Australia have barely put a foot wrong in the five-match series and will head to the MCG confident of pushing England toward a second successive whitewash on home soil.
Australia moved within six wickets of reclaiming the Ashes at the close of a rain-hit day four of the third Ashes Test on Sunday, with England still 127 runs short of making the hosts bat again.
It is usually a sign of a day with few redeeming features when a coach rather than a player faces the media after play and Sunday's appearance of England's Trevor Bayliss was no exception.
Penpix of England players in England's Ashes squad.
England trail New Zealand's first innings by 69 runs but need to survive the remaining 31 overs in the final session to stop the hosts from taking a 1-0 lead in the two match series.
England will have to make some tough decisions about the futures of some of their most decorated senior players after they were ruthlessly exposed by Australia in a 15-day Ashes capitulation.
With its traditionally quick and bouncy wicket playing to the strengths of home pacemen, the WACA has been a house of pain for English cricket and Australians will be hoping for more of the same when the ground hosts its final Test.
Root's innings was always going to be crucial to his team's chances of chasing down a record 354 at Adelaide Oval and although the innings limped on into a second hour, the hope raised among the English on Tuesday was gone.
A calf injury to explosive batsman Lynn opened an unlikely door for 34-year-old White, who played the last of his 88 ODIs in 2015 and has since been critical of a pro-youth policy he felt did not reward the performance of senior players.
Images from Day 5 of the 3rd Ashes Test played at the WACA in Perth on Monday
Images from Day 2 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday
IMAGES from the Day-Night Test, the first played between New Zealand and England at Auckland on Thursday
Getting whacked on the hand by a Cameron Bancroft shot would not keep Steve Smith from the Boxing Day Test against England, the Australia captain said on Monday.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
The fitness of Ben Stokes remains an issue. The all-rounder did not bowl in the first Test due to a back problem and could play again as a specialist batsman ahead of Vince.
The 16-man squad includes batsmen Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan and fast bowler Jake Ball, who have 11 Test caps between them, as well as three uncapped players in paceman Craig Overton, spinner Mason Crane and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
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