The Boxing Day Test match between Australia and England ended in just two days, much to the disappointment of Cricket Australia. Even worse, Australia suffered their first home defeat against England in 19 Test matches and 15 years. Questions are being raised about the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), as 34 wickets fell in six sessions while England chased a target of 175 runs on the fourth day.
England equals India's record
With this win, England has become the joint second-highest winning team (35 wins) in World Test Championship history, equaling India's record. In WTC history, Australia is at the top with 39 wins, while both India and England are in second place with 35 wins each. South Africa is in fourth place with 25 wins.
Teams with the most wins in WTC history:
Australia - 39
India - 35
England - 35
South Africa - 25
England secures the victory
Regarding the match, the England team showed maturity, perhaps for the first time on this tour, and chased the difficult target intelligently. Besides sending Brydon Carse to bat at number three, they had a brilliant opening partnership between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, who registered their first half-century partnership of the series. Duckett adopted an aggressive approach from the start, scoring heavily against Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser, surprising the Australian team.
Despite this, a target of 175 runs on the challenging Melbourne pitch was not easy for England. Australia had a formidable bowling attack that had bowled them out for just 110 runs in the first innings. But the visiting team seized the opportunity this time, batted intelligently, and defeated Australia, and most importantly, finally won a Test match in Australia. This victory is a huge positive for England on what has otherwise been a disappointing tour.
