England ended their 18-match winless streak in Australia with a four-wicket win over the hosts in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Although they had already lost the Ashes series, this victory gave the team some pride and denied Australia a whitewash. England had last won a Test in Australia in 2010/11.
England opted to bowl
England won the toss and opted to bowl first. Josh Tongue was the pick of the bowlers with a five-wicket haul, helping bowl Australia out for 152 runs in 45.2 overs. Michael Neser top-scored with 35, while Usman Khawaja made 29. Scott Boland and Neser took advantage of England’s weak batting in the first innings, and England was all out for 110 in 29.5 overs, trailing by 42 runs. Harry Brook scored 41, and Gus Atkinson made 28, but the rest of the batting struggled on a difficult pitch.
Australia's second innings
Australia started their second innings at 4/0. Early breakthroughs by Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes helped England reduce Australia to 98/6 by the end of the first session. Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse picked up key wickets, including Marnus Labuschagne for just 8 and Usman Khawaja for a duck. Travis Head made 46, and Steve Smith remained 24 not out, as Australia was eventually bowled out for 132 in 34.3 overs. Carse took 4/34, Stokes 3/24, and Tongue 2/44. This left England with a target of 175 runs to win.
England's 175 chase
Chasing 175, England began well against Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser. Duckett scored 34 before being dismissed by Starc, while Zak Crawley and Jacob Bethell built a solid partnership. Bethell scored 40 in 46 balls, and Harry Brook contributed 18 not out. Joe Root struggled and was dismissed for 15. Ben Stokes also fell for 2, leaving England 165/6 with 10 runs to get.
England managed to complete the chase with Brook and Jamie Smith, finishing at 178/6 in 32.2 overs. Key contributions came from Bethell, Brook, Crawley, and Duckett, while the bowlers Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, and Stokes were crucial in both innings to keep Australia under control.
England's first Test win in Australia since 2011
This win gave England their first Test victory in Australia since 2011 and prevented Australia from achieving a series whitewash. Despite losing the Ashes, England showed strong bowling performances and important batting partnerships to secure the win in just two days.
Brief score
England 110 (Brook 41, Neser 4-45, Boland 3-30) and 178 for 6 (Bethell 40, Richardson 2-22) beat Australia 152 (Neser 35, Tongue 5-45, Atkinson 2-28) and 132 (Head 46, Carse 4-34, Stokes 3-24) by four wickets