Live Report - England end 15-year drought in Australia

And leg byes have won it!

Harry Brook wanted to do it in a flourish, attempting a ramp over his shoulder with three to get. But he ends up there all the same, unbeaten on 18, in a historic moment for England.

It doesn't matter as much as it should of course, and this pitch has a lot to answer for. No doubt there will be recriminations going forward on a surface that has seen 36 wickets fall in under six sessions. This match has lasted 852 balls - five more than the 847 in Perth last month.

Chris Broad!

England's previous seven wins in Australia have come through bowling last, including the three innings victories in the 2010-11 series.

You have to go back to November 1986, at The Gabba, when Stuart's old man struck the winning runs in the first Test to chase down 75 for a seven-wicket win!

Ben Stokes won't have that honour as he has just scythed Mitchell Starc to Alex Carey. Vice-captain Harry Brook might. With 10 still to get, Jamie Smith has come to the crease

A peculiar stat, above, albeit the product of a small sample size that is underlined by the fact he averages just nine in the first innings of matches. He's only played five to be fair to him.

An ice-cool demeanour, and a few accomplished strokes in this high pressure situation did make you wonder if England should have pulled the chord early on Pope. And by early, I mean before the Test.

All ifs, buts and maybes now - as all things are post the defeat in Adelaide when Australia confirmed their Ashes retention. Nevertheless, England will move forward with their own regrets even with the approaching first victory on these shores in 14 years...

Ben Stokes has come to the crease to replace Joe Root, who was LBW to Jhye Richardson. Neither of them have won a Test in Australia.

Under 50 required and England now happy to tick these off in their own time.

The pitch has quietened a touch, perhaps due to the fact the ball is in its twenties. The energy in the field is flat, characterised by Jake Weatherald's misfield in the midst of Scott Boland's seventh over that allowed Joe Root a second to get back on strike. The next delivery - the last one of the over - he bunted a single to retain it for the next over.

Jacob Bethell has moved to 40 and approaching Ollie Pope's top score of 46 against Australia, achieved in the first innings of this series. Pope is currently without a half-century after eight Ashes Tests. Bethell may chalk one up in his first... nope, scratch that, he's punched Boland straight to cover!

Here comes Harry Brook, a man maligned for a cavalier approach to his first innings - 41, the highest score across either team on day one - which has been mimicked by his teammates today.

Zak Crawley falls, ending a stand of 47 with Jacob Bethell that, at this juncture, looks to have taken a sting out of the chase.

That may return now that Scott Boland has a head of steam and Joe Root in his sights. Root was dismissed for a 15-ball duck in the first innings, throwing up this particular nugget: England have only won five times when he has recorded a duck in his first bat. And just twice when he has not scored a run in the match since his debut, in December 2012.

I was about to call this chase "steady" but though it reads as such on paper, just two wickets down so far and fewer runs to get than acquired, it has been hair-raising stuff.

At the same time, Zak Crawley and Jacob Bethell have developed an understanding that has seen the odd bye taken off the body in a bid to rotate the strike, get the fielders scampering to different positions at regular invervals and keep that scoreboard ticking along.

We have probably had the most sensible cricket so far in these last 30 minutes, barring Bethell's lap over the keeper to get this session underway. There have been 31 runs so far. Mitchell Starc now returns to try and crack this match back open with just 67 needed for England's first victory in Australia since January 2011.

Meanwhile, at 3:50pm, with had a hat-tip to Shane Warne:

Jacob Bethell starts the final session of the match with a reverse-ramp off Scott Boland over the keeper for two. Because of course.

He then nails a crisp extra-cover drive. Ladies and gentlemen, we are back.

Well, quite astonishing scenes here at the MCG. The tale of tape is pretty bog-standard with England needing 98 to win.

But we’re only at tea of day two and, after some crazy heave-hop from England’s openers - which pocketed their highest stand of the series (51) and Ben Duckett’s top-score in eight knocks (34), Brydon Carse strolled in at No.3.

He did a job, of sorts; 6 off 8 not really anything other than saving it so Jacob Bethell only had to face nine deliveries. The second was hacked over the cordon for four. The fifth a gorgeous little saunter down and straight drive off Scott Boland, who has been introduced to the attack far too late.

