The fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England will start from January 4. The Australian team has already won the series, leading 3-1 after 4 matches. England coach Brendon McCullum is the target of critics for this poor performance. Even the demand to remove McCullum from the post of coach has gained momentum. But it seems as if the pride of English team captain Ben Stokes is still not broken.

Before the fifth Ashes Test to be held in Sydney, Ben Stokes said, “There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that Brendon and I are the best choices to take over the reins of the England team for the next some time. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have worked with Brendon McCullum. I don’t think there will be any other person with whom I can take this team beyond its current position.”

Brendon McCullum took over as the coach of the England Test team in May 2022. After he became the coach, the ‘Baseball Era’ of the England team started. The England team initially got success by playing in baseball style and in the year 2024, Brendon McCullum was appointed the coach of the England team in all three formats, but he took over the post of coach of England in all three formats in January 2025.

The pair of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had won 10 out of the first 11 test matches, due to which the expectations of the fans also started increasing. But after that there has been discontinuity in the performance of the England team. In the last 34 Test matches, England have won 16 matches and lost the same number of matches, while 2 matches have ended in a draw.

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The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England was played in Melbourne, which could not last even for 2 days. On the second day of this match, there was a lot of ruckus regarding the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. Labuschagne was out in the second innings after scoring 8 runs in 18 balls, but there was a lot of uproar over whether Joe Root caught him cleanly or not. Was this one catch the reason for Australia’s defeat? Know here what is this whole controversy.

This incident is of the 18th over of Australia’s second innings. Josh Tong came to bowl and the very first ball of the over took the edge of the bat and went into slip. Joe Root, who was in the slip position, took the catch, after which the entire England team appealed. Labuschagne did not even move from his place because he had a suspicion in his mind that the catch had not been taken properly.

The ground umpire left the decision to the third umpire. After examining the video review from different angles, the third umpire admitted that Joe Root’s fingers were under the ball, hence Labuschagne was declared out. Labuschagne, on the other hand, looked unhappy with this decision and returned to the dressing room disappointed.

What did you make of this catch? Out or not out?#Ashes , #DRSChallenge , @Westpac pic.twitter.com/pnWo2qt6qc

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 27, 2025

Test match ended in 142 overs, England won

The fourth Ashes Test played in Melbourne ended in just 142 overs of play. In a Test match, 90 overs are bowled in a day, so you can imagine how the fast bowlers wreaked havoc on both the days of the match. Australia’s first innings was all out for 152 runs, but in response, England’s batting unit was all out for just 110 runs, giving Australia a lead of 42 runs in the first innings.

Australia scored 132 runs in the second innings, giving England a target of 175 runs. England achieved this target with 4 wickets remaining.

The name of Melbourne Cricket Ground has been recorded in history. Australia vs England 4th Ashes Test has ended in just 2 days. England won the Melbourne Test by 4 wickets, no team could touch the 200-run mark in all four innings of the match. This was the fourth shortest Test match in terms of balls in Test cricket history, which ended in only 852 balls.

The fourth Ashes Test is surrounded by criticism. 94,199 people had come to watch this match, but within 2 days their hopes were dashed. The pitch of the Melbourne ground is also under question and veteran England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, citing India, said that Australia should also be strongly criticized due to the poor pitch.

If this had happened in India, there would have been an uproar.

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen tweeted after the first day’s play of the fourth Ashes Test. In fact, 20 wickets had fallen on the first day of the match, while on the second day, 16 wickets had fallen before England won by four wickets. The match ended in only 142 overs of play.

Kevin Pietersen said, “When wickets keep falling on the first day of a Test match, then India gets criticized a lot. I hope that Australia also has to become a victim of the same kind of criticism. It would be fair.”

India ALWAYS gets hammered when wickets fall like crazy on day 1 of a Test and so I hope that Australia gets the same scrutiny!
Fair is fair!

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) December 26, 2025

Not a single fifty in the entire match

It is also an interesting fact that not a single half-century was seen in all four innings of the Melbourne Test. The highest individual score in the match was 46 runs, which was scored by Travis Head in Australia’s second innings. Apart from him, only Harry Brook and Jacob Bethel were able to cross the 40-run mark in the entire match.

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The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England is being played in Melbourne. 20 wickets fell on the very first day of the match and by the end of the first day’s play, Australia had scored 4 runs in the second innings without losing any wicket. A new history has been written on the very first day of this match, because this is the first time in the history of the Ashes in the last 123 years that 20 or more wickets have fallen on the very first day of a Test match in Melbourne.

20 wickets fell on the first day

In the fourth Ashes Test, England won the toss and chose to bowl first. The Melbourne pitch was so bad for batting that within no time Australia lost 4 wickets till the score was 51. Somehow the team crossed 100 runs. In the end the Kangaroo team’s innings was reduced to 152 runs.

When the England team came to bat, its condition was worse than Australia. England had lost 4 wickets within 16 runs. Thanks to Harry Brook’s 41 runs and Gus Atkinson’s 28 runs, the England team somehow reached the score of 110. Let us tell you that all these 20 wickets were taken by fast bowlers.

