Twenty wickets fell on a helter-skelter first day’s play in the fourth Ashes Test, as England staggered their way to 110 in response to Australia’s 152, and pundits criticised the quality of the MCG pitch.
With only three Australians and two Englishmen reaching 20, it was the most wickets on the opening day of an Ashes Test since 1904. Facing one over before stumps, the Australians sent out nightwatchman Scott Boland. When he edged the evening’s final ball for four, the ground erupted.
But former England captain Michael Vaughan, commentating for the BBC, called the surface ‘a shocker for a Test match on the first day’. He added: ‘It has just done far too much.’ Stuart Broad, meanwhile, told Australia’s SEN radio: ‘The pitch is doing too much if I’m brutally honest. Test match bowlers don’t need this amount of movement to look threatening.’
As Australia’s bowlers mounted their late-afternoon fightback, few in a ground-record crowd of 94,000 seemed too fussed. The locals had turned out in force for the biggest day of the country’s sporting calendar hoping to see their team take another step towards a third 5–0 whitewash in six home Ashes series, and the rest was details.
England’s reply got off to a dreadful start. Ben Duckett’s head may still have been spinning after his late-night Noosa video went viral, so it was no surprise when he chipped Mitchell Starc to mid-on for two, taking his series haul to 99 runs at 14.
Three fatal defensive prods followed, as Jacob Bethell (out for two on his Ashes debut), Zak Crawley (five) and Joe Root (a 15-ball duck) all perished. At 16 for four, England were heading for a car crash.
England had put in an excellent shift with the ball in the first half of the day, with Australia bowled out for 152 inside 46 overs and Josh Tongue starring with a five-wicket haul
But England’s reply to Australia’s low score got off to a dreadful start as four wickets tumbled in quick succession – as Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Zak Crawley (pictured) and Joe Root fell
Harry Brook attacked from the start, presumably reasoning that a ball with his name on it was not far away, and launching Starc over extra cover for six, then pulling Neser for six more.
His stand with Ben Stokes was worth 50 when Brook was pinned lbw by Scott Boland for a 34-ball 41, at which point the innings went back into freefall. Boland bowled Jamie Smith through the gate for two, then found Will Jacks’s inside edge: 77 for seven.
Michael Neser had Stokes flashing to slip for 16, and Brydon Carse top-edging to fine leg for four, leaving Gus Atkinson to take England into three figures with a plucky 28. England had been bowled out in 29.5 overs, the equivalent of a session.
It all meant that England’s good work with the ball in the first half of the day was almost forgotten, with Australia bowled out for 152 inside 46 overs.
The star was Josh Tongue, who was rewarded for a full, attacking length with a Test-best five for 45, including the wicket of Steve Smith, bowled through the gate for nine shortly before lunch.
Earlier, Tongue had removed Jake Weatherald, caught down the leg side for 10, and Marnus Labuschagne, driving extravagantly to slip for three, as England clawed back a loose start with the new ball from Carse.
Later, Tongue ended Australia’s first innings with the wickets of Neser and Boland in two balls, to finish with England’s first MCG five-for since 1998-99, when Darren Gough and Dean Headley both achieved the feat.
Facing one over before stumps, the Australians sent out nightwatchman Scott Boland – and when he edged the evening’s final ball for four, the record-breaking crowd erupted at the MCG
It was a mixed bag from his team-mates. Atkinson bowled with superb control on his comeback after being left out at Adelaide, removing Travis Head, who chopped on for 12, and having Usman Khawaja caught behind for 29.
Stokes chipped in with the big wicket of Alex Carey, caught at leg slip by Brook for 20, but Carse was loose again, straying in line and length as Australia’s openers put on a precious 27, and finishing only with the wicket of Starc.
Carse did effect England’s first Ashes run-out in 11 Tests, throwing down the stumps off his own bowling to remove Cameron Green for 17 and end a seventh-wicket stand of 52 with Neser. But his latest display of profligacy was the last thing England needed on one of the most bowler-friendly surfaces seen on the opening day of an Ashes Test.