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Australia vs England, 4th Test

Day 1: Stumps - Australia lead by 46 runs
AUS2nd inn
4
-0
(1)
CRR4
P'SHIP4(6)
Batter
R
B
4s
6s
SR
0
0
0
0
0.00
Bowler
O
M
R
W
ECO
England's worst fears came true as they were reduced to 16/4 by Starc and Neser. Harry Brook thrives himself when batting looks almost impossible as his mantra is swing around to survive. Because surviving in these conditions with defence is really tough. He counterattacked for a quick 41 but Boland cut the fun short again the procession continued. Neser came back to take two more and searched deep for a fifth that just evaded him. Boland added two more to his tally before Green cleaned up Atkinson to leave Australia with one over to survive before close of play. It was Boland who came out as nightwatchman and ensured his batters could come out and swing their willows unharmed tomorrow. This pitch has to dramatically flatten out for Australia to drag their innings for the full of Day 2 or a couple of them have to show high confidence in their defence to wear out the bowlers. This game has moved at a rapid pace and it promises to do that again on Saturday as well. Join us early tomorrow as we continue the story. Good night!
The last time 20 or more wickets fell on the first day of an Ashes Test in Australia was back in 1901-02 - an era where cricket was played on uncovered pitches. This morning England chose to bowl and would have been delighted to take 4 wickets before lunch. But seeing the Aussies crumble in the post-lunch session, even they would have been worried about their batting having seen how the ball was seaming around. If not for Neser's flurry of boundaries, the Aussies wouldn't have crossed 150 as Tongue - after cleaning up the top-order - came back to clean up the tail as well. He finshed with a fifer and will be on a hat-trick when he comes out to bowl in the second innings.
Most wickets in a day’s play in Tests at MCG
25 - AUS vs ENG, 1901/02 (Day 1)
20 - AUS vs SA, 1931/32 (Day 1)
20 - AUS vs ENG, 1894/95 (Day 1)
20 - AUS vs ENG, 2025/26 (Day 1)
18 - AUS vs ENG, 1998/99 (Day 4)
18 - AUS vs ENG, 1903/04 (Day 3)
Most wickets on Day 1 of a Test in Australia
25 - AUS vs ENG, Melbourne, 1901/02
22 - AUS vs WI, Adelaide, 1951/52
20 - AUS vs SA, Melbourne, 1931/32
20 - AUS vs ENG, Melbourne, 1894/95
20 - AUS vs ENG, Melbourne, 2025/26
19 - AUS vs WI, Sydney, 1951/52
19 - AUS vs ENG, Perth, 2025/26
Most wickets on Day 1 in AUS vs ENG Tests
25 - Melbourne, 1901/02
22 - The Oval, 1890
20 - The Oval, 1882
20 - Old Trafford, 1909
20 - Melbourne, 1894/95
20 - Melbourne, 2025/26
19 - Perth, 2025/26
18:04 Local Time, 07:04 GMT, 12:34 IST: Head lets Boland lead him off the field and applauds the effort. So, how much spice is too much spice? England and Australia will say 10mm of grass and 20 wickets on the first day of a Test match. Apparently the grass was 3mm more than the last Boxing Day Ashes Test here. The ICC rated the MCG pitch poor in 2018 because it was too flat. Will it come under the firing line now because it's doing too much? Sure there was a lot of help for the pacers - some of the balls were unplayable but the shot selection could have definitely been better and mindset of the batters could have been tougher too. That's a debate that will keep taking sides.
1
0 0 0 0 0 4 (4 runs)
AUS 4-0
Scott Boland
4(6)
Travis Head
0(0)
Gus Atkinson
1-0-4-0
0.6
4
Atkinson to Boland, FOUR, edged and escapes past fifth slip and we have one of the loudest cheers of the day for Boland, who has managed to shield Head to stumps. Length delivery nipping away, Boland defends, thick edge rolls away to the third man fence
This is the first time Scott Boland is opening the batting in his first-class career
0.5
Atkinson to Boland, no run, edgeddd but short! Short of a length delivery nipping away, Boland looks to defend, gets opened up by the away movement, Bethell dives low to the left at fifth slip and tries to pick it up with his left hand
0.4
Atkinson to Boland, no run, massive cheer from the crowd as Boland plays a solid front foot defence. Let this length delivery come to hime and met if from the middle of the bat
0.3
Atkinson to Boland, no run, that's a wasted delivery wide of off stump, Boland happily plays inside the line and leaves
0.2
Atkinson to Boland, no run, appeal for LBW but it was missing leg. Length delivery nipping back in, Boland looks to defend and misses
England have added short backward square leg as well
0.1
Atkinson to Boland, no run, bowls a gun short ball, forces Boland to hop and fend off the splice of the bat but it clears Duckett at short leg and a bowler has just denied a single to an opening batter. What a crazy day at the G!
Boland and Head are at the crease. Boland is on strike. Atkinson will open the attack
Well, well, Scotty Boland is walking out to open the batting at the MCG. He wouldn't have imagined to do this even in the wildest of dreams. The crowd realized late that it was Boland who was walking out with Head and gave him a big cheer. He will take strike and try to shield Head. England have five slips in place with a short leg and leg gully
Only four cricketers have over 3000-plus Test runs at a 45-plus average and 70-plus strike-rate:
Vivian Richards (8540 runs at 50.23, SR: 70.2)
Virender Sehwag (8586 runs at 49.34, SR: 82.23)
Adam Gilchrist (5570 runs at 47.6, SR: 81.95)
Harry Brook (3034 runs at 54.17, SR: 86.85)

Of the 348 batters with a minimum of 2000 runs in Tests, Brook has the highest strike-rate (86.85), followed by Ben Duckett (86.11)
Scott Boland in Tests at the MCG
Matches: 4
Wickets: 19
Avg: 13.89
SR: 30.9
BBI: 6/7
This is England’s third lowest all-out total in an away Ashes Test since 2000, after 68 at the same venue in 2021 and 79 at the Gabba in 2002.
Micheal Neser: Don't know yet, but I know he'll be ready for it (if Boland was going to open the innings as a nightwatchman). We saw how tough it was when we batted. The ball was nipping around and we needed to bowl in the right areas. A dream come true (on playing a Boxing Day Test), haven't been here in front of such a crowd. You need to put pressure back on their bowlers, the ball is nipping around. You need to find the perfect balance between defence and attack (on the batting philosophy needed).
17:49 Local Time, 06:49 GMT, 12:19 IST: 20 wickets in the day and we still have 1 more over left. If the Aussies are going to send out nightwatchmen the number could increase. The curator will hope that both sides bat way better to ease some tension because this pitch is already under the radar as it's been a bowler's paradise. Both sides unable to find a way to score. There's been a lot of seam movement and sometimes extra bounce too. Definitely not in the dangerous category though. We'll talk about this a bit more after stumps.