Zak Crawley has been the steady hand from the start. It's tempting to describe his knock as "sensible" but he has erred towards the cavalier option on occasion. But he remains there on 22*, three boundaries including a stunning straight-loft versus Michael Neser at the start of it all. That, really, was the starter pistol for the true nonsense that followed.

Ben Duckett reaches 30 for the first time in the series... and marks the occasion with a powerful back-cut off Mitchell Starc that brings up the first fifty stand between England's openers this series.

Duckett has also passed 3,000 Test runs... and is yorked by Mitchell Starc! Just the 15 minutes until tea and... hold on, is that Brydon Carse?! It is!

He's up to bat at No.3 as a sort of... Afternoon-Hawk... Pinch-Hitter. Obviously chargers and has a mow down the ground and misses completely first ball. Why not.

It looked good. Another Zak Crawley attempt to boom down the ground was found wanting by some nip into the right-hander from Mitchell Starc.

Operating from over the wicket to stat, as ever, Starc has been nailing that particularly delivery but just getting it beyond the edge of Duckett's bat and off stump, to much frustration. This time, with Crawley in his sights, he gets one inside the bat and into his pads. Umpire's call on the impact falls in the favour of umpire Kumar Dharmasena and England.

Ben Duckett, meanwhile, is continuing to have a mad one. After hoicking dreadfully for four inside deep third, he plays a crisp ramp for six over the keeper. And then, after blocking the third delivery from Michael Neser, is serenaded with whooping cheers and his name being sung by England fans, who finally feel in top in a meaningful way.

Let's see how long that lasts... England need 130

A leg bye and then a pick-up off the toes through square leg brings Ben Duckett four off his very first ball of the innings.

It also ticks him over to three figures... in the series

He is currently averaging 14.14 leading into this innings...

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a number.

Jhye Richardson's aerial slash gives cover a simple catch and Australia are done for 132, just before the halfway stage of the second session.

It means England will have an hour of batting before tea, and honestly who knows what will happen then. They are chasing 175 for their first win in Australia since 2011. This is their 19th attempt, with 16 defeats leading up to this showdown at the MCG.

Hot onto your hats... it's going to be wild.

As Steven Smith keeps his head while all around him are losing theirs - and a few fingers on the way - he has moved onto the Ashes podium.

A dab off into the covers at the start of the 32nd over moved him to 3,549 Ashes runs. One more than Allan Border and into third, behind Don Bradman (5.028) and Jack Hobbs (3,636).

Unfortunately, in taking that single, Smith was camped at the other end as Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc were picked off by Brydon Carse in the space of two legal deliveries.

He has subsequently done the same at the start of the very next over to leave Jhye Richardson on strike.

Stuart Broad is, understandably, loving this pitch: “It makes me smile as a former fast bowler," said the former Eng;and quick on Channel 7.

"It has got a thatchy grass to it, it has dented and we’ve seen it move more today than it did yesterday. There’s extra bounce, particularly when you see Ben Stokes bowling to Marnus Labuschagne, when he was just pushing forward, getting wrapped on the glove so there is definitely movement there. It’s just about being as consistent as you can be as fast bowler."

All of which makes any prospective England chase ominous. The current lead above 150 isn't necessarily daunting on paper. Since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over, England have chased 8 of the 14 150-plus targets put to them.

This, however, will be one of the spicier pitches they have tried to chase on, if not the spiciest, actually. For a moment, it looked like Steve Smith and Cameron Green were stretching things beyond England. Catching practice for Harry Brook at second slip ends their stand on 31.

Australia, what are you doing?

England have been bowling well, no doubt, but Alex Carey joins the list of batters to have given it away a bit today, even on a tricky surface. They have lost all six wickets for 66 runs, with Travis Head, Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey falling for just 6 runs inside 12 deliveries.

Steve Smith, meanwhile, is at his ludicrous best. A lovely straight drive off Josh Tongue - his nemesis - has been followed by an array of twitches and quirks as he looks to survive and pick off the necessary runs to make this a tougher chase. Even does a bit of smart gardening after the penultimate ball of the session to take the hosts through to lunch.

The last ball is faced up by Cameron Green and edged through to the third boundary. So ends an absorbing if slightly nonsensical morning session.

