England salvaged their battered pride with a gutsy four-wicket victory at MCG.
England registered a gutsy four-wicket victory over Australia in the Boxing Day Ashes Test that was all over inside two days at MCG. It was their first Test win Down Under in 15 years.
The Three Lions bundled out Australia for 132 soon after lunch on Day 2, which left them chasing 175 to win. In the fourth innings, the tourists came out all guns blazing as Ben Duckett (34 off 26) and Zak Crawley (37 off 48) approached the chase like a T20 match.
Australia did manage to get breakthroughs at regular intervals, but they came too little too late, and in the end, Jacob Bethell (40) and Harry Brook (18*) ensured that the Ben Stokes-led side reached home for the loss of six wickets.
Speaking after the game, veteran England batter Joe Root expressed his disappointment in conceding the urn but was happy to see the team going for win to redeem themselves.
The English players were under severe scrutiny before the penultimate Test due to their alleged excessive drinking in Noosa during the break between second and third Ashes Tests. ECB had vowed to investigate the drinking accusations as well.
"Yeah, well, obviously to lose the series is very disappointing, but I think it was really important, um, that we showed a lot of character for the rest of the series, and I think there's been a lot thrown at this team, and the way that we've responded throughout these two days has been excellent," Root said in a video shared by Kayo Sports.
The MCG pitch was heavily favourable for the pace bowlers. As many as 20 wickets fell on the opening day while 16 wickets tumbled on Day 2, with no batter managing to hit a half-century across the match.
Root was happy with how they were able to adapt to the conditions. "Clearly, it was a very fast-forward Test match with the surface that we were presented with, but I think we adapted to it as much as we could, and exploited it when we had the opportunities. We showed a bit of bravery today in the way that we approached things with the bat, and it's why we won the Test match," Root stated.
"They didn't hand it to you easily. No, you never expect them to. Like I said. I've been on the wrong side of the resort a lot here, so you know what to expect, how good Australia are in their own conditions, but the fact that we managed to get across the line today is excellent, and hopefully we can improve on next week as well," he added.
With this victory, England avoided any danger of an Ashes whitewash. The five-match series currently stands at 3-1. The fifth and final Test will be played at SCG from January 4.