KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- England have something to cheer about in Australia. They won a Test match Down Under after 5469 days.
- The visitors were playing for pride and salvaged some of it by winning the Boxing Day battle by 4 wickets.
- The series currently stands at 3-1 in favour of Australia.
Finally, a Test win for England in Australia after nearly 15 years!
England were set a target of 175 after Australia collapsed in their second innings for just 132 runs on day two at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the Boxing Day Test match.
The Three Lions came out all guns blazing, staying true to the Bazball ethics, and riding on Ben Duckett's quickfire 34, his highest score across eight innings, they sailed to the finish line with * wickets in hand.
They were playing for pride in this fixture, after losing the first three Test matches, and they have salvaged some of it.
It remains a historic win for several reasons. It was their fifth Test win in the 21st century and the first since January 2011; precisely after 5469 days in Australia.
THE ASHES 2025-26: Read all the latest news and build-up here
Has any player in the current England squad won a Test in Australia before?
If a fan had asked the question after the third test in Adelaide, the answer would have been an emphatic NO!
However, history has been rewritten in front of a record crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as The Three Lions finally savoured a Test match win on rival territory.
- Joe Root has played 18 Tests in Australia, with one win, 15 losses and two draws.
- Ben Stoke s has featured in 13 Tests in the country, also with one win, alongside 11 losses and one draw.
The English players in the lineup for the fourth Ashes Test or the MCG Boxing Day Test have now entered a rare list of players to have won a Test match in Australia.
ENG 4th Ashes Test XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue
Other players in the squad, such as Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, who missed the fourth Test due to injuries, remain winless in Australia.
MORE: Mark Wood hopes England can learn from Aussies
The Cricket News opinion: England get their first Ashes Test win in a decade
After being humiliated in the first three Tests, Christmas spirit was in mild bloom in the England camp as their players put on Santa caps on the final training session at the MCG.
However, with the British media firmly fixated on every movement of Ben Stokes & Co, following the Noosagate controversy, the win releases the pressure.
The Three Lions have whimpered so far in the series, and finally let out a long-suppressed roar at the MCG. Winning the game by four wickets and avoiding a series whitewash.
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