Bumper Boxing Day
Australia 152 (Neser 35, Tongue 5-45) and 4 for 0 lead England 110 (Brook 41, Neser 4-45) by 46 runs
There ends one of the wildest days of cricket I have ever seen. 266 runs scored, 20 wickets taken, and Australia have a lead of 46 runs heading into the second - and, who knows, final? - day at the MCG. There was a bumper crowd in, the highest-ever for a day of cricket at this great venue, and they have certainly got their money's worth. But day three ticket-holders must feel anxious after watching seeing excessive seam movement throughout, with ball utterly dominating bat.
Harry Brook's shot-a-ball 41 off 31 was the highest score of the day, and Brydon Carse's analysis of 1 for 42 from 12 overs - which would be perfectly standard in most circumstances - actually looks like the difference between the two teams at this stage: if he had bowled a fuller length earlier in the day, who knows where this Test match would be? Josh Tongue was outstanding for England, but his first Ashes five-for is reduced to a footnote.
Michael Neser was the standout performer for Australia with both bat and ball, slashing a quick 35 from No. 8 before taking four wickets - including the huge scalp of Joe Root, who he turned inside-out for a 15-ball duck. Absolute chaos in Melbourne, with the promise of more to follow tomorrow.
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Scott Boland, the local hero, walks out as a nightwatchman - on a king pair - to face the final over of a truly ludicrous day of Ashes cricket at the MCG. England have nine catchers ready and waiting as Gus Atkinson runs in, and Jacob Bethell shells a tough low catch in the gully off the fifth ball of the over, to loud cheers from the fans who have stayed to the end. He edges the final ball away past gully for four, which is met by the single loudest cheer of the day and chants of "Scotty, Scotty!"
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England's top and tail
118 Total runs that England's 10th-wicket partnerships have added across the first seven innings of the 2025-26 Ashes. Their opening partnership has added 101 runs in total.
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England 110 all out
Cameron Green cleans up Gus Atkinson for 28 to finish the innings off, with Atkinson backing away and looking to flash one through the off side. Green hits the top of middle, and Australia have a 42-run first-innings lead on a 20-wicket opening day. Australia will have to bat again tonight!
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Pitch imperfect
Michael Vaughan on Fox is the latest voice to express some criticism of this MCG surface, following similar comments from Brett Lee, Mark Waugh and Stuart Broad earlier today:
"I think this pitch today has done too much… This pitch has zipped quickly and it’s not been easy at all."
England's last-wicket partnership have added 18, the second-highest stand of their innings.
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Atkinson gets swinging
Gus Atkinson is teeing off: he turns down a couple of singles off Michael Neser, then flat-bats him for four back down the ground and slaps him away through extra cover. Incredibly, his 24 not out is the fourth-highest score of the first day as things stand.
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Carse holes out
Brydon Carse is the latest man to go, picking out Scott Boland at long leg while swiping at Michael Neser's short ball. It's well held in the deep by Boland, who picked the ball up late and had to adjust his footing relatively late in the piece. England still trail by 61 as Josh Tongue walks out at No. 11, a few hours after completing his five-wicket haul.
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Neser gets Stokes
England are in major trouble, and it looks increasingly like Australia will be batting again tonight. Michael Neser returns for a second spell, and his first ball is full outside off. Ben Stokes chases after it but it's not a full-blooded attacking shot, and he can only guide it to Steve Smith at slip. He is furious with himself, and Usman Khawaja remains the only batter on either side to have survived even 50 balls today.
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Boland again!
Scott Boland has three! There's nothing Will Jacks can do about that: a good-length ball which bounces steeply and nips in off the seam to scratch his inside edge on its way through to Alex Carey. This really is a fiendishly difficult pitch to survive on... we could be heading for another two-day finish!
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Will Australia bat again tonight?
Kerry O'Keeffe on @FoxCricket:
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) December 26, 2025
"Jake Weatherald would have dreamt of opening the batting for Australia on Boxing Day... but not twice."#Ashes
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Boland goes bang-bang
Australia could be batting again tonight. Boland nips another ball back off the seam which Jamie Smith misses by half a foot. The ball flicks his front pad and deflects onto the stumps, and England are six down and still 84 behind on first innings. This is a crazy, crazy day of Test cricket - very similar to the opening day of the series in Perth, which saw 19 wickets fell.
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Boland strikes!
Harry Brook falls to a ball that only vindicates the way he has played this afternoon: Scott Boland gets one to dart in alarmingly off the seam, which smacks him on the knee roll and he doesn't bother to review. Brook's partnership with Stokes for the fifth wicket ends on exactly 50, the second-biggest stand of the day behind the 52 that Michael Neser and Cameron Green added for Australia's seventh wicket.
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Brook's counterattack working
Harry Brook clears Michael Neser's 35 for the highest score of the day at the MCG. He's faced 26 balls
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) December 26, 2025
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Another quick Test?
