Australia vs England 5th Test is being played at Sydney Cricket Ground, in which something happened which has not happened in the last 138 years. For the first time, Australia is playing without a specialist spinner. Steve Smith said that he was forced to take this decision, he also looked unhappy with the pitch.

Australia cricket team has already made an unassailable lead in the Ashes series. The team won the first 3 matches, while the fourth match was won by England. The Sydney Test started from Sunday. There is no specialist spinner in Australia’s playing 11, on which Steve Smith said that he did not like it but the pitch was such that he had no other option.

This happened for the first time in 138 years

This is the first time in 138 years that Australia is playing a Test match without a specialist spinner at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Smith said that he was brought to this situation where he was forced to take this decision. Beau Webster was included in the playing 11 in the fifth test. Off-spinner Todd Murphy was dropped.

Australian captain Steve Smith said, “I also do not like playing without a spinner, but the kind of pitches that are being made where there is no possibility of spin and where only the cracks will play a role, then what option will the captain have.”

The role of spinners has been continuously decreasing in this series. Nathan Lyon was dropped from the Brisbane Test. Todd Murphy was dropped from the Sydney Test after Melbourne. At the same time, the England team also did not give a chance to their main spinner Shoaib Bashir in the Sydney Test. Bashir did not play in any test in this series.

Spinners lacked importance in the series

Steve Smith said that if the spinners do not get help on the pitch, they can score runs more quickly. This turns the match in favor of the opposing team. Smith said, “I like to see the spinners playing a role, but in the current conditions there is no concrete reason to bowl to them.”

The Sydney pitch was considered helpful for spinners, but the fast bowlers seem to be getting help there. There is a lot of talk on whether such pitches will not reduce the importance of spinners’ art in the game?

Rain spoiled the game on the first day

England had decided to bat first after winning the toss. After 3 wickets fell at 57, Joe Root (72) and Harry Brook (78) took charge of the innings and both remained unbeaten till the end of the day’s play. Let us tell you that due to rain only 45 overs were played on the first day. England has scored 211 runs after losing 3 wickets.

After defeating Australia in Melbourne within two days, England captain Ben Stokes made a big statement. England’s victory is special in many ways. In fact, after 14 years the English team has won a test match on Australian soil. Whereas Ben Stokes has won Test matches as captain in Australia after 13 Test matches. England won by 4 wickets in the fourth test of the Ashes series played in Melbourne. For England, which has lost the series, this victory is going to boost its confidence. England captain Ben Stokes said that he feels very good after the victory. For this, the players of the team have worked hard.

What did Stokes say on winning the Test in Australia after 14 years?

After the victory in the fourth Test, Ben Stokes said, “The victory feels really good. Everyone worked very hard for this. This victory is very special. We play not just for ourselves, but for a lot of people. Wherever we go in the world, we get tremendous support. The noise, the slogans, the sounds. We all hear and feel it. I know a lot of our fans will be excited right now.”

He further added, “A lot happened before this match, but the boys coming out on the field, staying focused, and the way they performed, says a lot about this team. Huge credit to the players, support staff and management that they focused on what was important. We knew it was not an easy chase. There was a lot on the pitch and the bowlers were always in the game. The message was to be positive, not let the bowlers settle, and run them. “Keep hitting. I thought the intent and discipline we showed was great. It took courage, but the boys handled it very well.”

Account of the fourth test match

In this Test match played in Melbourne, Australia had scored only 152 runs in its first innings. However, after this the Kangaroos bundled out the British for 110 runs. In this way Australia achieved a significant lead of 42 runs in the first innings. However, in the second innings the Australian team could score only 132 runs and gave England a target of 175 runs. These runs seemed to be quite a lot on a bowler-friendly pitch, but in the second innings, Jack Crawley 37, Ben Duckett 34 and Jacob Bethel played brilliant innings of 40 runs for England. The English team chased the target by losing 6 wickets. In bowling, Josh Tong took five wickets in the first innings and two wickets in the second innings for England. Josh Tong ,player of the match, Chosen.

England has got its first win in the 2025-26 Ashes series. After losing the first three Tests, England won the fourth Test. England has won in Australia after almost 14 years. The fourth Ashes Test played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ended within just two days. In this match, the England team was all out for just 110 runs in its first innings. Even after this the English team won the match by 4 wickets.

In this Test match played in Melbourne, Australia had scored only 152 runs in its first innings. However, after this the Kangaroos bundled out the British for 110 runs. In this way Australia achieved a significant lead of 42 runs in the first innings. However, in the second innings the Australian team could score only 132 runs and gave England a target of 175 runs. These runs seemed to be quite a lot on a bowler-friendly pitch, but in the second innings, Jack Crawley 37, Ben Duckett 34 and Jacob Bethel played brilliant innings of 40 runs for England. The English team chased the target by losing 6 wickets. In bowling, Josh Tong took five wickets in the first innings and two wickets in the second innings for England. Josh Tong ,player of the match, Chosen.

