England beat Australia by four wickets in the Boxing Day Ashes Test

England’s long wait for an Ashes victory on Australian soil is finally over as they came out on top after two days of chaos in Melbourne.

Ben Stokes’ dreams of bringing the urn home may already be over after three successive defeats, but the grim prospect of a 5-0 whitewash is off the table after his side emerged from a batting graveyard at the MCG with a dramatic four-wicket win in the fourth Test.

England last won Down Under in January 2011, losing 16 times and drawing twice in four tours before finally ending their run here.

Chasing 175 may have felt like a lottery on a minefield, but for once England had the winning ticket when Jacob Bethell made a crucial 40 on Ash’s debut.

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AUSTRALIA V ENGLAND FOURTH TEST FINAL SCORECARD

Scalp

For the second time in the space of 24 hours, England’s bowlers kept up their end of the bargain, rolling Australia for 132 in less than 35 overs despite the withdrawal of Gus Atkinson with a hamstring injury.

In his place, Brydon Carse found some long-awaited rhythm as he claimed four for 34, with three scalps for Stokes and two for Josh Tongue.

The goal was small compared to some of the big numbers this side has chased on their best days, but it was also the biggest score of the match hurtling towards an indecently fast finish.

The danger brought England back into contact with the wilder side of ‘Bazball’, having previously allowed their ultra-aggressive instincts to be curbed.

Chaotic

Ben Duckett, out of form and in the news for all the wrong reasons, set the tone with a chaotic 34 against the new ball; Carse jumped from number 10 to number three in a revival of the so-called ‘nighthawk’ role once epitomized by Stuart Broad; Bethell even attempted a scoop shot on the first ball of the decisive evening session.

It was a daring, mind-boggling and strangely mesmerizing reversal of the hard-bitten Test cricket that is usually required in this part of the world.

But most importantly, for a controversial team that has been off the rails for the past seven weeks and most of the past fifteen years, it was successful.

joker

After the match had traveled at turbo speed towards the endgame, it looked every bit a 50:50 bet as a fragile England line-up began their chase in a sailor’s paradise.

Duckett came out sparkling with intent, mixing four boundaries and a stunningly ambitious drive for six from Michael Neser with a handful of putrid hacks.

He lasted just seven overs before Mitchell Starc had the final say with a quick yorker, but in that time he helped England chip in 51, with Zak Crawley chipping in with a daring straight six off Neser.

England used Duckett’s dismissal to remove a prankster from the pack, confusing everyone including the stadium announcer, who initially shouted Harry Brook’s name.

It was an unpredictable move but a predictable result, with Australia setting the field back and waiting for a wild miss.

Dangerous

The move lasted eight balls and yielded six points before Bethell belatedly joined the action.

He and Zak Crawley set up a settlement position of 47 either side of tea, and at the start of the final session 98 were still needed.

Bethell’s misjudged scoop from the first episode of the night indicated too much adrenaline, but he composed himself to score some tough runs.

Batting continued to be a dangerous affair with Boland trapping Crawley lbw for 37 and tempting Bethell to cover, while Joe Root and Stokes both fell before the job was done.

Brook was there at the end with an unbeaten 18, but missed the rare opportunity to score the winning points and instead settled for four leg-byes that will go down as some of the most celebrated extras in English history.

Excellent performance

The English bowlers put on an excellent show in favorable conditions. Atkinson took out nightwatchman Boland in his opening knock, but soon limped off after four overs.

His departure hastened the introduction of Stokes and the skipper made short work of Jake Weatherald by bowling him without a shot offered in his first over.

Marnus Labuschagne was subjected to a short and bitter reprieve, knocking the glove twice in a spiteful raid from Stokes, before slipping Tongue the first time.

The series’ top scorer, Travis Head, quickly established himself as the main threat, scoring 46 crucial runs before Carse found a ball with his name on it.

Fittingly, it was a thing of beauty: it poked across the bat’s head before cutting the brackets off the stump.

Australia never fully recovered as they lost their last seven wickets in two quick clusters.

Usman Khawaja was run out by Tongue for a duck and both Alex Carey and the timid Cameron Green prodded softly to second slip.

Carse removed Neser and Starc with successive deliveries and Stokes ended the innings by dismissing Jhye Richardson.

The door to victory was open and for the longest time in a decade and a half, England found their way through.

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