Twenty wickets fell on a wild first day of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday. Australia collapsed for 152. England then slipped to 110. The match stayed wide open at stumps. Ben Stokes won an important toss on a green pitch. Under cloudy skies, England’s fast bowlers struck early. A record crowd of 94,199 watched at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Australia fell apart in the first innings. Josh Tongue led the attack and took 5 for 45. The hosts struggled to build any partnerships and lost wickets at regular intervals.
England’s reply was even worse. They fell to 16 for 4 and never recovered. Australia bowled with pace and control. England could not cope with the movement. Ben Duckett’s poor week continued. He scored only two before lofting a simple catch to Michael Neser off Mitchell Starc. Neser then removed Jacob Bethell, who replaced Ollie Pope.
Zak Crawley edged Starc to the slips. Joe Root followed soon after, edging Neser to the keeper. England slipped deeper into trouble. Harry Brook tried to fight back. He hit several big shots and added 50 with Stokes. The stand gave England brief hope.
Scott Boland ended that resistance. He trapped Brook lbw for 41. He then bowled Jamie Smith and had Will Jacks caught behind in quick time. Boland finished with a devastating spell.
Stokes edged Neser to the slips for 16. Neser ended with 4 for 45. England’s innings soon ended. Australia faced one over before stumps. Nightwatchman Scott Boland survived it with Travis Head. Australia closed on 4 for no loss and led by 46 runs.
Earlier, Australia had struggled after choosing to bat. Head hit a few boundaries but fell for 12. Jake Weatherald made 10 before edging behind. Marnus Labuschagne fell for six. Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja tried to steady things. Tongue then bowled Smith for nine.
After lunch, Khawaja hit a fine drive but edged the next ball for 29. Alex Carey made 20 before getting out. Cameron Green showed some fight with a few boundaries. Neser also struck cleanly. Green was run out for 17. Starc then fell to a catch. Tongue wrapped up the tail.
Australia have already retained the Ashes after winning the first three Tests. England now play for pride as pressure continues to mount.