England won after 5468 days

close to australia 5468 The day England won. Before this, England last won the Sydney Test in Australia on 7 January 2011. England played cricket in baseball style in the second innings. The British won the match by scoring 178 runs in 32.2 overs. England captain Ben Stokes has won on Australian soil after 13 Tests.

No batsman from both the teams could score a half century

It was also interesting in the fourth Test match played in Melbourne that the batsmen of England and Australia could not score half-centuries in both the innings. A total of 572 runs were scored in this match, but no one scored a fifty. This amazing record has been made in the history of the Ashes series.

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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England’s young all-rounder Jacob Bethall, who was in the headlines even before the Boxing Day Test, has once again become a topic of discussion. This time the reason was neither his game nor any statement, but a strange incident that happened while fielding on the field. Which ’embarrassed’ him in front of the camera.

Strange incident happened during fielding

Jacob Bethall was fielding for England in the Boxing Day Test being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. During this time, he tried to stop the ball by making a spectacular dive near the boundary. The dive was excellent, but while sliding his pants slipped down a bit. Usually this happens many times in cricket, but this time the matter was different.

As soon as the camera went to Bethel, their problems became clearly visible. The reason was that the innerwear he was wearing had a picture of the Ashes trophy printed on it. This was clearly visible in the camera and after this the clip quickly went viral on social media. The reaction of 22 year old Bethal was also worth seeing, he was seen trying to recover immediately, but by then the camera had done its job. On this, some fans believe that this could be a way of teasing the Australian team, while some are calling it just a coincidence.

Melbourne test is important for England

Talking about the match, Melbourne Test is very important for England. The Ashes series 2025-26 has already gone out of England’s hands and Australia has won the series. In such a situation, the Boxing Day Test has become a battle of prestige for England.

Australia’s first innings was lackluster

The Australian team, which came to bat first after losing the toss, was all out for 152 runs in the first innings. Michael Neser scored the highest score of 35 runs, while Usman Khawaja scored 29 runs and Alex Carey scored 20 runs. Josh Tong bowled brilliantly for England and took five wickets. Apart from this, Gus Atkinson got two wickets.

The fourth Test of the Ashes 2025-26 between Australia and England is starting in Melbourne from Friday. England has lost the series after losing the first 3 tests of the series played in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. England will enter the next 2 Tests with the intention of saving their honour, which does not seem easy. Let us know what is England’s record so far in Melbourne.

England’s record so far at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is not very bad, but victory has not been easy for them even at this venue. A total of 57 Tests have been played between Australia and England in Melbourne. Australia has won 29 Test matches, while England has won 20 Test matches. 8 tests are being drawn. If we look at the statistics, England have hardly won on this ground.

England will try to get their first win of the tour in the Test match starting from Friday.

The pitch in Melbourne Test is favorable for fast bowlers. Captain Steve Smith has said that he is thinking of giving place to only 4 fast bowlers in the playing eleven. Smith has said that Nathan Lyon is not a part of this test due to injury, but even if he was fit, it would have been difficult for him to make a place in the team. Australia will announce the playing eleven at the time of the toss.

England’s baseball style has proved to be a complete flop in this series. After the defeat in the Adelaide Test and the series loss, England captain Ben Stokes had said that the intention with which he had come on the tour could not be fulfilled. He will try to improve his performance and win in the remaining test matches. England have included Jacob Bethel and Gus Atkinson in the team for the Melbourne Test. England has not won the Ashes series since 2015.

England’s playing eleven of Melbourne test

Jack Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethel, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacques, Gus Atkinson, Braydon Carse, Josh Tongue.

Australia team for Melbourne test

Travis Head, Jack Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett, Jhye Richardson.

After continuous poor performance in the Ashes series 2025-26, the England cricket team now seems to be embroiled in a new controversy. The English team, which lost the Ashes after losing the first three Tests against Australia on the field, is now facing allegations of excessive consumption of alcohol during the series. England men’s team managing director Rob Key has made it clear that these allegations will be investigated and if any player is found guilty, strict decision will be taken against him.

Controversy over Noosa trip

England had a very bad start in the Ashes series. After losing the first three Test matches, Australia won the Ashes in just 11 days. Between the second and third Test, the England team took a break in the resort town of Noosa, Queensland. This break was already decided and its purpose was to refresh the players mentally during the long tour, but now questions are being raised regarding this break.

Rob Key’s tough stance

Rob Key, while talking to the media in Melbourne, said that he has no problem with taking a break, but if players have consumed excessive alcohol then it is a serious issue. He said, “If it comes to light that players drank alcohol excessively, we will definitely investigate it. This is not expected from a team playing international cricket.”

