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Rare statistical milestones achieved in two-day MCG Test

Umesh Sharma

England beat Australia by 4 wickets in MCG Test (Source: AFP)England beat Australia by 4 wickets in MCG Test (Source: AFP)

The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England in Melbourne ended up with the visitors registering a four-wicket win. England chased down the target of 175 runs for the loss of six wickets on the second day of the game after bundling out hosts at 132 runs in the second innings. 

England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and asked the hosts to bat at the green top of MCG. Batting first, Australia were bundled out at the score of just 152 runs before they counterattacked and wrapped up the visitors at 110 runs to take 42-run lead at the end of first innings. 

Apart from England’s two-day win in the historical Boxing-Day Test match against Australia ended up with a lot of other statistical records getting equalled or broken. That said, here’s a look at the rare milestones achieved during this two-day Boxing-Day Test between Australia and at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

20 wickets on first day in a Test in Australia - First time in last 74 years 

A total of 20 wickets fell on the opening day of the Boxing-Day Test, it happened to be a thing to occur in a Men’s Test in Australia. It was in 1951 during the Adelaide Test between Australia and West Indies when 20 wickets fell on the first day of the game. 

In that 1951 game, Aussie skipper Arthur Morris won the toss and decided to bat first to end up getting bundled out at 82 in the first innings. In response, the Caribbean side also lost all 10 wickets at the score of 105 runs, with a lead of 13 runs. West Indies ended up winning the game by six wickets.

Interestingly, Australia lost both of these Tests against West Indies (1951) and England (2025) when 20 wickets fell on the first day in a Test on Australian soil. 

20 wickets in a day at MCG - First time in last 93 years

Besides 20 wickets on the opening day in a men’s Test in Australia, the same stat also happened to be registered in another column. It was for the first time in MCG when 20 wickets fell in a day, specifically at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Before the just-concluded Boxing-Day Test between Australia and England, it was in 1932 when 20 wickets fell in a day during the MCG Test between South Africa and England. In the 1932 MCG Test, SA were bundled out at the score of just 36 runs in the first innings before Australia’s innings ended at 153. 

Later in the second innings, Australian bowlers wrapped up the visitors once again on a double-digit score of just 45 runs. Eventually, Australia won the game by an innings and 72 runs. 

20 wickets in a day between Australia and England - first time in 116 years 

Undoubtedly, the fall of 20 wickets in a single during a Test match between Australia and England was one of the rarest things to happen. It was the three-day Manchester Test 116 years ago in 1909 when it happened during an Australia-England Test. 

Australia were all-out at 147 runs in the first innings, before wrapping up England at 119 runs on the same day. Eventually, the game ended without any result as it was a three-day Test match. 

Two or more Two-Day Tests in same series: third time in entire Test history

Notably, it is one of the most interesting and rare stats that the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 became only the third Test series that included two-day Tests more than one. The last two Test series to have two or more two-day Tests were in 1888 and 1889, i.e., almost 135-136 years ago. 

In 1888, it was the Ashes series in England that had three two-day Tests, with the hosts winning the series 2-1. In the succeeding year, it happened between a Test series between England and South Africa in South Africa when two Tests ended within a span of two days. Since then, it took more than a century for a series to have two or more two-day Tests. 

Ben Stokes: Third captain to win Boxing-Day Test vs Australia in last 15 years

With England’s four-wicket win against Australia, the visiting skipper Ben Stokes also achieved and joined two Indians in the last 15 years. Stokes became only the third captain to win the Boxing-Day Test vs Australia in the last five years, following Virat Kohli (2018) and Ajinkya Rahane (2021). 

Steve Smith’s first defeat as captain in Ashes 

Apart from Ben Stokes being the third skipper to beat Australia in the Boxing-Day Test in the last 15 years, the MCG Test also became the rarest happening for the stand-in skipper Steve Smith. It happened to be the first defeat for him as captain in the Ashes series after seven wins and a drawn game in the nine games he led Australia. 

England join New Zealand to play most successive Tests without win in Australia 

The four-wicket win against Australia at MCG also saved England from an unwanted record. After the MCG win, the English side ended up joining New Zealand to become a team to play most successive Tests without a win in Australia. Earlier, New Zealand’s winless streak of 18 Tests in Australia lasted for 24 years from 1987 to 2011. 

2011 was the year when New Zealand’s winless streak in Australia ended and England’s started. Furthermore, England’s winless streak finally ended after a long wait of almost 15 years with their latest win in Melbourne.