Australia has retained the Ashes on just the 12th day of the series, bowling England out for just 68 on day three of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG to take a 3-0 lead in the five-game series.
Debutant Scott Boland was the hero on the third morning, dismissing Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson to finish with the unbelievable figures of 6-7 from four overs in his second Test innings.
It powered Australia a remarkable win by an innings and 14 runs in the third Test, despite only scoring 267 runs in their one dig with the bat.
After Boland and Mitchell Starc took four wickets on a stunning second evening, England started day three trailing by 51 runs, but with their two most accomplished batters at the crease.
Root and Ben Stokes and played some impressive strokes early, but Australia did not have to wait long for the wicket-taking to resume, with Starc getting a ball to jag back sharply and clean bowl Stokes through the gate in the seventh over.
Bairstow was the next to go, Boland’s enjoyable debut continuing with a very tight LBW call upheld despite an English review — similar to Dawid Malan’s on the second evening.
He moved to 4-5 when he nicked off Root, England’s hopes of a fightback going with their captain, and Boland had his first Test five-wicket haul when Wood chipped a return catch straight back to him off his third ball.
That became six wickets when Robinson edged through to Marnus Labuschagne in the slips, but all-rounder Cameron Green had the pleasure of finishing off the win by clean bowling James Anderson in the next over.
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Boxing Day Ashes Test at the MCG
By Dean Bilton
The winning moment
By Dean Bilton
Scott Boland wins the Johnny Mullagh Medal
This is a moment of some significance. The fourth Indigenous Australian to play Test cricket becomes the first to ever win the new Johnny Mullagh Medal, named after the great leader of the 1868 tour of Indigenous players to England.
As if Scott Boland’s day couldn’t be any more special. It’s history, in every possible way.
Coming here today I thought we had a good chance of winning, but I didn’t think it would happen that quickly.
I found on Christmas Eve I would be playing. I had heaps of support from frienmds and family and teammates. i thought it was going to be really tough, it’s a big step up from anything else I’ve played. But I had hoped to make an impact.
I’d like to thank the crowd so much for their support over the last three days, I really appreciate it.
I learnt about the 1868 tour and what went on when I was 17, and it makes me and my family so proud to win this award.
By Dean Bilton
Pat Cummins is speaking
It’s all clicked, I’m so happy. And I’m so happy for Scotty in front of his home crowd.
We’ve been relentless. The bowlers have owned that good area, and the batters have had to earn their runs. Big partnsherips from Marnus and Davey have set things up. Everyone has contributed, it’s a great feeling.
I think it’s a great sign that we’ve got so many boys to pick from. Scott came in and we were really confident he could do what he did today – well, maybe not six in four overs!
You judge your career on Ashes series. The last [home] series was 4-0 and the one before that was 5-0. We have a chance to start to forge the identity of this team, and that will go down in history.
By Dean Bilton
Joe Root is speaking
He’s flat, as you may imagine.
It is what it is. We’ve been playing in these times for a while and we are used to playing in this envorionment. All you can do is face what’s in front of you. Australia blew us away last night, and we’ve got a lot of hard work to do to come back in the next two Tests.
On the COVID scare yesterday:
It’s not ideal. I actually thought the our cricket on the field was excellent, as good as it has been through the whole trip. We put ourselves right in the Test match. We need to be more like that more frequently in the next two games.
There have been small pockets but nowehere long enough to get yourself in the game. We have to stay very strong and make sure we look at the next two games as real opportunities.
By Dean Bilton
The comments are scorching today
Way too many to bring them all in, but here’s a selection of your reactions.
Literally. Four Overs. Six Wickets. Seven Runs. And in those seven Runs there was a three from Root and two from Anderson, plus one run from a dropped catch, and the rest is pure carnage
-Josh
I literally just tuned in to the blog and I saw, AUSTRALIA WIN THE ASHES. I’m like, already?
-Anonymous
The Urn should be refreshed with the ashes of the bails of the third test. English cricket is dead. Again.
-Martyn
I’m 63. Been listening/watching test cricket all my life. Glad I lived long enough to witness that history. I’m simply incredulous. So will be England’s fans. A wreath for the ECB.
-Old timer
By Dean Bilton
Scott Boland’s day
He looks a little taken aback as he leads the Australian team on a victory lap of the MCG, with the ball and a stump in hand. In his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have seen this. This is better than even the most incredible childhood fantasy. Six wickets for seven runs in 24 deliveries to win the Ashes. Scott Boland is a quiet and humble man, and it will take a while for this to sink in. What a special day, and the nation couldn’t be happier for him.
