England win toss and bowl first in must-win fourth Ashes test

MANCHESTER, England : For the fourth successive test in this Ashes series, England won toss and have elected to bowl first as the must-win clash with Australia gets up and running under grey skies in Manchester on Wednesday.

Trailing 2-1 in the five-match series, if Australia win or draw in Manchester they will retain the Ashes, but a win for England takes this exhilarating series to a final test at the Oval in London next week.

The odds are stacked against England, who have not beaten Australia in a Manchester Ashes test since an Ian Botham-inspired victory in 1981, while no team has come from 2-0 to win the series since 1936-37.

The hosts have brought back veteran Lancashire favourite Jimmy Anderson, who has a stand named after him at Old Trafford, into the bowling attack, while Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green replace Scott Boland and Todd Murphy for the tourists.

Much has been made of a challenging weather forecast in Manchester, with rain expected at various points over the next five days, but after the national anthems, the match got under way on time.