Ashes: England end winless streak on Australian soil, clinch Boxing Day Test on Day 2
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Ashes: England end winless streak on Australian soil, clinch Boxing Day Test on Day 2")
Ashes: England end winless streak on Australian soil, clinch Boxing Day Test on Day 2 Photograph: (AFP)
Playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the traditional year-ending fixture, England's four-wicket victory ended their almost 15-year winless streak on Australian soil in red-ball format.
England’s wait for a Test win on Australian soil finally came to an end on Saturday (Dec 27) as they beat Australia by four wickets in the fourth Ashes Test. Playing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the traditional year-ending fixture, the contest ended England’s almost 15-year winless streak on Australian soil in red-ball format. The result also means Australia lost its first match in the current World Test Championship (WTC) but still have an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
England end winless streak Down Under
Having already lost the Ashes 3-0 in Adelaide, it was the Boxing Day Test that brought relief for the visitors. Having bowled out Australia for 132 in their second innings, England needed 175 runs to win the traditional fixture. England, despite a poor show with the bat, made sure they got over the line and clinched the contest to break the duck in the series.
An opening stand of 51 runs between Zak Crawley (37) and Ben Duckett (34) saw England take early comfort before losing quick-fire wickets. Jacob Bethell then added 40 runs to the tally before Joe Root (15) and Harry Brook (unbeaten 18) saw the visitors through to win by four wickets.
What happened earlier?
Having won the toss, England’s decision to bowl first proved crucial as they reduced Australia to 152 runs in the first innings. However, it was not a good day at the office for England as they were also bowled out on the opening day for 110. Australia, therefore, entered Day 2 with a 46-run lead (42 runs in the first innings).
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
The second day did not go according to plan for Australia, which quickly went from 61/2 to 88/6, losing wickets in tandem. Like the first innings, another batting horror followed for the Baggy Greens, who were later bowled out for 132 runs. Only three batters got into double figures as Travis Head top-scored with 46, while Steve Smith amassed 24 and Cameron Green scored 19.
For England, Brydon Carse got four wickets, followed by Ben Stokes with three on a perfect bowling day for the visitors. Josh Tongue added two wickets to his five from the first innings, while there was one wicket for Gus Atkinson, who later pulled up his hamstring.
