Match overview

England Cricket won the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 4 wickets, completing a chase of 175 on what became a gripping fourth innings. Australia were bowled out for 152 in the first innings and England replied with 110, handing the hosts a lead of 42 runs. Australia added 132 in their second innings, setting England 175 to win. England reached 178/6, losing six wickets in the process but crossing the line without needing their full complement. JC Tongue was named player of the match. The result ends England's run of five consecutive defeats against Australia, three of which came earlier in this same series.

The match was played on a pitch that kept both batting sides well below the MCG's long-term average first-innings score of 205 across 155 Tests. Australia's combined total of 284 across two innings and England's first-innings 110 suggest the surface offered consistent assistance to the bowlers, making every run harder to come by than the ground's historical numbers would imply.

For England, the win is particularly significant given the sequence leading into it. They had lost at Perth Stadium, the Gabba, and Adelaide Oval before arriving in Melbourne. Three defeats in a row in any Ashes series tends to weigh heavily on morale and selection, so a Boxing Day victory at one of cricket's most recognisable grounds carries real weight.

Venue and conditions

The Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest cricket venue in the world by capacity and one of the oldest Test grounds still in regular use. Across 155 Test matches here, the average first-innings score is 205 and the average second-innings score is 190. Both of those figures were exceeded only in England's winning chase; Australia fell short of both benchmarks in each of their innings.

The MCG has a historical chase success rate of 56%, which is marginally in favour of the side batting last. Teams winning the toss have chosen to field on 54% of occasions, reflecting a widespread view that the pitch offers more early on and that batting last, once the surface settles, can be an advantage. England won the toss here and elected to field, a decision that held up over four innings.

Boxing Day Tests at the MCG have produced some of the game's more demanding conditions for batters. Pat Cummins took 10 wickets across 38 overs in the Boxing Day Test of 2023, and Jasprit Bumrah has twice taken nine-wicket match hauls at this ground, including 9/86 in 2018. The surface tends to reward patience and disciplined seam bowling, and this match followed that pattern.

How to watch

The Ashes series in Australia is broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Cricket. Subscribers can also stream via Sky Go or take out a day or monthly pass through NOW TV. Given the time difference between Melbourne and the UK, play typically gets under way around midnight or 1am UK time for a local 10:30am start.

BBC Test Match Special provides radio commentary on all England Test matches overseas and is available through BBC Sounds. For those unable to stay up for live coverage, highlights and session recaps are available through the Sky Sports app and ECB social channels throughout the day.

Recent form

Australia arrived at the MCG having won three consecutive Tests against England in this series, following that with a no-result against India and a defeat to India before the Boxing Day fixture. Their record of three wins from their most recent completed series matches was strong, but the MCG performance suggests some fragility in the batting unit when conditions assist the bowlers.

England's form coming in was poor by any measure: five defeats in their last five completed matches, including all three series matches against Australia prior to Melbourne and two losses to New Zealand before that. The win here does not change the series position dramatically, but it does offer Ben Stokes's side a reference point for what their bowling attack can produce when the conditions align. Whether they can replicate that in the remaining fixtures will determine whether this result is a turning point or an isolated bright spot.