ENG vs AUS 4th Ashes Test: England Collapse for 110, 20 Wickets Fall in Three Sessions

Melbourne: England, having already lost the Ashes series 3-0, suffered yet another batting collapse in the fourth Test at the MCG. While the English bowlers shone on the pitch, their batsmen failed to capitalize, leaving fans disappointed.

England’s first innings ended at a mere 110 runs, narrowly avoiding a sub-100 total thanks to Gus Atkinson, who anchored the tail with aggressive stroke play, helping the team surpass 100. The Australian pace attack was ruthless: Mitchell Starc took 2 wickets, Michael Neser claimed 4, Scott Boland 3, and Cameron Green chipped in with 1.

Earlier, England’s bowlers had provided hope by restricting Australia to 152 runs in their first innings. Led by Josh Tong, they struck early, with Starc, Neser, and Boland struggling to lift the team’s morale. However, England’s batting negligence quickly erased any advantage. In just three sessions on Day 1, 20 wickets fell, echoing a similar collapse during the first Test in Perth, which ended in just two days.

Key Moments:

• England’s top order crumbled, losing 4 wickets for just 16 runs.
• Captain Joe Root was dismissed for a duck by Neser, repeating his Perth misery.
• Harry Brook tried to fight back with 41 runs off 34 balls, hitting 2 fours and 2 sixes, but the pitch demanded patience and resilience, which England lacked.
• Atkinson’s 28-run effort was the only tail-end resistance, before Cameron Green struck the decisive blow on his first delivery to end England’s innings.

Australia’s earlier innings had seen them bundled out for 152 runs, with Usman Khawaja scoring 29 and Alex Carey contributing 20. Neser’s late flourish of 35 runs helped Australia cross 150. For England, Josh Tong led the bowling with 5 wickets for 45 runs, while Atkinson claimed 2, and Brydon Carse and Stokes took 1 each.

The first day of the Boxing Day Test thus highlighted England’s batting frailty, leaving them struggling to salvage pride in a series already lost.