Joe Root says 'silly' to change England management after Ashes loss

Veteran England batsman Joe Root has said it would be "silly" to change England's management team after losing the Ashes, with players "absolutely committed" to the current set-up.

England meekly surrendered the famous urn after just 11 days of play with back-to-back eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run loss at Adelaide.

Their capitulation was compounded by criticism of their low-key preparations and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-series beach break in Noosa.

The team restored some pride with a frantic four-wicket win in Melbourne, snapping an 18-match winless streak on Australian soil.

It relieved pressure on coach Brendon McCullum, skipper Ben Stokes and cricket chief Rob Key, who have all indicated they want to stay in their roles.

"In terms of the playing group, we're absolutely committed to the management," Root, England's all-time leading Test run-scorer and a former captain, told English media in Melbourne.

"Yes, we can be better and there are certain areas that we'll continue to keep working at, but the management work extremely hard.

"They might do things in a slightly different way, but I think we've made great strides as a group and a big reason for it is because of the guys we have behind us."

Management's case to stay on would be strengthened by another win in the fifth Test in Sydney starting Sunday.

Root was captain on England's last tour of Australia in 2021-22 when they were crushed 4-0, costing coach Chris Silverwood and cricket director Ashley Giles their jobs.

But Root said a lot of progress had been made since under the current regime.

"You look at the group of players we've got and you look at the guys that were involved in the team when I was captain, four years ago, and you look at their records individually, and every single one of them has improved as a player," he said.

"This team has improved. I think it would be silly (to consider change) for the amount of hard work and things that have been done."

Victory in Melbourne was Root's first in Australia in more than a decade of trying and he said it "would be better if we win next week as well".

"If we can build on it and do it again next time it's momentum in the right direction for the next tour here (in 2029-30)," he added.

Injured Atkinson out of 5th Ashes Test

England pace spearhead Gus Atkinson was Monday ruled out of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia with a hamstring injury, their third fast bowler to head home early during the series.

The Surrey right-armer hobbled off early on day two of the fourth Test in Melbourne clutching his left leg and took no further part.

"Gus Atkinson has been ruled out for the remainder of the Ashes tour after scans confirmed he has sustained a left hamstring injury," the England Cricket Board said.

No replacement will be called up, opening the door to either Matthew Potts or Matthew Fisher who are both in the squad but have yet to play.

Atkinson is the third England quick to be sidelined after Mark Wood (knee) and Jofra Archer (side strain), leaving Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes to shoulder the attack.

England are 3-1 down ahead of the Sydney Test starting on Sunday.

They suffered back-to-back eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run loss at Adelaide before bouncing back to clinch a four-wicket win in Melbourne.

Australia coach backs under-fire MCG curator

Australia coach Andrew McDonald came to the defence of the Melbourne Cricket Ground's under-fire curator Monday and warned against authorities meddling in pitch preparation.

Curator Matt Page and his team have been in the firing line after leaving 10 millimetres of grass on the wicket for the fourth Ashes Test against England.

It provided the seamers with movement and bounce, making batting treacherous, with England winning by four wickets inside two days.

The carnage left Cricket Australia facing Aus$10 million (US$6.7 million) in revenue shortfall, with tickets for day three, four and five needing to be refunded.

McDonald said Page had done an "outstanding" job over the years and the batsmen should also shoulder some of the blame for not scoring enough runs.

"The perspective that I always use is we have bad Test matches as well -- this Test we weren't at our best and sometimes these things can happen.

"We support him in what he's done and are really proud of the evolution of the MCG.

"He's found a nice balance for a long period of time."

International Cricket Council referee Jeff Crowe is yet to deliver his assessment of the pitch, which if handed an "unsatisfactory" rating would see the venue slapped with a demerit point.

Cricket Australia are set to undertake their own end-of-season review of the management of Test wickets.

Chief executive Todd Greenberg has suggested a more interventionist approach might be needed, with shorter Tests "bad for business".

But McDonald said he was not in favour of any interference, with curators in Australia traditionally independent when preparing pitches, both from captains and Cricket Australia.

"I don't want to get to a situation ... where we are asking for specific surfaces and tailor-made," McDonald said.

"I don't think Australia will ever go there, and I don't think they've ever been there, to my knowledge."