This feat happened after 123 years

The last time 20 or more wickets fell on the first day of a Test played in Melbourne was in 1902. At that time 25 wickets had fallen on the very first day of the match. This is a world record in MCG stadium history. The maximum number of wickets fell in the matches between Australia and England on the first day of a Test match. In 1888, 27 wickets fell on the first day of the England vs Australia Lord’s Test.

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Captain Pat Cummins and experienced spin bowler Nathan Lyon have returned to Australia’s playing eleven for the important third Test match. This match of the Ashes series will be played at Adelaide Oval.

Two players have been dropped from the team that won by eight wickets in the Gabba Test. Among them, all-rounder Michael Neser was the most unfortunate, while fast bowler Brendan Dodget also had to sit out of the team. Neser bowled brilliantly at Gabba.

For Pat Cummins, this test will be the first test after the match played against West Indies in the middle of the year. Cummins said that he is completely fit and there will be no overs limit in bowling. He told that if he had played in Brisbane Test, he would have probably bowled less overs, but in this match he will play to his full capacity like in a normal Test.

Experienced opening batsman Usman Khawaja once again did not get a place in the team. The selectors have kept faith in Travis Head and Jake Weatherald as the opening pair. Wicketkeeper batsman Josh Inglis also remains in the team and will bat at number seven.

Cummins made it clear that Usman Khawaja’s international career is not over. He said that Khawaja is a player who is always ready for the team. Cummins also told that many players like Beau Webster, Michael Neser and Brendan Dodget have been left out in this series, but everyone has kept the atmosphere of the team positive. To win the Ashes series, a strong team and a big squad are necessary.

Let us tell you that the Ashes is a five-match Test series, in which the host Australia has defeated Ben Stokes-led England on every front and has won the first two Test matches. By winning the third test, Australia will get an unassailable lead in the Ashes. In such a situation, the challenge before England is ‘do or die’.

Australia’s playing-11: Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.

Australia has defeated England by 8 wickets in the second test match. In the second Ashes Test played at Gabba, Australia had a target of only 65 runs, which it achieved by losing only 2 wickets. Now the Kangaroos have taken a 2-0 lead over England in the five-match series. In this match, Joe Root scored the first Test century on Australian soil.

Earlier in the Perth Test also, Australia had won by 8 wickets. Thanks to Joe Root’s unbeaten 138 runs in the Gabba Test, England had scored 334 runs in the first innings. In reply, Australia scored 511 runs, giving it a huge lead of 177 runs in the first innings. For Australia, no batsman scored a century in the first innings, but Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Jack Weatherald, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc scored half-centuries.

To stay in the match, England had to score a big score in the second innings, but wickets kept falling one by one and the team collapsed for 241 runs in the second innings. In the second innings, Ben Stokes contributed 50 runs and Will Jacques contributed 41 runs. In this way Australia got the target of only 65 runs.

Steve Smith created a ruckus

Chasing the small target of 65 runs, Australia lost the first wicket for 37 runs and the second wicket just four runs later. Steve Smith came to bat at fourth position, who scored 23 runs in 9 balls while playing at a stormy strike rate of 255. By hitting 2 fours and 2 sixes, he ensured Australia’s victory in the Gabba Test.

Mitchell Starc became the player of the match, who took 6 wickets in the first innings and 2 wickets in the second innings. Starc is the bowler taking the most wickets in this series so far. He has taken 18 wickets in 2 matches, whereas Brayden Kars, who is at number two, has been able to take only 9 wickets so far.

Mitchell Starc created history by scoring a half-century against England in Brisbane. Australia is in a strong position in the second Test of the Ashes series being played at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane, the reason for this is also Starc. Starc took 6 wickets in England’s first innings, due to which the team was reduced to 334 runs.

Mitchell Starc did not even allow opener Ben Duckett and third-placed Ollie Pope to open their account in England’s first innings, after which he sent Harry Brook (31), Will Jacques (19), Gus Atkinson and Braydon Carse to the pavilion. Starc also performed brilliantly with the bat, till the time of writing the news he is unbeaten on 56 runs.

Mitchell Starc is only the second player to do so

Mitchell Starc is the third highest wicket taker in the ICC World Test Championship, both the players above him are Australians. Nathan Lyon is at first place with 219 wickets and Pat Cummins is at second place with 215 wickets. Mitchell Starc has taken 207 wickets.

Mitchell Starc is the second player to score 200 wickets and 1000 runs in the World Test Championship. Along with him, Pat Cummins is also included in this list, who has 215 wickets and 1020 runs in his name.

Mitchell Starc touched this figure in 71 innings of 51 Tests, he has 1003* runs in his name. His average is 18.92 and strike rate is 50.78. Starc has played 2 half-century innings in WTC. Starc has taken 207 wickets in WTC, his economy was 3.46. In this he has taken five wicket haul 7 times.

Australia is in a strong position

Australia had defeated England in the first match of the Ashes series 2025-2026, Australia is in a strong position in the second test also. England’s first innings was reduced to 334 runs, while Joe Root alone scored 138 runs. He remained unbeaten. Jack Weatherald (72), Marnus Labuschagne (65), Steve Smith (61), Alex Carey (63) and Mitchell Starc (56) have scored half-centuries for Australia. Till the time of writing the news, Australia has a lead of 144 runs.

