England's Ashes Test triumph is long overdue |
England have just won the fourth Test match against Australia by four wickets. In a bizarre, low-scoring game at Melbourne that was completed inside two days they recorded their first Test win in Australia in 15 years. The pitch was freakish; this was the first Test match on Australian soil without an individual half-century for nearly a hundred years.
England recorded their first cricket Test win in Australia in 15 years
Set to score 175 in conditions which, to put it mildly, made batting extremely difficult, openers Zak Crawley (37 runs off 48 deliveries) and Ben Duckett (an even more quick-fire 34 off just 26) set the tone with aggressive ‘Bazball-style’ batting, scoring at over seven an over. Then Jacob Bethell became one of the game’s top scorers with 40 off 46. There was still time for a traditional England wobble as both Joe Root, England’s most experienced batsman, and captain Ben Stokes fell cheaply. But Harry Brook and Jamie Smith saw England over the line.
Unfortunately the five-match series is already lost – Australia won the first three Tests – but........