Advantage Australia after a wild 20-wicket opening day

Australia once again have their noses in front after a far-from-flawless performance as Test cricket's largest ever single-day crowd witnessed both Ashes combatants self-combust on a seam-friendly Melbourne pitch.

By stumps on a frenetic Boxing Day, 20 wickets had fallen as England replied to Australia's all-out 152 with an even limper 110 in front of 94,199 patrons who saw the MCG cricket record crowd from the 2015 World Cup final (93,013) toppled by mid-afternoon.

Low temperatures and a cool breeze provided ideal MCG conditions for bowlers, if not always for spectators, as England franked Ben Stokes' call at the toss to insert his opponents even with his spearhead Jofra Archer sidelined with injury.

Josh Tongue (5-45 from 11.2 overs) led the way with the best Boxing Day figures since Ian Botham took 5-41 on this day in 1986.

But the visitors' latest capitulation with the bat, bowled out for their lowest Test score since their last visit to Victoria in 2021 (when Scott Boland's 6-7 on debut helped knock them over for 68), meant England had conceded a 42-run first-innings deficit.

A truly bizarre day ended with the local hero Boland blocking out a solitary over to begin his side’s second innings. An enormous roar went around the enormous ground when the nightwatchman, a ball after the recalled Jacob Bethell dropped a tough one-hander in the gully, edged Gus Atkinson for four.

Travis Head watched form the other end without facing a ball as the Aussies went to stumps on 0-4, their lead increasing to 46.

It was a triumphant return to Australia's XI for Michael Neser who top-scored with 35 before taking 4-45 from 10 overs including the prized scalp of Stokes. In a line-up missing both Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, Boland (3-30 from nine overs) and Mitchell Starc (2-23 from six) were also dangerous as part of Australia's first all-seam attack at the MCG since the 2010-11 Ashes.

That only one England batters passed 30 – Harry Brook slogged 41 in a daring but brief 34-ball innings – surely ranks as a new low for this shambolic touring team.

Ben Duckett, in the spotlight in recent days due to his team's conduct on a mid-series trip to Noosa, lowered his series average to 14 when he became the first of three wickets to fall before England’s score had reached double figures.

As Brook stunned the near-full stadium by charging his first ball and missed a reckless slog off Starc, Joe Root's attempt to defend his way out of danger back-fired when he edged Neser behind for a 15-ball duck.

Brook had cleared the fence twice by the time he was pinned lbw – he might have regretted playing a rare defence to Boland – to spark another frenzied chain of wickets.

Jamie Smith's miserable first tour of Australia, knocked briefly off track with a fourth-innings half-century in Adelaide, resumed as Boland knocked him over with a peach to leave England 6-68.

Jake Weatherald was shadow batting in anticipation of a second hit for the day even before Neser had Stokes caught at second slip to see them staring down the barrel of sub-100 total.

The flashing blade of Aktinson (28) ensured they avoided that embarrassment, while Weatherald was spared a late-evening stint thanks to Boland's bravery.

Both sides endured a regrettable first hour. England's opening bowlers, Brydon Carse in particular after being given the new ball in Archer's absence, were wasteful, while Head played a loose cut to chop on for 12 off Atkinson with the score already on 27 in the seventh over.

It took the introduction of Tongue, the least experienced member of England's attack, to show his teammates how to bowl on a seaming surface.

While the right-armer was fortunate to have Weatherald tickling his second delivery down the leg-side, the lengths he hits to dismiss Australia's Nos 3 and 4 were pitch perfect.

Marnus Labuschagne was out for fourth consecutive sub-20 score when his half-drive was nicked to first slip before Steve Smith, back as captain after recovering from the inner-ear issues that sidelined him in Adelaide, suffered the rare fate of being clean bowled as Tongue jagged one back a remarkable 14cm from a four-metre length.

Usman Khawaja, bumped down to No.5 with Smith back at his preferred No.4 spot, edged Atkinson before Alex Carey was caught at leg-slip off Stokes for the second time in as many innings.

From 6-91, the efforts of Cameron Green, shuffled down to No.7, and Neser, back in the side after taking a five-for in the second Test, had Australia on track to scrape to a first-innings total with a '2' in front of it.

Neser struck seven boundaries in a team-high 35 as Green dug in with England's ball slowly losing its hardness.

But, just like his exit under lights in Brisbane when he backed away and was bowled by Carse, Green yet again made an inexplicable decision against the South Africa-born quick.

Here his decision to set off for a quick single, handicapped by early hesitation and his weight being on his back foot, proved a poor one as Carse threw down the non-striker's end stumps to catch the diving Green well short of his ground.

It prompted n collapse of 4-9 from 20 balls – including their last three wickets for no runs in the space of five balls – in an abrupt end to their innings that saw Australia dismissed for their lowest Boxing Day score since being rolled for 98 in the 2010-11 Ashes.

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Third Test: Australia won by 82 runs

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad (fourth Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue