5 months ago
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A rampant England tore done the Australian batting to disregard the hosts for conscionable 152 connected time 1 of the 4th Ashes Test Friday (December 26, 2025) successful a immense assurance boost for the maligned tourists.
Skipper Ben Stokes won a cardinal flip connected a greenish way and his quicks feasted aft sending successful Australia nether overcast skies astatine a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Openers Travis Head and Jake Weatherald fell for 12 and 10 respectively portion Marnus Labuschagne made six arsenic Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue recovered plentifulness of movement.
Steve Smith looked to person weathered the storm, but helium was cleaned up connected 9 by Tongue, who knocked backmost his mediate stump to permission England's "Barmy Army" of fans successful afloat voice.
It didn't get overmuch amended aft luncheon with Usman Khawaja (29), Alex Carey (20) and Cameron Green (17) among those departing.
Michael Neser top-scored with 35 portion Tongue took 5-45.
Australia person already retained the Ashes aft crushing eight-wicket victories successful Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run triumph successful Adelaide, with England hopeless to reconstruct pridefulness successful Melbourne.
Castigated implicit their constricted Ashes preparations, the tourists mislaid the celebrated urn successful conscionable 11 days of play with a ungraded involving alleged excessive drinking by players during a mid-series formation interruption piling connected the pressure.
Missing injured gait spearhead Jofra Archer, they reinstated Atkinson aft helium was axed for Adelaide and helium opened the attack.
An assertive Head drove consecutive boundaries disconnected a wayward Brydon Carse, but helium lone lasted 22 balls, chopping connected from Atkinson successful the adjacent over.
Opening spouse Weatherald fared small better, tickling down the limb broadside to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith successful Tongue's archetypal over, with the Nottinghamshire speedy past enticing an borderline from Labuschagne that was good taken by Joe Root astatine slip.
Smith and Khawaja began to stabilise the innings earlier Tongue struck again to region the Australia skipper and permission England successful control.
With the prima breaking done connected their instrumentality from lunch, Khawaja deed a glorious counter-attacking thrust to the bound disconnected Atkinson.
But his luck ran retired adjacent ball, getting the faintest of edges to Smith.
The umpire initially gave it not out, but it was overturned connected reappraisal earlier Adelaide century-maker Carey flicked a Stokes shot to Zak Crawley astatine limb gully
Green, who has had a thin bid truthful far, crunched back-to-back fours disconnected Tongue arsenic helium settled in.
Not to beryllium outdone, Michael Neser, successful his 4th Test but archetypal red-ball affair, went 1 better, cracking 3 successful succession disconnected the aforesaid bowler.
But catastrophe struck again, with Green tally retired for 17 going for a risky azygous past Starc hoisted Brydon Carse to a back-peddling Stokes astatine mid-off earlier Tongue removed Neser and Scott Boland.
