Stuart Dew spotted with Australian cricket team after Gold Coast sacking

Stuart Dew has been spotted with the Australian cricket team in England, just weeks after being shown the door by the Gold Coast Suns. It remains to be seen whether he has joined the team in any official capacity, however the former Hawthorn and Port Adelaide premiership star was sporting official team gear.

Catching some of the Ashes was a high-priority for Dew in the wake of his somewhat messy exit from the Suns, which came just a week after the club had refuted reports from Caroline Wilson that his job was at risk. It was through middle-order batsman Travis Head that Dew linked up with the Aussie team, given the former's role as an ambassador for Port Adelaide.

NO WAY: Carlton on brink of AFL history amid unlikely finals surge

BRUTAL: Brodie Grundy in Demons dilemma after controversial ultimatum

Dew isn't the only high-profile AFL personality to have visited the team, with retired Geelong superstar Joel Selwood having visited ahead of the second Test at Lord's. The former Suns coach was accompanied by high performance manager Brian McFadyen as the Aussies were put through their paces in the nets, as well as inspecting the pitch at Old Trafford.

The fourth Test gets underway on Wednesday, with Australia holding a 2-1 lead following England's triumph at Headingley. A victory at Old Trafford would see the Aussies retain the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001.

An overseas trip for Dew was flagged in order to put the stress of his six-year stint as Suns head coach behind him. Dew had originally been contracted through to the end of the 2024 AFL season, but was sacked as the Suns dropped out of finals contention.

In a bitter footnote to his coaching career with the Suns, it was a loss to Port Adelaide that proved to be the final straw for the Gold Coast brass, despite their insistence that he was the man for the job just a week before he was ultimately let go. The club's fierce denial of Wilson's initial report left the veteran AFL reporter 'staggered'.

David Warner likely to retain opening spot for fourth Ashes Test

Meanwhile, it would appear David Warner will retain his position as opener for the fourth Test, despite Marcus Harris going through a net session alongside incumbent Usman Khawaja. Warner, who was twice dismissed by Stuart Broad at Headingley, looks to be safe from a potential move for either Cam Green or Mitch Marsh into the opening spot in his stead.

It suggests Australia will make only the one change for the fourth Test, with Josh Hazlewood likely to come in for Scott Boland. The development comes after Khawaja said Warner would play as his opening partner.

"Yep," he said, when asked if he expected to walk out alongside Warner. "From my point of view Dave Warner has been one of the greatest openers of all time.

"It is him and Haydos (Matt Hayden) right up there for Australia. The top two ever. So I will always back Davey no matter what, and the other guys will too."

Warner had earlier joined Khawaja and Marcus Harris to face the new ball in the nets on Sunday. Australia's longtime opening duo share a close bond, having opened the batting together in junior cricket in Sydney before being reunited last year at the top of Australia's order. And Khawaja said it was easy to overlook the work the pair had done together in this year's Ashes, including three successive half-century partnerships in tough conditions.

"It's massive, and a thankless job," Khawaja said. "We go out there and got a really good start at Lord's in heavy overhead conditions. I got out just last over before lunch but that sets up the game for us.

"Steve Smith comes out and batted in the sunshine and gets the beautiful 100. As an opener, sometimes you don't always record your good days on how many runs you made. Sometimes it's just about just grinding through those tough times.

"We've had three 50-run partnerships against Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. That is as tough as it gets in England. You have to pay some respect to that."

With AAP

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.