However, Rob Key also made it clear that according to the information he had received so far, the players were disciplined to a great extent. He told that the team had dinner together, returned on time and consumed only limited quantity of alcohol.

Questions have already been raised

This is not the first time that questions have been raised on the behavior of England players. Rob Key also mentioned the New Zealand tour, where a video of players being kicked out the night before the match went viral on social media. White ball captain Harry Brook and player Jacob Bethel were seen in that video.

Rob Key said that a formal warning was not necessary in that case, but it was explained to the players informally. He clearly said that he has no objection to a glass of wine with dinner, but going beyond this is absolutely wrong.

England has not won any Ashes series since 2015. Australia has dominated the Ashes for the last 10 years and in the current series of 2025 too, Australia has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead. The England team is being heavily criticized, meanwhile the managing director of the England team, Rob Key, has made a surprising revelation. He says that during the Ashes series, there has been news of excessive consumption of alcohol by the players during the holidays in a resort.

Rob can now investigate the alcohol addiction of the players of the England team. Till now, England has suffered a crushing defeat in all three matches of the Ashes series.

Between the second and third Test, the England team went on a holiday to a resort in a city named Noosa. Preparations for this break in the middle of a long tour were made in advance, so that the players could be given rest. Team managing director Rob Key did not accompany the team to Noosa. He says that he has no objection to the players celebrating holidays, but he will be very sad if he finds any evidence of excessive alcohol consumption.

Rob Key said, “If people are saying that our players have consumed too much alcohol. Obviously we will investigate it. Excessive drinking is something that I would not expect at all for an international cricket team. It would certainly be a big mistake to ignore it. From what I have heard so far, the players have behaved very well.”

England players have been in the news before due to reports of drinking alcohol during a series. Before the Ashes series, Harry Brook and Jacob Batchelor were seen drinking alcohol before an ODI match was played against New Zealand. On this, Rob Key said that both the players were let off with a warning for that incident.

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Indian cricket team captain and world number-1 ODI batsman Rohit Sharma has taken a tough dig at the England cricket team. Citing England’s consecutive defeats in the ongoing Ashes series in Australia, Rohit said that playing cricket in Australia is not easy and this can be confirmed from England also.

Rohit’s statement in Gurugram event

When Rohit Sharma reached the stage during an event organized in Gurugram on Sunday, he talked about the difficulty of the Australian situation in the packed stadium. Rohit said smilingly, “Playing in Australia is the most difficult, you can ask England about this.” His statement was a direct reference to the poor condition of England in the current Ashes series.

England’s bad condition in Ashes

The England team is currently on Australia tour, where it is playing the five-match Ashes Test series of 2025-26. England has faced consecutive defeats in the first three Test matches of the series. The first two Tests were played in Perth and Brisbane, where Australia won both the matches by eight wickets within three days. The third Test was played at Adelaide Oval, in which Australia defeated England by 82 runs and won the series.

Within just 11 days, England’s hopes of winning the Ashes were over. After which this statement of Rohit has become increasingly discussed on social media. Cricket fans are considering this as a light but sharp taunt on the England team.

Rohit’s record in Australia

If we talk about Rohit Sharma’s Australia record, his performance in ODI cricket has been excellent. He is the only Indian batsman to score more than 1000 ODI runs against Australia. However, he did not get much success in Test cricket on Australian soil. He has scored a total of 439 runs in 10 test matches in Australia. Which includes three half-centuries.

Eyes on the fourth test

Rohit played his last Test in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 2024. Now the fourth Test of the Ashes series is to be played between 26 and 30 December on the grounds of Melbourne itself. Australia has already won the Ashes series. However, now the team will go against England with the intention of taking a 4-0 lead. Australia may miss Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon in this match.

The World Test Championship 2025-27 is in its initial stages, but the ups and downs in the points table have already started. Australia has also defeated England by 82 runs in the third Ashes Test. With this, Australia has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series. Australia has further strengthened its lead at the top in the points table of the World Test Championship. Whereas teams like India and England currently seem to be out of the race for the finals.

Australia is on top, England is in bad shape

In the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, Australia has won all its 6 matches so far, whose points percentage is currently 100. Australia is at first place and South Africa is at second place with a points percentage of 75.

England, which has lost the first three Test matches in the Ashes series, is in a very bad shape, having played 8 matches so far in the current cycle and has registered only two wins. England’s points percentage is only 27.08. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are at third and fourth position respectively.

India lags behind Pakistan in the table

The Indian team started its WTC 2025-27 cycle with a series against England. India-England series was drawn 2-2. During this period, India has won series against Bangladesh and West Indies, but in the World Test Championship, it has lost series to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

So far in the points table, it has registered only four wins in 9 matches. His points percentage is only 48.15. Recently, South Africa had defeated India 2-0 in the Test series at its home. This defeat has dealt a blow to India’s hopes of going to the finals. Pakistan is also ahead of India in the table, which is currently at fifth position.

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