Stop the presses – an England win in Australia!
After nearly 15 years, three tours and 18 Tests without a victory, the tourists have finally broken the drought with an four-wicket triumph at the MCG, avoiding a series whitewash and salvaging some pride from a tough tour down under.
For Ben Stokes and Joe Root – as well as every single other member of the XI – it’s a maiden Test win in Australia; while of the hosts, only Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja were around the last time an Australian team lost to England on home shores.
As a result, we can probably expect scapegoats for the final Test of the series in Sydney – and chief among them will likely be Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne, whose low scores continued a tough run with the bat.
Here are The Roar’s player ratings for the fourth Ashes Test.
Australia
Travis Head – 6
It’s a bit like being the best player on Snow White’s basketball team, but Head scored comfortably more runs than any Australian at the MCG.
In particular, his second innings was a badly needed counterattack on a pitch proving almost impossible to bat on for long periods, cashing in on a drop to make it speedily to 46 before being bowled by an inevitable peach.
It’s every kid’s dream to open the batting on Boxing Day. Head now has the rare distinction of doing it twice.
Jake Weatherald – 2
Having not bedded down his spot in the team in the first three Tests, Weatherald’s leanest offering yet has done little to suggest he’s a long-term opening prospect.
Unlucky to be strangled down the leg side in the first innings, but his Day 2 dismissal showcased a worrying technical deficiency, bowled in two minds whether to play or leave.
Marnus Labuschagne – 1
Scores of 6 and 5 at the MCG complete a miserable 2025 for Labuschagne – and secure the lowest calendar year Test average by a top-four Australian batter since 1981.
Just as worrying as the low scores was the familiar manner of his dismissal – twice loosely prodding at Josh Tongue outside off stump to edge to slip, the one-time rock solid No.3 seems to have no real idea where his off stump is.
No bonus marks for his outstanding catching in this Test, either.
Steve Smith (c) – 4
More conservative in the second innings after being cleaned up attempting a booming drive off Tongue on Boxing Day, Smith was left stranded by Australia’s Day 2 collapse.
However, plenty of that was of his own making, choosing to expose the tail with four consecutive singles off the first ball of an over.
Captained well in England’s first innings, but the difficulty of the pitch meant he had to do little out of the ordinary to keep the wickets flowing – while in the second, he was powerless to stop the visitors’ aggressive approach, particularly against the new ball.
Usman Khawaja – 3
Khawaja’s 52-ball stay was the longest anyone spent at the crease on Day 1, and up until feathering an edge behind looked as comfortable as anyone on a treacherous surface.
However, his downfall on Day 2 just when it seemed the hosts had taken control was a disaster – considering the amount of seam movement on display throughout, to fall hooking to fine leg second ball was just about inexcusable.
Will Sydney be his final Test?
Alex Carey (wk) – 5
Kept excellently as he has throughout this series – in particular up to the stumps to Michael Neser and Scott Boland – but the lack of Carey’s quality runs from the middle order played a big part in Australia’s twin collapses.
Probably the only batter who couldn’t blame the pitch for either dismissal, he failed to realise Ben Stokes had brought in a leg slip before flicking straight to him on Day 1, while on Day 2 he loosely wafted to give slip catching practice.
For all his excellence at No.6 this series, it has to be said Australia’s tail feels longer and more vulnerable without him at 7.
Cameron Green – 4
Imagine batting on a pitch so difficult 20 wickets fall in a day and the match is done before stumps on Day 2 … and getting run out.
For Green’s growing list of detractors, the Boxing Day Test was a case study in frustration – only Head of the 22 selected matched the all-rounder in reaching double figures in both innings, yet twice he gave it away.
Most egregious was running himself out for a nonexistent single at a crucial stage of Day 1, but his second day dismissal when set, inexplicably walking at Stokes only to steer an edge into the slips cordon, was painful to watch.
His bowling also feels next to useless when Australia opt to pick four quicks – and the shortened Tests of this summer have done him few favours either.
Michael Neser – 7.5
Picked up right where he left off in Brisbane to be Australia’s best performer on Day 1, first top-scoring with a sprightly 35 in treacherous conditions, then scything through England’s middle order with four wickets.
A seam-friendly surface was perfect for his full length and natural variations, with three of his scalps catches behind the wicket, including both Joe Root and Ben Stokes.
Day 2, though, saw him return to earth, first hitting a return catch to Brydon Carse for a duck, then seeing his new ball spell carted around by Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley as the wicket began to settle, with his eight second-innings overs going for 54.
Mitchell Starc – 6
It’s a sign of how brilliantly Starc started this series that his three wickets for the Test – all of them in England’s top order – was underwhelming.
Looked unstoppable after taking out Crawley and Duckett in a fierce new ball spell on Day 1. But while he castled Duckett again a day later, was as loose as he has been all series otherwise, going at nearly five an over as England Bazballed their way to victory on a wicket beginning to settle down – though he did take Ben Stokes’ wicket as a late consolation prize.
Just one run across two innings for the Test showcases how badly Australia have relied on his lower-order runs throughout the series.
Jhye Richardson – 5
The most sparingly used of Australia’s quicks, the West Aussie was reasonable in his first Test in four years, but with his pace mostly hovering in the mid-to-high 130s, was far from the tearaway he was in years gone by.
The scalp of Joe Root, one of two wickets for the Test, meant he had an impact, even if it did come too late; while he loses marks for a serious no ball problem, bowling four of them in the second innings to hand England free runs in their chase.
Scott Boland – 8
Australia’s best bowler across the duration of the Test, the hometown hero did all he could – including a stint as nightwatchman – but couldn’t take the team home.
