Captain Ben Stokes marked the end of Australia’s 15-year winning streak by sharing a little hug and a few words of relief with former skipper Joe Root.
Stokes will not take home the urn after defeats in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, but he also leaves an unwanted record after overseeing his country’s first away Ashes victory since January 2011.
After two days of pandemonium in a Melbourne batting graveyard – 36 wickets tumbling in six sessions and no half-century in an Australian Test for the first time since 1932 – it was England who finished top.
At times it may have felt like a lottery on a dodgy MCG pitch, but chasing 175 with four wickets in hand, it was England who held the winning ticket.
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AUSTRALIA V ENGLAND FOURTH TEST FINAL SCORECARD
Special feeling
Of the 18-match drought, spanning four separate tours, Root had made 17 appearances and captained 10, while Stokes was left empty-handed from 13.
“At the end, when all the boys came out of the locker room, we got a little hug and said, ‘Finally we won one,’” he said after the pair hugged at the end.
“Me and Joe have been here a few times and been on the wrong side of the results a few times, so to end up on the right side of the results after a long period of time is a pretty special feeling.
“I’m sure there might be a few words said about it later tonight. We know Australia is a very difficult country to win a match in, let alone a series.”
“It will be another four years before we get back here, but there will be no story that we haven’t won a game – that’s going back to zero now.”
(Robbie Stephenson/PA)
Proud
While England’s two old podium players have worked their entire careers to taste a result like the one they scrapped for, in front of a record crowd totaling almost 200,000 over the two days, some of their younger teammates have been luckier.
Josh Tongue, who took seven for 89 in a player-of-the-match performance, was playing only his second Test in Australia, while Jacob Bethell hit a crucial 40 in the chase in what was his first Ashes appearance.
“We’ve got guys at the end of their careers and guys at the beginning of their careers, but a lot of the players in the dressing room will get a lot more opportunities to come to Australia and win cricket matches for England,” Stokes said.
“Josh has that natural ability to take wickets that is so hard to come by. He should be very proud of himself and the way he has executed this game because he has bowled some long, big spells and backed them up. He has been phenomenal.”
“Beth played well and came in under a bit of pressure. The way he played shows a lot about his character and the confidence he has in himself.”
(Robbie Stephenson/PA).
Restored
While England’s bowlers achieved victory by rolling out Australia for a paltry total of 152 and 132, achieving the highest score of the match in the fourth innings was still a significant achievement.
In doing so, they have recaptured some of the ‘Bazball’ swagger that was taken away over the course of a damaging series, playing some bold attacking strokes and embracing the risk of a chaotic surface.
They even threw the catapulted Brydon Carse from number 10 to number three in an attempt to use the tailender as a pinch-hitter.
Carse only managed six, but his unexpected rise was a return to a less anxious time in Stokes’ captaincy.
(Robbie Stephenson/PA).
Bend
“There was method in the chaos,” he said.
“The top of both teams were struggling to score runs consistently or be fluid, so we came up with the idea of sending someone who has talent with the bat and a very good eye for hitting the ball.
“It didn’t quite work out, but the 15-20 minutes he spent there made it a little easier for Beth to build the innings he did.
“On a wicket like that you can’t allow bowlers to put the ball where they want without putting them under some pressure.”
READ MORE: England beat Australia by four wickets in the Boxing Day Ashes Test
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