Australia has strengthened its hold on the second Ashes Test. In this match being played at Gabba, Australia has scored 378 runs at the loss of 6 wickets by the end of the second day’s play. Australia is currently ahead by 44 runs in the first innings, because England’s first innings was reduced to 334 runs. On the second day, captain Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Jack Weatherald scored half-centuries for the Kangaroo team.

England increased their score to 325/9 on the second day. The English team had added only 9 runs to the scoreboard, then Archer was out after scoring 38 runs. England’s first innings was limited to 334 runs. Joe Root returned unbeaten after scoring 138 runs.

Second test in the hands of Australia

In the absence of Usman Khawaja, Travis Head started the Australian innings along with Jack Weatherald. There was an opening partnership of 77 runs between the two. Head was out after scoring 33 runs, but Weatherald scored 72 runs playing at a strike rate of 92. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith took the lead, but when Labuschagne was out after scoring 65 runs, Australia lost the third wicket at the score of 196.

The England team seemed to be in a comeback mood, but then Smith and Green made a partnership of 95 runs. At one time, Australia had scored 291 runs at the loss of 3 wickets, but meanwhile, Brydon Carse brought England back into the match by taking the wickets of Cameron Green and Steve Smith in the same over. Ben Stokes gave the sixth blow to Australia by clean bowling Josh English.

Now Alex Carey and Michael Neser are becoming a problem for England. Their partnership of 49 runs for the seventh wicket seems to be very heavy for England.

Stokes and Kars got beaten up a lot.

On the second day, England’s bowlers were also beaten badly. Later Stokes bowled well, but at one time his economy rate was touching around 7. Stokes has taken 2 wickets so far, but has given away 93 runs in 17 overs. On the other hand, Brayden Kars has given away 113 runs in 17 overs and has also taken 3 wickets.

The second Ashes Test between Australia and England is being played in Brisbane. In this match, Joe Root has scored the 40th century of his Test career (Joe Root 40th Century). This is the first time that Root has scored a Test century on Australian soil. Joe Root has now become the eighth England cricketer to score a Test century at the historic ground of Gabba. Before him, 7 cricketers including Andrew Strauss and Ian Botham had done this.

Did this for the first time in 13 years

Joe Root made his Test debut against India in 2012. Till now, Root had scored centuries in 7 different countries, but had not been able to play any century innings in Australia till now. Till now, Joe Root’s highest individual score in Australia was 89 runs, but now he has ended his century drought on Australian soil.

Joe Root has now become one of the players who have played the most innings to score his first Test century in Australia. Root got the pleasure of scoring a century in Australia after waiting for 30 innings. Before him, Ian Healy (41 innings), Bob Simpson (36 innings), Gordon Greenidge (32 innings) and Steve Waugh also had to wait for 32 innings to score their first century in Australia.

Status of second Ashes test

The second Ashes Test is being played at the Gabba ground in Brisbane. In this match, England won the toss and chose to bat first. Till the time of writing this article, England has scored 272 runs. Joe Root scored the 40th test century of his career. Root is currently at fourth place in terms of scoring most centuries in Test cricket history. Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45) and Ricky Ponting (41) are ahead of him in the list of most centuries.

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England vs Australia: Batting was looking very difficult so far in the first Test being played at Optus Stadium. But looking at the explosive batting of Travis Head in the second innings, it did not seem that Australia was reduced to 132 runs in the first innings. England’s first innings also ended here at 172 runs, today on the second day of the Test too, England was all out for 164 runs in the second innings. But Head created history here by scoring a half-century in 36 balls. He converted this innings into a century.

Travis Head has entered the top-5 in the list of batsmen who have scored the fastest half-century in the history of Ashes. Head completed his half-century in 36 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 3 fours. The first in the list is Jack Brown, who scored a half-century in 34 balls in 1895.

Fastest half century in Ashes

• 34 Ball- Jack Brown, Melbourne 1895
• 35 B – Graham Yallop, Manchester 1981
• 35 Ball- David Warner, Birmingham 2015
• 36 Ball- Kevin Pietersen, The Oval 2013
• 36 Ball- Travis Head, Perth 2025

Scored a century in 69 balls

After scoring a explosive half-century in the first Test of Ashes 2025-2026, Travis Head did not stop, he also completed his century in 69 balls. That means he added only 33 runs in the next 50 runs. Till scoring his century, he hit 4 sixes and 12 fours.

Head’s batting order changed in the second innings

England won the toss and decided to bat first, but succumbed to the lethal bowling of Mitchell Starc. The entire England team was reduced to 172 runs. Although Australia’s batting was also very bad, Ben Stokes took 5 wickets and bundled out Australia for 132 runs.

On the second day of the Test, England’s second innings ended at 164 runs, thus giving Australia a target of 205 runs to win. The way the pitch was behaving, it seemed that this target would be like a mountain for Australia but Travis Head’s stormy innings made it a minor target. The special thing is that Head, who came at number 5 in the first innings, opened in the second innings.