Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green return as Australia name all-out seam attack for 4th Ashes Test

Veteran pacer Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Cameron Green are set to return to the Australian playing XI for the fourth Ashes Test against England at Manchester, starting from Wednesday, July 19.

The lone specialist spinner from the third Test, Todd Murphy, and medium-pacer Scott Boland will make way for the duo as the visitors have opted to go in with an all-out seam attack. It marks the first time in over a decade that the Aussies will take the field without a spinner, with the Perth Test against India in 2012 being the last instance.

While Green missed out on the Headingley game due to a hamstring injury, Hazlewood was rested as part of the workload management. The 32-year-old pacer, recovering from an Achilles injury, missed the WTC final against India last month before returning for the opening two games of the Ashes.

The outgoing duo of Boland and Murphy did not have much impact in the last game, where Australia went down by three wickets. While the Victorian seamer went wicketless in both innings, the off-spinner bowled less than 10 overs and picked up one wicket.

There was also speculation about out-of-form opener David Warner possibly being dropped for the penultimate Test of the series. However, Australian skipper Pat Cummins confirmed that the top order would remain the same.

"Josh will come in for Scott Boland, and the top order will stay the same. Part of the conversation is how do two allrounders fit in, is spin going to be important this week?" Cummins told reporters on the eve of the Test match.

Cummins also threw his weight behind 35-year-old Warner, crediting him for playing a vital role in the opening two games.

"Davey didn't have his best game last week at Headingley, but prior to that, he has looked really good. He has had three 50-run (opening) partnerships, which can be rare over in England," he added.

Part of the reason for the visitors swaying toward an all-seam attack could have been the overhead conditions anticipated at Manchester, with rain expected to play a part during the game.

However, it is also highly likely that the imperious form displayed by Mitchell Marsh in the third Test caused several selection headaches on the possible combination. The all-rounder scored a scintillating counter-attacking 118 in Australia's first innings and picked up a couple of crucial wickets in the match.

England, meanwhile, named their playing XI for the game a day earlier, with the only change being the return of James Anderson for the injured Ollie Robinson.

Australia currently lead the series 2-1 by winning the opening two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord's before suffering defeat in the third game at Headingley.

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Australia XI for 4th Ashes Test

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), and Josh Hazlewood.

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England XI for 4th Ashes Test

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson.