SYDNEY, Jan 1: England has recalled veteran wicket-keeper Alec Stewart for the final Ashes Test starting on Thursday in the hope of avoiding a 5-0 series whitewash and spoiling Steve Waugh’s record-equalling 156th Test appearance.

However, their chances have been hampered by the loss of fast bowler Glenn McGrath and leg-spinner Shane Warne, forcing the selectors to recall paceman Andy Bichel.

With the series decided long ago, much of the interest in the final Test centres around Waugh, who will equal Allan Border’s world record of 156 Test appearances.

Already one of the greats of the game, Waugh is on the threshold of a string of major milestones.

The 37-year-old needs just 69 more runs to join Border and Sunil Gavaskar as the only players to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket and needs just one more century to equal Don Bradman’s Australian record of 29 hundreds.

Teams (from):

Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Martin Love, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Stuart MacGill, Andy Bichel, Brad Hogg, Brad Williams.

England: Nasser Hussain (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Mark Butcher, Robert Key, John Crawley, Alec Stewart, James Foster, Paul Collingwood, Richard Dawson, Andy Caddick, Steve Harmison, Alex Tudor.—Reuters