MELBOURNE — England’s Ashes tour plunged into a state of utter disarray on a chaotic, rain-affected first day of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, bowled out for a paltry 110 in just 50.4 overs before a defiant Australian fightback left the hosts in a commanding position.
After winning a crucial toss and choosing to bat on a green-tinged pitch under heavy cloud cover, England’s innings unravelled in spectacular fashion. The tourists lost their last eight wickets for a mere 74 runs, with only captain Joe Root (50) offering any meaningful resistance. Pat Cummins, leading from the front, claimed 3-35, while debutant Scott Boland, the local Victorian hero, produced a stunning spell of 2-1 from two overs to decimate the lower order.
The collapse was a brutal microcosm of England’s entire tour: a mixture of poor shot selection, disciplined Australian bowling, and a palpable sense of panic. England’s batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, could only look on in dismay as his side’s hopes of retaining the Ashes evaporated in the Melbourne gloom. "It's bitterly disappointing," he admitted at the close of play.
A Morning of Carnage at the MCG
The tone was set from the very first over. Mitchell Starc, swinging the ball menacingly, had Haseeb Hameed caught at third slip for a duck. Zak Crawley followed soon after, nicking off to Cummins. When Dawid Malan edged Cameron Green to second slip, England were reeling at 13-3. The much-vaunted top order, so resilient in Sydney, had crumbled once again under the relentless pressure of the Australian attack.
Root and Ben Stokes attempted to stage a recovery, but the introduction of Nathan Lyon proved decisive. The off-spinner, introduced earlier than usual due to the conditions, trapped Stokes lbw for 25 with a classic delivery that skidded on. Jonny Bairstow, promoted to No.6, lasted just three balls before being bowled by a Starc yorker. The key moments of the innings were a litany of English errors:
- Hameed’s loose drive in the first over.
- Malan’s tentative push to a wide delivery.
- Stokes’ misjudgement against Lyon’s trajectory.
Root, battling alone, reached a hard-fought half-century, but his dismissal—caught behind chasing a wide one from Green—signalled the end. The tail offered nothing, with Boland’s introduction sparking wild celebrations from the 57,000-strong Boxing Day crowd as he removed Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson in quick succession.
Australia’s Commanding Response
Any hope England had of salvaging the day with the ball was quickly extinguished by a blistering counter-attack from the Australian openers. David Warner, in what could be his final MCG Test, and Marcus Harris raced to 57 without loss before the rain arrived, forcing an early tea and a lengthy delay. Warner was particularly severe on anything short, while Harris looked more assured than at any point in the series.
Upon the resumption, England’s bowlers struggled for consistency. Warner brought up a rapid fifty, but fell shortly after for 58, edging James Anderson to slip. However, Harris, joined by the imperious Marnus Labuschagne, continued to accumulate. The pair navigated a tricky final session, punishing loose deliveries and leaving England utterly deflated. Harris, on 76, and Labuschagne, on 31, guided Australia to stumps at 172-1, a lead of 62.
The contrast between the two sides’ application was stark. Where England’s batters played at deliveries they could leave, Australia’s top order showed decisive footwork and patience. England’s veteran seamers, Anderson and Stuart Broad, bowled with heart but found little assistance from a pitch that had seemingly flattened out under the sun. As former England captain Michael Atherton noted in commentary, "England are in a deep, deep hole. They needed early wickets with the ball and simply haven't got them. The game is slipping away at a rate of knots."
An Uphill Battle for Survival
With three days remaining and the forecast improving, England now face a monumental task to avoid a defeat that would confirm a 4-0 series deficit and the surrender of the Ashes. Their first-innings total of 110 is their lowest in Australia since 2016 and leaves the bowlers with virtually no margin for error. The psychological damage of such a collapse, following the heroic draw in Sydney, could be terminal.
The tourists must now hope for a miraculous bowling performance on day two, followed by a batting display of immense character and duration in their second innings. The pitch, while offering some initial assistance, has not deteriorated as expected, and Nathan Lyon will be licking his lips at the prospect of bowling last. For England, the objectives are now brutally simple:
- Take nine Australian wickets quickly on day two.
- Bat for at least five sessions in their second innings.
- Somehow find a way to salvage pride from the wreckage.
As the Melbourne lights shone down on an emptying MCG, the England camp was left to ponder another day of missed opportunity and self-inflicted wounds. Captain Joe Root cut a forlorn figure, his fighting fifty rendered irrelevant by the carnage around him. The Ashes urn, already in Australian hands, now feels further away than ever. The inquest into this tour’s failures will be long and painful, but for now, England must simply find a way to survive.