Ashes 2025, Boxing Day Test: 5 Key Takeaways from England’s Historic Win over Australia at MCG

England ended a 15-year drought in Australia with a historic 4-wicket Ashes 2025 Boxing Day win at the MCG. Josh Tongue’s 7 wickets and a ‘Bazball’ run chase powered the thrilling two-day contest on a bowler-friendly pitch, which challenged batters.

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England Ends Long Wait for a Test Win on Australian Soil

England, led by Ben Stokes, finally put an end to their 15-year Test match winless streak against Australia with a thrilling four-wicket win over Australia in a two-day Boxing Day Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025 series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday, December 27. This was the first Test win for England in Australia since January 2011 at SCG, ending their 18-Test match winless streak Down Under.

After bundling out Australia for 132 in the second innings, England were set a 175-run target to chase on Day 2 of the MCG Test. The visitors managed to wrap up the match in the span of two days by chasing down the target in 32.2 overs, sealing a historic win that ended England’s years of frustration for a victory on Australian soil.

Jacob Bethell led the run chase with an innings of 40 off 46 balls, while Zak Crawley (37), Ben Duckett (34), and Harry Brook (18*) played vital supporting roles to guide England to a famous Ashes victory in Melbourne.

On that note, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from England’s historic Test win at MCG.

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1. 36 Wickets Fall in Just Two Days at MCG

The Boxing Day Test was completely dominated by the pacers as both sides’ pace bowling attack exploited the conditions of the green MCG pitch, which offered extra bounce and seam movement, making it extremely challenging for the batters. On the opening day of the MCG Test, a total of 20 wickets fell, with England and Australia being bundled out in the first innings across three sessions, leaving the hosts a slender 42-run lead heading into their second innings batting.

On Day 2, 16 wickets fell as Australia were bundled out for 132 in their second innings, while England lost six wickets while chasing a 175-run target, making it a thrilling contest that ended with a historic four-wicket win for the visitors. Moreover, only 572 runs were scored across the four innings, highlighting the dominance of the bowlers and the challenging batting conditions throughout the two-day contest.

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2. Australia's Batting Woes

Australia endured a rare batting failure in the recently concluded Boxing Day Test at the MCG. For the first time in the ongoing Ashes 2025 series, Australia were bundled out twice below 200 in both innings of a single Test, exposing their vulnerabilities against England’s pace attack on a green MCG pitch. In the first innings, Australia were bundled out for 152, with Michael Neser top-scoring with 35 off 49 balls.

Australia headed into the second innings batting with a slender 42-run lead, but failed to capitalize on the opportunity, as the hosts were bowled out for just 132 and handing over a modest 175-run target for England to chase. England’s pacers dominated, leaving Australia’s batting lineup struggling throughout.

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3. England's 'Bazball' Approach in Run Chase

After batting failure in the first innings, where they were bundled out for 110 despite bowling success, England displayed improved batting to chase down the modest 175-run target. The England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett revived the ‘Bazball’ approach, which was quiet in the last three matches. Duckett was the commander of the Bazaball in England’s run chase as he raced the visitors to 51/0 in 6.5 overs.

Despite minor hiccups in the run chase, where England lost a couple of wickets of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the middle order, Crawley, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, and Jamie Smith steadied the innings to guide England to a historic four-wicket win, ending their 15-year Test winless streak on Australian soil

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4. MCG Pitch Comes Under Fire

The pitch laid out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Boxing Day Test between Australia and England has come under scrutiny after 20 wickets fell on the opening day and 16 more wickets fell on Day 2, leading to questions about its balance and suitability for a fair contest. With pacers dominating the proceedings across two days of the MCG Test, batters from both sides struggled to build any significant partnerships. However, England managed to survive in their 175-run chase.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan called the MCG pitch a ‘joke’ while former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik described the surface as ‘ordinary’, However, England captain Ben Stokes and Australia stand-in skipper Steve Smith expressed their disappointment over the nature of the pitch, saying it offered excessive seam movement and made batting unnecessarily difficult.

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5. Josh Tongue’s Dream Outing

England pacer Josh Tongue could not have asked for a better outing than the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. He was the standout bowler for both sides as he claimed seven wickets in his spell of 22.2 overs and was adjudged Player of the Match. Tongue was instrumental in triggering a collapse in Australia’s first-innings batting as he picked five wickets, making him the first England bowler in 27 years to claim a five-wicket haul at MCG.

In the second innings. Josh Tongue continued his brilliant form, taking two crucial wickets to dismantle Australia’s batting lineup for just 132 runs. His combined match figures of 7/79 played a decisive role in setting up England’s 175-run target, eventually paving the way for their historic four-wicket victory at the MCG.