Ben Stokes with an absolute pearler. An unplayable off-cutter gets Travis Head pushing forward and being left for dead as the ball grips, spins past the bat and knocks off the middle-and-off bail.

It was sent down at 85mph/136kph, losing little off that pace off this surface. Head laughed as he walked off.

The left-hander struck an impressive 46 from 67 deliveries that now becomes the highest individual score in the match, overtaking Harry Brook's 41. His method - going at anything there to go at, and praying for the rest - vindicated by that dismissal right there.

And now, he's joined by Usman Khawaja, back in the hutch for a two-ball duck, bumped out by Josh Tongue to Ollie Pope (sub-fielder) down at fine leg. Tone has been excellent, into the seventh over of his spell.

Are England in this?

Josh Tongue gets in on the act in the second innings, dismissing Marnus Labuschagne with a delivery angled in, moving away off the surface and catching an edge low to Joe Root at first slip.

The reaction of Root - a scooping motion upon taking the catch - led Labuschagne to hold his ground for video confirmation. That was conclusive and off he popped.

Weird series for Labuschagne; from that second innings 51 not out in the first Test, he has gone 65, 3, 19, 3, 6 and 8. Despite two half-centuries, he is averaging 24.85 in the series with two knocks in Sydney to go.

Steven Smith has walked in, and immediately driven Tongue to the cover boundary, albeit just short for a three to get off the mark. Tongue has dismissed Smith in every first class innings he has bowled at him, with Friday's dismissal (bowled through the gate) making it 3 out of 3.

Will we see a fourth?

They were not lying that this pitch was about to spice up further. In the space of two overs, Marnus Labuschagne (Stokes) and Travis Head (Tongue) have both worn deliveries spitting up onto their hand and forearm, respectively.

Both came from good lengths, angled in, which reared up and forced the batters to just shut their eyes and deal with it. Labuschagne's one was the most wince-inducing, and responded well to get behind the next delivery to flick around the corner.

Head, however, decided to go at anything and everything. After a couple of swings and misses, he nails a cut that Will Jacks shells at backward point! It was a firm strike, but one that you expect at point. Jacks did not pick it up but gets a strong right hand on the ball. A life for Head on 26.

It looked like a very deliberate slower ball from Gus Atkinson, registering at 98.1kph/60.96mph, forcing Travis Head to sky his attempted thwack into the MCG's members section.

And maybe it was. But immediately after the delivery, which Atkinson did telegraphed with a slower, stop-start gather and release, the Surrey fast bowler turned and headed straight off the field, gingerly clutching his left hamstring. Ollie Pope replaces him in the field.

Atkinson was out for two months of the English season after injuring his right hamstring during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe which kept him out of all but the final Test against India.

Thankfully, it seems to be the other side, but one imagines that is him out of this Test and the final Test in Sydney if it is as bad as it looked. And Ben Stokes, having brought himself on to replace Atkinson, has knocked over Jake Weatherald with his fifth delivery, nipping on into the top of the stumps which the left-hander wanted to leave.

As a collective, England bowled as full as they have done on this trip on day one. Having averaged out at 7.85m from the stumps across the first three Tests, they moved even further forward, averaging out 6.89m in a first innings that made use of the extra grass to roll Australia for 152.

If there were shades of that first innings in Perth about it, then this day two is following that one. Travis Head, 3 off 10 at one point, has skipped along to 12 off 14, flaying Gus Atkinson over point for a boundary to start the morning’s fourth over, which eventually goes for 11.

At the other end, Scott Boland is playing possum, with the odd shot when the ball is there to be struck. Which is surprisingly regularly from Atkinson and Brydon Carse, who have taken time to get back to the working lengths. Time which England don’t really have as the lead approaches seventy.

Carse wasted the new ball on Friday, eventually taken off after conceding 20 runs in his first four overs. He was able to tidy his figures later, but it was surprising to see him kick off Saturday given that waywardness and the fact Josh Tongue, buoyed by his first innings five-for, is on a hat-trick.

He has at least found his radar, sending down a maiden to Head which included a few deliveries that got big on the left-hander. A ball later, Atkinson has Boland caught behind. The night watcher has done his job - now over to the proper batters.