Friday 26 / December / 2025
Melbourne : Fiery bowling spells from Michael Neser and hometown hero Scott Boland helped Australia regain their footing in the Boxing Day Test after a short batting stint, leaving England behind at the end of the first day of the fourth Test at Melbourne, in what was a bowling paradise for both teams.
At the end of the day, Australia was 4/0, with Scott Boland (4*) and Travis Head (0*) unbeaten. England was skittled out for 110 in reply to Australia's first innings total of 152 runs, with Neser (4/45) and Boland (3/30) being at their most unplayable. England trails by 46 runs.
England started the final session of the day with openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley walking out to bat. Duckett, engulfed in off-the-field controversies, continued his poor run with the bat, handing an absolute gift of a catch to Michael Neser at mid-on, once again falling to Mitchell Starc for a five-ball two. England was 7/1 in 2.3 overs.
Young all-rounder Jacob Bethell, being given his Ashes debut at MCG on number three spot, could not capitalise on a relatively inexperienced Aussie bowling, as it was Neser who got him caught behind by Alex Carey for a five-ball one. England was two down for eight runs in 3.4 overs.
England continued to dig their own grave, as Crawley fell to Starc for a 14-ball five, while Joe Root produced another nick to Carey, removed by Neser for a 15-ball duck. England was 16/4 in eight overs.
However, Harry Brook, the vice-captain, took on Starc head-on and slapped the left-armer for a six over cover to start off the next over and with a pull for four to end the over. He and skipper Ben Stokes had to do something brilliant for England.
Stokes and Brook continued the rebuilding, as Brook smacked Neser for another six, while Stokes glided one of his deliveries for a four past mid-off to bring up England's 50-run mark in 11.5 overs.
The hometown hero Scott Boland broke the partnership, once again cutting short a promising Brook knock at 34-ball 41, consisting of two fours and two sixes. England was 66/5, having lost half their side after this fifty-run stand.
Jamie Smith's middle-stump took a beating from Boland, as the wicketkeeper-batter departed for a three-ball two. England was in troubled waters at 68/6 in 18.2 overs.
Boland continued to rip a hole into England's batting line-up, getting Will Jacks caught behind for just five in 10 balls, with England at 77/7 in 20.2 overs.
Neser got his third wicket, as skipper Stokes handed an easy catch to Smith at slips for a 38-ball 13. England was eight down for 83 in the 23rd over.
Nothing could keep Boland out of action as Brydon Carse took the aerial route against Neser, handing a fine catch to Boland. Neser got his fourth wicket. Carse was gone, and England slipped to 91/9 in 24 overs.
Atkinson helped England reach the 100-run mark in 25.5 overs, with a lofted, tennis-like shot against Neser. Atkinson's valiant 35-ball 28 (with three fours and a six) was ended by Cameron Green, with Australia wiping out England for 110 runs in 29.5 overs as they batted for just one session.
A five-wicket haul from pacer Josh Tongue and overall, a brilliant display of pace bowling from a ruthless, wounded England team ended Australia's first innings at just 152 runs in 45.2 overs to start off the fourth Ashes Test, a Boxing Day affair, at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday.
Having already lost the Ashes series, England still have something to play for, as they have yet to end their 18-match winless streak in Australia since their series win in the 2010/11 season. With Tongue replacing an injured Jofra Archer, the English bowling produced the accuracy, relentlessness and venom consistently, something that their die-hard supporters had only witnessed in patches throughout the series.
At the start of session one, Australia was 72/4, with Usman Khawaja (21*) and Alex Carey (9*) unbeaten.
Khawaja started off the session with a silky drive against Gus Atkinson, but soon became his second victim after nicking the ball to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. England took a successful review, sending back the Aussie veteran for a 52-ball 29. Australia was five wickets down for 89 runs in 28.5 overs.
In a battle of England's 'Miracle Machine' skipper Ben Stokes and Australia's 'crisis man' Carey, it was the English skipper who reigned supreme, with an assist from Zak Crawley at leg slip. Carey was gone for 35-ball 20. Australia was 91/6 in 31.2 overs and looked in grave peril.
The all-rounder pair of Cameron Green and Michael Neser took Australia to the 100-run mark in 35.5 overs.
Green looked in imperious touch, getting two successive boundaries against Josh Tongue, with one being a crunching pull shot heard everywhere. Neser also got a couple of boundaries against fours. After gaining his touch, Neser belted Tongue for a hat-trick of boundaries. The duo brought up their 50-run partnership in 64 balls.
However, a lightning-quick run out from Brydon Carse ended the counter-attack, removing Green for a 34-ball 17. Australia was seven down for 143, with a 52-run stand gone. Skipper Stokes also took a tough catch near mid-off to give Brydon Carse his first wicket of the day, sending back Starc for just one. Tongue knocked out Neser's middle-stump to get his fourth, sending back the all-rounder for a 49-ball 35, with seven fours. England was making merry with Australia at 152/9 in 45.1 overs.
Tongue got Scott Boland caught by Harry Brook, getting a five-wicket haul on the Boxing Day Test, ending with figures of 5/45 in 11.2 overs. Australia was all out for 152 runs. Atkinson got 2/28 in 14 overs while Stokes and Carse got one each.
At the end of session one, Australia was 72/4, with Khawaja (21*) and Carey (9*) unbeaten.
England won the toss and opted to bowl first, with Aussie openers Travis Head and Jake Weatherald coming out to bat.
The batting duo started off cautiously against Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse. In the sixth over, Australia released some pressure, with Head getting two successive boundaries against Carse, one being an elegant cover drive, and Weatherland ended the over with another cover drive for four, getting 15 runs off the over.
Atkinson earned England their first breakthrough, with Head chopping on a delivery angling across him into his stumps. Head was gone for 22-ball 12, with Australia on 27/1 in 5.1 overs.
From the ninth over, Josh Tongue started his spell of horror for the Aussies, with Weatherald strangled down the leg side and caught by keeper Jamie Smith for a 23-ball 10. Australia slipped to 31/2 in nine overs.
It was the Boxing Day Test and England, who had failed to secure the Ashes, were not holding back with their punches as Tongue got Marnus Labuschagne (6) and Steve Smith (5) in quick succession, leaving Aussies in disarray at 51/4 in 19.2 overs, with the cream of Aussie batting sitting in the pavillion barely an hour into the Test match.
The left-handed batting pair of Carey and Khawaja managed to see Australia through the remainder of the session.
Brief Scores: Australia: 152 (Michael Neser 35, Usman Khawaja 29, Josh Tongue 5/45) and vs England: 110 (Harry Brook 41, Gus Atkinson 28, Michael Neser 4/45).
