110/10 (29.5)
CR : 3.69
152/10 (45.2)
CR : 3.35
England won by 4 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Josh Tongue
5/45 & 2/441(9)
Highest Run Rates in Successful 150+ Run Chases in Ashes Tests:
7.23 – Australia vs England, Perth, 2025 (target: 205)
5.50 – England vs Australia, Melbourne, 2025 (target: 175)*
5.38 – Australia vs England, Trent Bridge, 2001 (target: 158)
7.23 – Australia vs England, Perth, 2025 (target: 205)
5.50 – England vs Australia, Melbourne, 2025 (target: 175)*
5.38 – Australia vs England, Trent Bridge, 2001 (target: 158)
Player of the Match: Josh Tongue
Josh Tongue (Player of the Match): "That's what dreams are made of. Woke up with few nerves but it is a very special feeling. The Barmy Army were unbelievable. It's an amazing feeling to play in front of 95,000 people.
My body was in a tough situation. I am glad to do the hard work and back playing cricket for England. All of the wickets are my favorite. Coming to the ground on the first day, I had some nerves but Stokes won the toss. All the bowlers did exceptionally well.
I had my pads on! To win here at the MCG, the Boxing Day Test, can't be happier than that!"
My body was in a tough situation. I am glad to do the hard work and back playing cricket for England. All of the wickets are my favorite. Coming to the ground on the first day, I had some nerves but Stokes won the toss. All the bowlers did exceptionally well.
I had my pads on! To win here at the MCG, the Boxing Day Test, can't be happier than that!"
Steven Smith (Australia Captain): "Tricky one! Obviously, a quick game. If we got 50-60 more runs across both innings, then we might have been there at the end.
Credit to England. They came out this morning and bowled really well this morning. Things got away from us in the morning. The way they started with the bat, they were very aggressive, got a few away, the ball probably got softer because of that, and it didn't offer much for us from that point. Credit to them.
Not really. It did a fair amount in the whole game until the ball got a tad softer; it didn’t offer as much assistance as I would’ve liked. But a few lusty blows meant the ball did a bit less. A little bit too much help for the bowlers.
It was tricky. No one could get in. 36 wickets across 2 days is a bit too much. That probably tells you it did a bit more than intended. Maybe if we can drop the grass coverage down to 8mm, it would be much better, potentially."
Credit to England. They came out this morning and bowled really well this morning. Things got away from us in the morning. The way they started with the bat, they were very aggressive, got a few away, the ball probably got softer because of that, and it didn't offer much for us from that point. Credit to them.
Not really. It did a fair amount in the whole game until the ball got a tad softer; it didn’t offer as much assistance as I would’ve liked. But a few lusty blows meant the ball did a bit less. A little bit too much help for the bowlers.
It was tricky. No one could get in. 36 wickets across 2 days is a bit too much. That probably tells you it did a bit more than intended. Maybe if we can drop the grass coverage down to 8mm, it would be much better, potentially."
Ben Stokes (England Captain): "Really good. Tough tour until now but we are over the moon to finally end up on the right side. We are proud of the team and winning in Australia after a long time is a surreal feeling.
We play for so many different things and the support that we always get. Barmy Army always comes out in Australia or wherever in the world we play. The guys out in the middle hear it and feel it.
To be able to come out here and put a performance like we did after all that has happened, lot of credit has to go to the players and staff and all the management to ensure the lads' focus was completely on cricket.
The way our cricket was played was short, sharp. It is very very very tricky and we look to go out there and take the positive approach. It was heavily towards the bowlers. The way we went today is exactly how we want to chase it down. The way that we batted was brilliant and chasing down the way that we did shows bravery and we were courageous in the chase.
Josh Tongue - what an occasion for him to take 5 wickets after coming back here and put that performance in front of all these people in tricky conditions. He showed the class that we see it in him."
We play for so many different things and the support that we always get. Barmy Army always comes out in Australia or wherever in the world we play. The guys out in the middle hear it and feel it.
To be able to come out here and put a performance like we did after all that has happened, lot of credit has to go to the players and staff and all the management to ensure the lads' focus was completely on cricket.
The way our cricket was played was short, sharp. It is very very very tricky and we look to go out there and take the positive approach. It was heavily towards the bowlers. The way we went today is exactly how we want to chase it down. The way that we batted was brilliant and chasing down the way that we did shows bravery and we were courageous in the chase.
Josh Tongue - what an occasion for him to take 5 wickets after coming back here and put that performance in front of all these people in tricky conditions. He showed the class that we see it in him."
England’s last Test win in Australia was at the SCG in January 2011. This is the first Test win for Joe Root in 18 Tests in Australia, and the first for Ben Stokes in 13 games.
Australia in Boxing Day Tests since 2011
Matches: 15
Won: 10
Lost: 3 (vs India in 2018 & 2020; vs England in 2025)
Drawn: 2
Matches: 15
Won: 10
Lost: 3 (vs India in 2018 & 2020; vs England in 2025)
Drawn: 2
This is only the second time England have conceded the first-innings lead and still won a Test in Australia by chasing — the previous instance was in Melbourne in 1895.
Steven Smith as Captain in The Ashes:
Matches: 9
Won: 7
Draw: 1
Lost: 1 (This Test)*
Matches: 9
Won: 7
Draw: 1
Lost: 1 (This Test)*
A wonderful performance from the English side as they finally manage to spread some smiles on the traveling fans, the Barmy Army and their fans back home with a thumping 2-day win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 4 wickets! The Ashes is however clinched by Australia who have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with the last Test slated to begin on Sunday, January 4th, 2026!
That will be it from our coverage! Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator AkshayaKrishna Polya, scorer Bishal Mandal and statistician Aman! Stay tuned for more action from around the world!
That will be it from our coverage! Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator AkshayaKrishna Polya, scorer Bishal Mandal and statistician Aman! Stay tuned for more action from around the world!