AUS vs ENG

5,468 days — that is how long the wait was. It is finally over. England have won a Test match in Australia. Stokes and his men have given their fans the perfect Christmas gift.

Australia might be 3-1 up in the series. However, after this loss, they would be raring to bounce back in Sydney and start 2026 with a bang.

We hope that you enjoyed our coverage of this 2-day blitzkrieg. Time to say goodbye. This is Darpan Tikiya signing off on the behalf of Soumarya Dutta and the rest of the team. Keep following Sportskeeda for more sporting action from around the world. See you soon!

Ben Stokes (England captain): "It has been a tough tour. But we are really happy to have won this match. I hope it means a lot to the fans. We play for a lot of different things. They come to support us in Australia or wherever in the world. The lads hear the chants and it spurs them on in the middle. After the couple days building up to this Test match, it feels good. There was quite a lot thrown our way. A lot of credit goes to the players. And the management, they ensured that the lads' focus was on the cricket. It was short, sharp and very very tricky. It was heavily favoured towards the bowlers. The way we went about chasing 170 today was the perfect way to go about it. Josh Toungue, oh, what an occasion for him to take a fifer on Boxing Day. Ever since he has put on the England shirt, he has given it all. And Jacob Bethell showed the class that we see in him."

Steve Smith (Australian captain): "Tricky one. A very quick game. If we got 50 or 60 more across both innings, it could have been different. Credit to England for the way they played. The pitch did not change. It pretty much did plenty throughout. I think it was a little bit too much. When you see 36 wickets through 2 days, it is a bit too much. Probably turning it down to 8 mm would be the right thing to do."

Josh Tongue (England, Player of the Match) - " This is what dreams are made of. It feels pretty special. The Barmy Army has been unbelievable in the last four games and here as well in front of 95,000 people. I was a tough place with my body a few years back. I worked hard and I'm glad that I'm back playing cricket for England. I wanted to be aggressive and we tried to hit the right lines and lengths. To win here at the MCG, Boxing day Test, I can't be happy enough. Nothing beats this. " 

Joe Root (England) - " This team has showed a lot of character. It's a brilliant day and we adapted to it as much as we could. We used it to our advantage. You never expect Aussies to hand a win over to you. I have been on the wrong side of the results here a lot so it's great to win. It was disappointing to get out at that stage as I was very confident by then. But the win is important and that is what matters. We need to take the confidence from here and take it into the next match. Very special occasion and we're fortunate to get the best the fans who support us everywhere. Jacob Bethell was excellent and the way he played takes courage. He has a bright future in international cricket." 

11:55 AM IST, 5:25 PM local time: England win by 4 wickets and register their first Test win on Australian soil since January 2011. 

The last time when England won a Test match in Australia :-

— Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Mitchell Starc had not made their Test debuts yet.
— Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) did not own Instagram.
— West Indies were yet to win a T20 WC.
—The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak stood at 18-0.
— Vaibhav Suryavanshi was not born.
— Max Verstappen was yet to make his F1 debut....

Hence, the explosion of joy and zeal that you see right now at the MCG. England fans have waited for it for what feels like an eternity. Today, the desiderium has finally come to an end. It does not matter if the series is already lost. It does not matter if the Test match got over inside two days.

For years, the Barmy Army has travelled halfway across the globe, lit up the stadiums with zealous, infectious chants like no other fan group can, only to end up despondent. The majority of this tour has been no different. The Ashes was lost in 11 days. They were 3-0 down. Yet, the fans turned up in huge numbers, sang their heart out for the last two days, rallied around their team, pushing them, motivating them, spurring them on, letting them know that they are firmly behind them, no matter what. And today, Stokes and his men, have given them the perfect Christmas gift.

They started off this morning trailing in this Test and it wasn't long into the day that Atkinson had to walk off due to an injury. But then, Brydon Carse — who had a tough day yesterday when the other bowlers were making hay — dished out some rippers to get 4 wickets. Perhaps, none more important than Travis Head's. Ben Stokes stepped up — of course, he had to — and picked up a 3fer. Australia were guilty of playing some poor shots on this tough wicket and eventually got bundled out for 132 — their joint lowest score in the series.

And then, in the most truest sense, "Bazball" showed up. Duckett got a sprightly 34 to get them going. Crawley impressed with a solid 37. Jacob Bethell, in his first ever Ashes Test, scored a confident looking 40 and set the visitors on their way. He played like he was there he was carrying no baggage. Perhaps, that freedom is all that England needed to get some luck going their way. 

They did lose wickets towards the fag end, teasing a stumble near the summit. However, Harry Brook held his nerve and took them past the finish line.

32.2 Jhye Richardson to Harry Brook, FOURRR LEG BYESS! AND ENGLAND WIN A TEST MATCH IN AUSTRALIA AFTER 15 YEARS! The Barmy Army erupts in joy and they might as well take over Melbourne tonight. It was a short one and angled in at the leg. Brook tried to glance but it came off the pads and ran away to the boundary. England win by 4 wickets. 

Siddharth: "Despite loosing ashes England should be happy cause this is their first test win in Australia since 2011. What do you say Sk team?"
No two ways about it, Siddharth!

31.6 Mitchell Starc to Jamie Smith, too short and banged into the surface. Smith ducks underneath that one. Starc has a wry smile as he gets through the over. Just a single to win now for England. 

31.5 Mitchell Starc to Harry Brook, round the wicket, Starc angles it in at the stumps. Brook comes down the track and squirts it away towards the point region. It will be a single but hang on! Starc overstepped and it will be a no ball. 

31.5 Mitchell Starc to Harry Brook, good length delivery and around off. Brook backed away and looked to swipe it away over the square leg region. He was beaten. 

31.4 Mitchell Starc to Harry Brook, FOURRR!! BRILLIANT FROM BROOK! ENGLAND ARE ONE STROKE AWAY NOW! It was full and angling into the stumps. Brook whipped it away over the deep mid wicket region for a boundary. 

Boris: "It's a testament to the Australian self-belief and England's mental fragility that the Root dismissal was seen as a potential twist..."
Uff, Boris! Heavy words, eh?

31.3 Mitchell Starc to Jamie Smith, good length delivery and bowled at the stumps. Smith glances it away through the deep mid wicket region for three runs.