England to bowl against Australia in fifth Ashes test

SYDNEY (Reuters) - England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and chose to bowl in the fifth and final Ashes test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday.

(Reuters)

Australia, who have already reclaimed the Ashes, were unchanged for the fifth test in a row as they bid to finish the series with a fifth successive win to sweep the tourists 5-0 for only the third time in the long history of the rivalry.

England dropped top order batsman Joe Root, spinner Monty Panesar and seamer Tim Bresnan and awarded debuts to Gary Ballance, leg-spinner Scott Borthwick and paceman Boyd Rankin.

Australia - Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (captain), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon

England - Alastair Cook (captain), Michael Carberry, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Gary Ballance, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Boyd Rankin

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)