacemen and offspinner Nathan Lyon. Mitchell Marsh is expected to bat at No. 6, coming in after older brother, Shaun Marsh.
Lineups:
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins,
England: Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson.
Umpires: Marais Erasmus, South Africa, and Chris Gaffaney, New Zealand.
TV Umpire: Aleem Dar, Pakistan; Match referee: Richie Richardson, West Indies.
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