A fighting England yesterday won their first Test on Australian soil in 15 years, restoring their battered pride with a gutsy four-wicket victory to clinch a chaotic fourth Ashes clash that was all over inside two days.
The pumped-up tourists dismissed Australia for 132 soon after lunch in front of a bumper 92,045 crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), following the 20 wickets that tumbled on day 1.
It left them chasing 175 to win, with Harry Brook unbeaten on 18 and Jamie Smith on 3 seeing them home for the loss of six wickets to huge roars from their traveling Barmy Army of fans. Jacob Bethell contributed 40 and Zak Crawley 37.
Photo: AFP
“A good feeling, a tough tour up to now,” England skipper Ben Stokes said. “After the build-up to the Test, a lot thrown our way, to put in a performance on the back of all that, and beat a very good Australian team, a lot of credit has to go to players, staff and management for keeping the focus on cricket. Very proud. We showed bravery and were courageous.”
England crashed in the first three Tests and came to Melbourne under enormous pressure amid questions about their limited preparations and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-series beach break.
However, they finally came good and head to Sydney for the fifth and final Test brimming with confidence.
Photo: AFP
England had not won a Test in Australia since January 2011 in Sydney, losing 16 and drawing two since. Openers Crawley and Ben Duckett had a clear objective to snap the streak — play aggressive “Bazball” style.
Duckett hit a boundary off Mitchell Starc in his first over, while Crawley slammed Michael Neser for a six and a four in successive balls. They brought up a whirlwind 50 opening partnership, but next ball Duckett was bowled by a Starc yorker for 34.
Fast bowler Brydon Carse then strode to the middle as a surprise No. 3 in place of Bethell.
Photo: AP
England’s pinch-hitting experiment failed as Carse lasted only eight balls before skying Jhye Richardson to Cameron Green.
Crawley fell LBW to Scott Boland after a gritty knock and Bethell was caught by Usman Khawaja from the same bowler.
Richardson trapped Joe Root LBW for 15 and Starc accounted for Ben Stokes for 2, but by then only 10 runs were needed, and Brook and Smith completed the job.
Photo: AFP
“It was a tricky one, a quick game,” Australia captain Steve Smith said. “If we had got 50-60 more in both innings then things might have been different. The wicket played as expected, but once the ball softened, it didn’t quite behave the way I’d hoped.”
“When you see 36 wickets fall in two days, that probably tells you it did a bit more than intended,” he said of the MCG pitch.
Australia resumed on 4-0 in their second innings after an explosive opening day of searing pace saw 20 wickets fall with the hosts dismissed for 152 and England just 110.
It was the most wickets to tumble on the first day of an Ashes Test since 1909 and eclipsed the 19 on day 1 of the series opener in Perth.
With 1cm of grass on the track, it was a bowler’s dream, but a host of former greats criticized the pitch for “doing too much” and being “unfair for the batters.”
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said Saturday “short tests are bad for business,” and said CA would consider a closer role in pitch preparation in the future.
“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented, but it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially,” Greenberg told SEN Radio.
In the hosts’ second innings yesterday, nightwatchman Boland edged Gus Atkinson to wicketkeeper Smith, but the bowler left the field soon after clutching his left hamstring.
Josh Tongue came into the attack on a hat-trick after bagging the final two Australia wickets on day 1, but Jake Weatherald whipped his full ball for three.
Weatherald needed a decent knock to cement his spot at the top of the order, but he failed again, bowled by Stokes for 5 leaving a delivery that nipped back.
Travis Head was joined by Marnus Labuschagne, but he only made eight, caught by Root in the slips off Tongue.
Head was in good touch before being bowled on 46 by a peach of a delivery from Carse that beat the outside edge, and when Khawaja (0) and Alex Carey (4) departed in the space of nine balls, the momentum was back with England.
After reaching lunch at 98-6, Green (19) became the seventh wicket to fall with the score on 119, edging a rising Stokes ball to Harry Brook at slip.
Carse bagged Neser and Starc without scoring and Richardson fell to Stokes with the last four wickets tumbling for 13 runs, leaving Steve Smith unbeaten on 24.
Additional reporting by AP
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