England fast bowler Josh Tongue once again dismissed Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith in the first innings of the fourth Test between the two teams in Melbourne on Friday, 26 December. The right-arm fast bowler has dismissed the Australian stand-in captain in every innings across all formats.
England took full advantage of the decision to bowl first after winning the toss. Their pace attack put Australia under pressure and bowled them out for just 152 runs on the first day. Tongue took five wickets, while Gus Atkinson took two. Captain Ben Stokes and Brayden Carse also took one wicket each.
Josh Tongue continues to dominate Steve Smith across all formats
Josh Tongue is having tremendous success against Steve Smith. Whenever the English fast bowler has bowled to the Australian batsman, he has been successful in getting him out. In Test cricket, Smith has faced 69 balls and has been out three times after scoring only 35 runs.
Tongue has dismissed Smith in county cricket, twice at Lord’s during the 2023 Ashes, once in The Hundred and again in the Melbourne Test.
Steven Smith’s dismissals in four matches played against Josh Tongue across all formats: pic.twitter.com/vQ0Ha96ugj
– Matt Roller (@mroller98) 26 December 2025
Smith’s form in the current series has also been below his usual level. He has scored 112 runs in five innings with only one half-century. His return in the Melbourne Test after missing the third Test in Adelaide due to fitness concerns did not make the impact Australia were hoping for.
Australia all out for 152 after early promise
Openers Travis Head and Jake Weatherald added 27 runs, before Gus Atkinson dismissed Weatherald for 12. That wicket led to a sharp collapse, with Australia losing three wickets for just seven runs. Josh Tongue removed both Wetherald and Marnus Labuschagne during the fall.
Tongue then dealt a major blow in the morning session by dismissing Steve Smith for 9, leaving Australia struggling at 51/4. After lunch, Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey added 38 runs in an attempt to control the innings.
However, Khawaja dismissed Atkinson after England overturned an on-field decision by using a snicko, while Carey was caught at leg slip following a plan laid out by captain Ben Stokes.
After this, Cameron Green and Michael Neser made a partnership of 52 runs for the seventh wicket. The partnership ended when Green was run out in a mix-up, with Brydon Carse hitting the ball onto the stumps. This led to another collapse, as Australia lost four wickets for nine runs, with Tongue cleaning up at the end.
Steve Smith could defend it – Glenn McGrath
Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath praised Josh Tongue’s ball that dismissed Steve Smith. Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, McGrath said that Smith could have defended it despite the full length.
McGrath said, “He came back quite a bit. Straight through the defence. Steve Smith could have defended it, but it was full-ish length. Josh Tongue is going well. There’s something about this pitch that both captains thought would happen.”
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