By Dean Bilton
BOWLED HIM! AUSTRALIA HAS WON THE ASHES! THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ASHES WIN YOU’LL SEE!
Cam Green crashes into Jimmy Anderson’s stumps and that is it! Australia has won the third Test by an innings and 14 runs, with England bowled out for a dismal, catastrophic 68. It’s a 3-0 series lead, wrapped up before lunch on day three.
How do you put this into context? Scott Boland has just finished with figures of 6-7 from four overs on debut. Pat Cummins didn’t even have to take a wicket in the second innings. Australia was bowled out for 267 and won by an innings. As the wild Australian celebrations kick off it’s hard to get past the fact this has been beyond poor from England, and I shudder to think what will be going on behind closed doors at the ECB in the coming days, weeks and months.
But for now the glory is Australia’s, and quite rightfully too. They’ve owned this series since the very first ball, literally. It started with Rory Burns’s stumps being knocked over and has ended with Jimmy Anderson’s suffering the same fate. And there are still two Tests to go, blimey.
By Dean Bilton
28th over – Can Green finish it?
BEATEN! Nearly! Buttler fends and misses, so close to the decisive nick.
A run for Buttler to cover, Anderson on strike now.
By Dean Bilton
By Dean Bilton
27th over still – Three balls to come
Jimmy Anderson is in. Australia is a wicket away from winning the series. I’ve not seen anything like it.
Shot Jimmy! He’s off the mark with a clip off the pads for two. Boland’s figures have blown out – he’s only got 6-7 now.
Wide of the off stump and left alone. A sigh from the crowd, who are chanting Boland’s name.
Anderson defends! He has to do it all this bloke. At 39 years old you might think they’d lend him a hand.
Two wickets and two runs from the over. It’s really happening.
By Dean Bilton
ROBINSON IS GONE FOR A DUCK! BOLAND HAS ANOTHER ONE! WHAT IS HAPPENING!
What can you say? Another ball in the channel, another healthy nick and another easy catch for Labuschagne at third slip.
This is a bloodbath. It’s history in the making. It’s hard to wrap your head around right now.
By Dean Bilton
27th over – Boland has five to come
He’s only bowled 19 balls in this innings! Five of them have been wickets!
BEATEN! He’s nearly got another one! Ollie Robinson plays and misses at his first ball.
By Dean Bilton
CAUGHT AND BOWLED! SCOTT BOLAND HAS 5-5 AT THE MCG!
Remarkable. Scott Boland is living the dream. Mark Wood chips a sharp catch back to him, he hangs on with little fuss and sends the MCG into delirium again. He has got five wickets at the MCG. On debut. FOR FIVE RUNS. He’s been brilliant in this second innings and deserves every one of them.
But England. The strongest of yikes.
By Dean Bilton
27th over – Boland charging in again
By Dean Bilton
26th over – Big Cam Green in again
He’s got Buttler on strike, still yet to score.
Buttler has been erratic with the bat all series. He’s had some bizarre dismissals, throwing his wickets away at times, and in the middle of all of those is his 200-ball epic in the second innings in Adelaide. They need more of the latter today.
FOUR RUNS! Rank full toss from Cam Green, and Buttler isn’t going to say no to a bit of that. Creamed through the covers for four.
Just that boundary from the over, four from it.
By Dean Bilton
25th over still – Boland has two to come
Hello all. Well this is going about as badly as possible for England. Deary me, I think we all thought this was a possibility but very much hoped we would see something a little more spirited.
BEATEN TWICE! Boland goes past Wood’s edge with the the last two balls of his over. How easy is Test cricket for Scott Boland?
By Simon Smale
Joe Root’s stellar, albeit solo, 2021 year with the bat comes to an end.
He scored 1,708 runs, the third most runs in a calandar year of all time.
By Simon Smale
EDGED! CAUGHT! JOE ROOT IS OUT! CAUGHT BY DAVID WARNER AT FIRST SLIP!
It’s superb bowling from Scott Boland, a relentless line and length, that one a little fuller right on that fourth stump line and Root can’t help but edge it behind!
A devastating blow on a day in which England have been repeatedly stunned by the quality of Australia’s quicks.
Root departs for 28 off 59 balls. England are still 21 runs behind Australia’s total.
That’s drinks, and with another humiliating defeat on the cards, I’m going to hand over to Dean Bilton.
By Simon Smale
25th over – Boland continues
Accurate stuff from Boland, pinning Joe Root back in his crease.
