After a long wait of almost 15 years, which included a string of 18 Test matches, England and Joe Root (and Ben Stokes) have finally tasted a Test match victory on Australian soil as the Three Lions beat Australia in the 4th Test of the Ashes 2025-26.
While the Ashes had already been decided in Adelaide, where Australia took a 3-0 series lead, the visitors will have something to salvage on this tour that has seen their Bazball philosophy come unstuck.
England’s last Test match victory in Australia was in January 2011, when Andrew Strauss’ team clinched the series 3-1. However, since then, England had failed to register a single victory down under on three consecutive tours and the first three Tests of the ongoing tour—with Root featuring in all of those 18 Tests and Stokes, who missed the 2017/18 Ashes, in 13 Tests.
The MCG Test lasted only 852 balls, which is only five balls more than the first Test in Perth. This is now the first series in 123 years to include more than one Test match ending in only two days.
AUS vs ENG: Joe Root reacts to his first Test match win in Australia
Root, under whom England endured 4-0 losses in the last two tours to Australia, looked a pleased and relieved man after triumph in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
He reflected, “I’ve been on the wrong side of the result a lot here so you know what to expect, you know how good Australia are in their own conditions. But the fact we managed to get across the line today is excellent, and hopefully we can improve on this next week.”
Day 1 saw 20 wickets fall, with Australia taking a first-innings lead of 42 runs. Australia were in the driver’s seat when they were 82/3 in their second innings, but then the hosts collapsed, getting bowled out for 132, setting a target of 175 for England.
The England openers started off aggressively, posting a 51-run opening stand in 7 overs. They lost wickets from thereafter, but Jacob Bethell’s breezy 46 off 46 ensured his side crossed the finishing line.
Root added, “Obviously to lose the series is very disappointing but it was really important we showed a lot of character for the rest of the series. There’s been a lot thrown at this team. Clearly it was a very fast-forward Test match with the surface we were presented with but I think we adapted to it as much as we could and exploited it when we got the opportunities.
“We showed a bit of bravery today with the way we approached things with the bat, and that’s why we won the Test match.”
Fast bowler Josh Tongue won the Player of the Match award for his seven wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in Australia’s first innings.
England captain Ben Stokes, who had called out the “weak men” in the group after the loss in Brisbane, praised his players who “showed bravery and were courageous.”
AUS vs ENG: When and where is the 5th Test of the Ashes?
The fifth and the last Test of the Ashes 2025/26 will be played in Sydney from January 4.
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