Immaculate as ever with his line and length, the Victorian’s nip-backers to remove Jamie Smith and Will Jacks were probably the best two balls of the Test, while his Day 2 strikes to remove Crawley and Jacob Bethell helped the Aussies fight right to the end.
The cheer he received in surviving the final over of Day 1 and protecting Australia’s top order might be the moment of the summer so far.
England
Zak Crawley – 6
Who’d have thought after his pair in the first Test that come the end of the Boxing Day Test, Crawley would be England’s most prolific run-scorer of the series?
Copped a beauty from Starc on Day 1, but his enterprising 37 alongside first Ben Duckett and then Jacob Bethell showed a rarely seen command of the difficult conditions, with his aggressive approach to Neser and Boland even with Carey up to the stumps a marked change from previous matches this summer.
Ben Duckett – 5
Fresh off a week of headlines, Duckett’s Day 1 dismissal, squirting a leading edge to mid-on, was yet another disaster in what has become a nightmare tour.
However, the opener relished the simplicity of Day 2’s run chase, bringing out a wide array of shots – including an audacious ramp – in making 34 off 26 balls as part of a half-century stand with Crawley, which proved crucial in England’s eventual win.
Jacob Bethell – 6.5
Handed the ultimate baptism of fire after being recalled at No.3 for Ollie Pope, Bethell, in the second innings at least, proved up to the challenge.
Drove fluently and kept the scoreboard ticking over with both boundaries and finding the gap for twos for his 40 – one short of England’s highest score for the Test – with his uppish drive to Usman Khawaja for his dismissal his first mistake.
Definitely did enough to secure his spot for the fifth Test, and might be England’s new long-term first drop.
Joe Root – 3
It’s a touch ironic that Root’s first ever Test win in Australia, at the 19th attempt, coincides with one of his worst ever performances down under.
The veteran’s 15 runs across two innings, including his Boxing Day duck, is his second-fewest in a Test in Australia, ahead of only the first Test this summer in Perth; and no doubt he’ll be frustrated that he wasn’t there for the winning runs on Day 2 after being trapped LBW by Jhye Richardson.
Gets an extra mark for some excellent catching at slip, including a low-down snare to dismiss Labuschagne at a key stage of the second innings.
Harry Brook – 7.5
For all the criticism of his approach this summer, England mightn’t have won this Test without Brook’s aggressive strokeplay on an MCG minefield on Day 1.
Featuring ramps, swats over cover, charging the quicks and everything in between, his 34-ball 41 was the highest score by any Englishman for the match; while he wasn’t overawed by the pressure of their run chase on Day 2, calmly steering the team home – even if the winning runs were leg byes.
The premier batter of the Test – and caught well, too.
Ben Stokes (c) – 7
Will be gutted to have fallen within sight of England’s victory target – but the captain was as crucial as anyone to his team’s first win in Australia in nearly 15 years.
Bowled exceptionally in both innings, with his clever captaincy to install a leg slip for Carey a key moment on Day 1, while he picked up greater rewards with three wickets in Australia’s second innings.
Captained well, especially after Gus Atkinson’s hamstring injury robbed him of a key bowler; while with the bat, he gritted his way to 16 off 38 balls amid England’s Day 1 collapse before at last falling.
Didn’t deserve to captain a series whitewash – has been his team’s gutsiest performer this summer by a distance.
Jamie Smith (wk) – 3
Did little wrong with the gloves, while he wasn’t required to do much in England’s successful run chase, but Smith’s dismissal on Day 1, bowled through the gate by Boland, exposed the technical deficiencies that have stymied his first tour of Australia.
England’s win and the occasional spurt of runs this series means Smith will certainly finish the tour with the gloves – but he faces a crucial home summer to determine whether he’s the long-term man for the job.
Will Jacks – 2.5
It was a surprise to see Jacks remain at No.8 after his bowling struggles and competent batting in Adelaide; though truth be told, he was there to extend the batting as much as for his spin.
Didn’t bowl a single over for the match in pace-friendly conditions, while his only contribution with the bat ended with perhaps the most unplayable ball of the whole Test, a vicious nip-backer from Boland.
Loses marks for dropping a chance at point to spare Travis Head on the second (and final) day.
Gus Atkinson – 7
A much improved bowler from the first two Tests, Atkinson used Day 1’s seaming conditions to good effect with the big wickets of Head and Khawaja.
Removed nightwatchman Boland early on Day 2 to spark the collapse, before disaster struck – the quick was forced from the field with a hamstring injury that looks all but certain to end his series.
Brydon Carse – 7
Carse’s bizarre tour continued at the MCG, in which he has continued to take wickets despite looking comfortably the loosest bowler on either side.
Wasted the new ball on Day 1 and continued to spray it everywhere – something partially redeemed by some excellent fielding off his own bowling to run Cameron Green out – with his bowling to the left-handers particularly problematic.
However, worked it out on the second day with four wickets, including the key scalp of Head with a cracker – plus an outstanding one-handed catch off his own bowling to remove Neser.
A surprise elevation to No.3 in England’s run chase saw him slap a quickfire 6 – which was pretty much his job.
Josh Tongue – 9
Exceptional on Boxing Day, Tongue’s five-wicket haul featured three of Australia’s top four, and kept England on top throughout the innings.
With canny seam movement and a continuously threatening full length, he was too good for Labuschagne in particular, with his seven wickets for the match a team high.
Every summer, a visiting bowler seems to stand head and shoulders above the rest – this year, despite missing the first two Tests, it looks like being Tongue.
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