Wickets tumble on frenetic Boxing Day as Australia take the upper hand

Photo courtesy of Ian Knights

And breathe…

England captain Ben Stokes has endured a difficult few weeks in enemy territory. The Ashes were lost inside 11 days of cricket, his tactics have come under heavy scrutiny, and more recently he has faced questions surrounding a drinking culture within the team. Yet when asked whether he would have changed anything on the field during the series so far, Stokes wished the outcomes of the tosses were different.

On Boxing Day in Melbourne, he finally got his wish.

Stokes won the toss and rightly opted to bowl on a seamer-friendly surface, hoping to make early inroads into the Australian top order. His bowlers rose to the challenge. Gus Atkinson bowled with excellent discipline and accuracy, suffocating the scoring rate, while Josh Tongue produced the finest spell of his England career, claiming five wickets.

Tongue was superb. He bowled a challenging line and length which, when combined with his unique angle and pace, posed problems to which the Australian batting group had few answers. Brydon Carse was the main concern from an England perspective: his opening new-ball spell was wayward at times, and he struggled to trouble the left-handers. Nevertheless, after inserting the opposition, England would have been delighted to have bowled Australia out for 152 inside two sessions.

Time for the bowlers to put their feet up and for England to build a lead.

Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser, tasked with taking the new ball, had other ideas. Could they wrestle back momentum and drag Australia back into the contest? They did - emphatically. Neser seamlessly replaced Pat Cummins, repeatedly chiselling away at the top of off stump with relentless line and length. He was well supported by the formidable duo of Starc and Scott Boland.

The combined efforts of the trio ensured that 152 always felt a long way away. England’s highest scorer was Harry Brook, who made an attacking 41. His intent was made crystal clear by the audacious decision to charge Starc on the very first delivery he faced, with the scoreboard reading 8–3. However, wickets continued to tumble as England failed to provide resistance to the Australian surge, eventually stuttering to 110 all out.

So where does that leave us? England trail by 46 runs on a surface expected to quicken up and become harder to bat on day two. Another two or three day Test match looks likely. For England, the task is simple: early wickets. While Australia will look to build a defendable total to notch up their 4th victory of the series.