England celebrated their first test win in Australia in 15 years on Saturday as they chased down 175 runs for a four-wicket Ashes victory completed in two manic days at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Though the hosts had already locked away the urn after three straight victories in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, Ben Stokes’s men gave their travelling army of fans a consolation prize for staying loyal through the depths of a mostly dismal tour.
Their nerves were jangling when England were reduced to 165 for six, 10 runs short of victory, but Harry Brook (18 not out) and Jamie Smith (three not out) held on, with the winning run taken with four leg byes off pace bowler Mitchell Starc.
It was England’s first test victory in Australia since the 2010/11 Ashes, when Andrew Strauss’s team thumped the hosts by an innings and 83 runs in the fifth match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
For Stokes and long-time comrade Joe Root, winless in Ashes tours dating back to 2013/14, it was a day of joy and relief.
“This win does mean a lot. Been over here a few times and not managed to get a win,” Stokes told reporters.
“I think it will mean a hell of a lot to everyone.”
England were under fire after surrendering the urn meekly in Adelaide, and amid reports of heavy drinking during the mid-tour break in Noosa.
“There’s been a lot thrown at this team, and the way that we responded throughout these two days has been excellent,” said Root.
The victory came without injured paceman Jofra Archer, while Gus Atkinson was out of service due to a hamstring strain early on day two after Australia had resumed with a 46-run lead and 10 wickets in hand.
But with the help of a sporting pitch and some injudicious Australian batting, the tourists routed the hosts for 132 in 34.3 overs midway through the second session.
England’s supporters could be forgiven for feeling uneasy about the chase, given how lamentable the tourists’ batting has been throughout the series, but the top order functioned well, with three batters making vital contributions.
Zak Crawley (37) and Ben Duckett (34) set the tone, racing to a 51-run partnership at more than seven runs-per-over before Starc shattered Duckett’s stumps.
A ploy to promote tailender Brydon Carse to a slogging number three did not quite come off; he fell for six with a top-edge off Jhye Richardson.
However, 22-year-old Jacob Bethell, the replacement for the dropped Ollie Pope, kept the momentum in England’s favour in just his fifth test, putting on 47 runs for the third wicket before Scott Boland trapped Crawley lbw for 37.
Bethell’s bid for a first Ashes fifty fell short after he cut Boland hard to the covers where Usman Khawaja crouched low for a fine catch to dismiss him for 40 off 46 balls.
Though the victory target had narrowed down to 38 runs, Australia’s all-seam attack kept plugging away.
Richardson dismissed Root lbw for 15 and Starc had Stokes caught behind for two when he swung wildly at a short ball, leaving the tourists 10 runs from safety.
Wicketkeeper Smith and Brook held firm to secure the win.
A BIT TOO MUCH FOR BOWLERS
Australia will wonder how the match got away from them — they were 61 for two in the morning before things soured.
“We’d love to win every game and keep every streak going but I think England played very well today,” stand-in captain Steve Smith said.
“They took the game away from us.”
Following a five-wicket haul in the first innings, seamer Josh Tongue proved crucial to England’s cause again, his dismissal of number three Marnus Labuschagne (8) triggering a collapse with Australia losing 4-27.
Stokes also made his presence felt, ending a 31-run partnership between Smith (24 not out) and Cameron Green (19) when he had Green nick to Brook in the slips.
Australia’s tail crumbled, adding 13 runs for the last three wickets.
Following a two-day series-opener in Perth, Cricket Australia will be counting the cost of another lightning-quick test, even if day two’s massive crowd of 92,045 gave the day one record of 94,199 a shake.
Day three at the 100,000-seat MCG would also have been a sell-out, leaving the host board millions out of pocket.
Smith said the pitch, which saw 36 wickets fall in two days, offered too much for the bowlers.
“Disappointing for those wanting to come along (on day three),” he added.
“You’ve still got to find ways to adapt. If we got 50-60 more runs in each innings, it might have been a different result.”
