Melbourne [Australia], December 27 : Following his side's loss to England in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, Australian skipper Steve Smith said that getting "extra 50 or 60 runs" could have helped his side, and the pitch did "a bit more than it intended".
On a grass-heavy bowling heaven, both England and Australian bowlers looted wickets like for fun, but it was England who ended their win drought in Aussie land, with the generation next of England, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse giving their super seniors, skipper Ben Stokes and Joe Root, something to smile about despite having lost the Ashes. With England finally securing a win in the series, they have denied Australia a whitewash and could go out with their heads held high if they win the last one in Sydney.
The match started with a massive 20 wickets falling on day one, a 74-year high since 22 scalps during the Australia-West Indies series in the 1951/52 season.
Aussie skipper Steve Smith said during the post-match presentation, "Tricky one. Quick game. (on the match) If we had managed that extra 50 or 60, we probably would have been right in the contest at the end. The wicket played as expected, but once the ball softened, it did not reasonably behave the way I had hoped. When they came out to bat, they were very aggressive in those first few overs, and that probably softened the ball even further. From that point, it did not offer as much assistance as I would have liked (pitch helping the batters). I would say maybe a touch too much (in favour of the bowlers). It was definitely tricky out there. When you see 36 wickets fall in two days, that probably tells you it did a bit more than intended. Maybe taking a bit of grass off or easing the preparation slightly would've helped. But that's how it was, and we just had to adapt."
Coming to the match, England won the toss and opted to bowl first. Josh Tongue (5/45) took England's first-ever Boxing Day Test five-wicket haul at MCG, as Australia were skittled out for 152 runs in 45.2 overs, with Michael Neser (35 in 49 balls, with seven fours) and Usman Khawaja (29 in 52 balls, with two fours) being the top scorers for Australia. Neser also shared a half-century stand with Cameron Green (17) before a run out triggered another collapse ending in an all-out.
England was bundled out for 110 in 29.5 overs in their first innings, with Harry Brook (41 in 34 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Gus Atkinson (28 in 35 balls, with three fours and a six). A mix of England's 'Bazball' approach failing yet again and the pitch being absolutely unplayable for batters gave Neser (4/45) and hometown hero Scott Boland (3/30) easy wickets. England trailed by 42 runs.
In their second innings, Australia failed to make an impact, once again pointing to the pitch's venomous and treacherous nature. Only Travis Head (46 in 67 balls, with four boundaries) and Steve Smith (24* in 39 balls, with a four) crossed the 20-run mark as England bundled them out for just 132 runs in 34.3 overs. Aussies led by 174 runs, setting an easy 175 to win for England. Brydon Carse (4/34) and skipper Ben Stokes (3/24) were the top bowlers for England.
In the run chase, England started off well with a half-century stand between Zak Crawley (37 in 48 balls, with three fours and a six) and Ben Duckett (34 in 26 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and a 47-run stand for the third wicket between Crawley and Jacob Bethell (40 in 46 balls, with five fours). Australia did fight back a bit, reducing England from 112/2 to 165/6, but the pair of Harry Brook (18*) and Jamie Smith (3*) guided their team to a memorable win.