Summary England 2-1 up in the five-match series and a win away from regaining the Ashes.
NOTTINGHAM (AFP) - England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to field against Australia in the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
The overcast conditions at the toss promised to aid swing bowling, with Australia having struggled against the moving ball this series.
However, the skies had brightened up by the time play began after a brief shower delayed the scheduled 11:00am local time (1000 GMT) start by five minutes.
England, 2-1 up in the five-match series and a win away from regaining the Ashes, made one change from the side that won the third Test by eight wickets at Edgbaston last week.
Durham fast bowler Mark Wood returned from the ankle problem that saw him miss Edgbaston to replace James Anderson after England s all-time leading wicket-taker -- also a Trent Bridge specialist -- was ruled out with a side injury.
"It s not really a straightforward decision," Cook told BBC Radio at the toss.
"There is green grass and overhead conditions, but it s a good wicket as well. It was an interesting call.
"Mark Wood is fully fit and has got a really good record at Trent Bridge for Durham.
"I think he will take the new ball," opening batsman Cook added.
"We can t replace James Anderson s 400 wickets overnight, but we see potential in Mark and he ll be looking forward to it."
Australia also made one change with top-order batsman Shaun Marsh replacing younger brother Mitchell Marsh, a 23-year-old seam bowling all-rounder.
Shaun Marsh, 32 who played the last of his 14 Tests against the West Indies in Jamaica in June, has scored two hundreds in three tour-match innings while in England this trip.
It was the first time since the fourth Test of the 1990/91 Ashes series, when Mark Waugh replaced Stephen Waugh, that Australia had dropped one brother for another.
Shaun Marsh was listed to bat at number four with Australia captain Michael Clarke dropping back down to a number five position where he averages 60 in Test cricket.
"Shaun s always batted in front of me in the Test team," Clarke said at the toss.
"He s opened the batting for Australia and batted at number three -- he s a top-order player."
Scores of 10 and three at Edgbaston left Clarke with a meagre series aggregate of 94 runs in six innings at an average of under 19.
Middle-order batsman Adam Voges, who played at Trent Bridge for Nottinghamshire, retained his place despite averaging just 14.60 this series.
After the toss, there was a minute s applause in honour of former Nottinghamshire and South Africa captain Clive Rice, who died on July 28 aged 66.
Teams
England: Adam Lyth, Alastair Cook (capt), Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wkt), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Steven Finn
Australia: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Steven Smith, Shaun Marsh, Michael Clarke (capt), Adam Voges, Peter Nevill (wkt), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK), S Ravi (IND)
TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
Weather: Top temperature of 24 degrees Celsius, cloudy.
Pitch conditions: A green tinged pitch promised to offer the bowlers early assistance as did the initial cloud cover, although conditions should get easier for batting throughout the day.
