James Anderson returns for fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford

England reinforced their bowling attack by recalling veteran fast bowler James Anderson in place of Ollie Robinson for the fourth Ashes Test against Australia that begins on Wednesday at Old Trafford.

Anderson returns to his home ground where England will aim to win and level the series. Australia lead the contest 2-1 and even a draw will see them retain the urn.

Robinson paid the price for his fitness issues in the third Test in Leeds, which England won by three wickets to come back in the series. There the right-arm seamer suffered from back spasms and bowled only 11.2 overs in the first innings. He did not bowl in the second innings, with Chris Woakes sharing the new ball with Stuart Broad.

Anderson, England's leading wicket-taker in Tests with 688 scalps, was rested for the third Test after the 40-year-old struggled to make an impact in the series with just three wickets in the first two matches.

Another change to the side sees all-rounder Moeen Ali promoted to bat at number three, with Ollie Pope ruled out for the rest of the series.

With Anderson returning on what is expected to be a livelier surface compared to the opening two games, England will be confident of keeping Australia's batting in check, with Woakes and Mark Wood proving particularly effective with the new and old ball.

Meanwhile, Australia batsman Usman Khawaja revealed he talked directly to the world governing body, the ICC, to take a more pragmatic approach to over rates after heavy fines during the World Test Championship final and the opening Ashes Tests.

The governing body said at its annual general meeting that it was reducing the penalty from 20 per cent to five per cent for every over a player's team is found to be behind.

Both England and