England delivered a decisive initial blow at boxing day test first day As passion tongue Created magical moment to dismiss Australia’s acting captain steve smith In MCG. Won the toss and decided to bowl. Ben Stokes’ England’s pace attack immediately took advantage of this decision, taking advantage of the favorable conditions. Due to continuous fall of wickets in the initial session, Australia had to struggle to settle at the crease. Of those dismissals, Smith’s wicket stood out as the defining moment before tea on the first day.
Ashes 2025-26: Josh Tongue beats Steve Smith at full strength at MCG
Tongue displayed high-class fast bowling to dismiss Smith in Australia’s first innings of the fourth Ashes Test. Bowling full and on a probing length, Tongue bounced the ball sharply back off the surface, targeting the stumps. Smith, intent on breaking the bonds, quickly committed to driving faster, but the movement completely defeated him.
The ball hit the inside edge, leaving Smith in the crease and hitting the middle stump. It was a combination of a loose shot and an excellent delivery, with Tongue taking advantage of both swing and seam at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Smith’s dismissal for 9 off 31 balls underlined Australia’s struggle against England’s pace attack, and it gave Tongue his third wicket of the innings, further strengthening England’s hold on the first day.
The dismissal summed up Australia’s tough morning with tongue and Gus Atkinson Getting consistent movement off the pitch. Smith was out after scoring just 9 runs in 31 balls and could not keep a single innings steady, causing the pace to decline. By lunch, Australia’s score was 72 runs for 4 wickets and England were firmly on top. The pressure increased even more after the break Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey And cameron green Returned to the pavilion following Smith. Michael Nesser’S35 offered brief resistance, but Tanguay’s five-wicket haul ensured Australia were bowled out for just 152 runs.
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Bowlers dominated the fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England at MCG
After winning the toss and electing to field, England’s bowlers wasted no time in taking advantage of the conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia found themselves on the backfoot, losing important wickets early on. travis head And Jake Weatherald got out cheaply, after that Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith And Usman Khawajadespite some resistance alex carey And Michael NesserAustralia collapsed for just 152 runs. passion tongue At the same time, he emerged as a star bowler by taking 5 wickets. Gus Atkinson And ben stokes Also contributed to important successes. The hosts struggled to counter England’s pace attack and their innings ended in just 45.2 overs.
England started chasing the target with initial setbacks. Mitchell Starc And Michael Nesser England found form by dismissing three top-order players within the first four overs. Jack Crawley, Ben Duckett And jacob bethel Fell for a single-digit score. Despite a spirited knocking of harry brookEngland, who scored 41 runs in 34 balls, continued to falter and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. By the 21st over their score was 83/8 and they were still behind by 69 runs. Scott Boland And Michael Nesser claimed major wickets with ben stokes Being dismissed by Neser. England’s batting crumbled under the pressure and with only two players left to bat, the visitors were struggling to find their response.
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