England's historic Test win on Australian soil came after 15 years.
Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Australia had already clinched the Ashes 2025 with an unbeaten streak of three wins in the five-match series. An interesting turn of events in the fourth match at Melbourne Cricket Ground led to a historic statistic as England won a Test on Australian soil for the first time in 15 years.
As many as 20 wickets fell on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test. But in the second innings, England failed to capitalise, and handed a 42-run lead to Australia as they batted for the second time on the same day. However, England finished the job, and the match ended within two days.
Experts around the globe slammed the MCG pitch as 36 wickets fell across two days of the fourth Ashes 2025 Test. Extra grass was left on the pitch ahead of the match, meaning it was a bowling-friendly pitch. But its behaviour has drawn plenty of scrutiny.
The uneven bounce helped the bowlers pick up wickets with ease. However, each run scored on a pitch like this becomes valuable. It also made England’s Bazball style of play more relevant in the given conditions. Harry Brook scored a quick 34-ball 41 in the first innings. The visitors followed suit in the second innings. Opener Ben Duckett was striking at 130.76, and his attack included four boundaries and a six. Jacob Bethell finished things off with a 46-ball 40, including five boundaries.
Australia would’ve most likely won on a flatter surface, like the third Test in Adelaide. But it was Bazball that finally worked in favour of England, who, at this point, have become experts at playing an aggressive brand of cricket with the red ball.
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Before the Boxing Day Test, Australia remained the only unbeaten team in the World Test Championship. After six matches in this WTC 2025-27 cycle, the Aussies had a perfect PCT of 100. While they still hold the position, their PCT has now dropped to 85.71.
Notably, New Zealand and the defending champions, South Africa, are closing the gap at the top. In the rest of the cycle, Australia also have tough away tours, including a five-match Test series in India.
Moreover, England are just below India in the seventh spot with 35.19 PCT. Another win can help them jump at least two more places, further jeopardising Australia’s chances of a fourth WTC final.
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