We've had some gripping Boxing Day drama with 14 wickets already, but Cricket Australia officials will be sweating about the prospect of another early finish after losing close to $5 million (AUD) as a result of the early finish in Perth, with tens of thousands of tickets refunded.
Todd Greenberg, CA's chief executive, said this before play this morning:
"We want cricket wickets that have a balance between bat and ball. We've got enormous faith in the venue, in the team here, in the people, the experts and like all of us, players, administrators. We're all held accountable, and we're all held accountable to our performances. And this is another big performance over the next five days, which I hope it does go five days. But these guys know what they're doing when they're preparing cricket wickets, and I have no doubt our selectors and our coaching staff know exactly what they're doing on their selections as well."
There will be some scrutiny on the pitch too - although the ICC's ratings system is more concerned by inconsistency of bounce than lateral movement.
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Brook throws the bat
Harry Brook is not wasting any time. He is channelling the approach of the French WW1 general Ferdinand Foch: "My centre is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking." Brook has realised that there is not much point hanging in there like a sitting duck on a pitch offering so much for the seamers - as Joe Root did to no avail for a 15-ball duck - so is charging down and trying to hit Australia's bowlers off their length.
He gets his dancing shoes on to carve Mitchell Starc over mid-off for six, then yanks him away into the leg side for three and laps a short ball away for four over his left shoulder. This is fast-forward Test cricket. It might not be sustainable, but Brook's method is working more than his team-mates' approach: he is 25 not out in a team score of 38 for 4.
Brook spoke before the Adelaide Test about refining his approach after two "shocking" dismissals in Perth and Brisbane, but also suggested that he would stay true to his strengths against a relentless Australian attack:
"You can't take this bowling attack lightly. They very rarely miss. You've got to try and create your own bad balls. Doing that might be me running down, it might be me changing my guard or whatever. They don't miss often, and you've got to tip your hat to them sometimes."
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Neser gets Root
Michael Neser has been all over Joe Root like a cheap suit and induces an outside edge with a full, straight ball that nips away off the seam. Alex Carey takes a low catch which is cleared by Ahsan Raza, and Australia are flying: they were bowled out for 152 earlier today, yet find themselves on top in this Test match with England's innings in total disarray at 16 for 4.
Root falls for his second duck of the series. He is their equal-highest run-scorer for the tour with Zak Crawley, but in truth, England needed far more from their best batter than a single score of more than 40 in his first seven innings.
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Shane Warne remembered
The record crowd at the MCG pays its respects to the late, great Shane Warne as the clock ticks over to 3.50pm by tipping their hats in Warne's trademark style - a nod to his Test cap number, 350. A lovely moment at the ground he loved.
There are activations at the venue this week, with health stations available for fans to check their heart health courtesy the Shane Warne Legacy. Warne's son Jackson spoke to media before the Test, saying:
"I feel like every single day I'm in this whirlwind or tornado of Dad, everywhere I go, it's just 'Dad, Dad, Dad'. But when I come to events like Boxing Day ... any activations for the Shane Warne Legacy, it just reminds me how many people love Dad - that's why the numbers are so high.
"So many people still feel that shock. It doesn't really feel real, that it will be four years in March - it's gone like 'that'. If we can just try and encourage as many people to look after their heart - a lot of people look after their brain and muscles and bones, but forget about the heart."
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Crawley goes!
The wheels are coming off! Mitchell Starc goes full and angles the ball across Zak Crawley, who has little choice but to play at it. His outside edge flies straight to Steven Smith, and England are in disarray at 8 for 3. Harry Brook charges down to his first ball and misses a wild swipe, attempting to launch the counter-attack by slashing Starc over the off side. Chaos!
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Neser gets Bethell
Michael Neser goes bang and dismisses the debutant Jacob Bethell! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/vOjc3V7wdG
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 26, 2025
Jacob Bethell's first innings of the series doesn't last long: he takes a quick single off his first ball, but fails to survive an examination from Michael Neser. Kumar Dharmasena took a while to give it, but he made the right decision and Bethell didn't even review, with Snicko later showing a clear spike as the ball passed his outside edge, then brushed his back pad on its way through to Alex Carey. England are in a whole heap of bother once again at 8 for 2.
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A new record
The current attendance at the Boxing Day Test is 93,442, say Cricket Australia. This is the highest recorded crowd for a cricket match at MCG, exceeding 93,013 for the World Cup final in 2015.
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Duckett's struggles continue
Ben Duckett has been in the eye of the storm over the past 72 hours after a video emerged which appeared to show him drunk and unsure how to get back to his accommodation during England's mid-series break in Noosa. He has struggled with the bat in this series regardless, but the extra pressure was never likely to help him, and his innings ends after just five balls with a soft chip to mid-on off Mitchell Starc.
Maybe that Uber to the nets would have been a good idea after all.
99 Ben Duckett is still one short of 100 runs for the series after seven innings. He is averaging 14.14 with a top score of 29.
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Short and not so sweet
45.2 Australia's innings was their third-shortest in a home Ashes Test.
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Tongue takes five!
England's players started calling Josh Tongue 'the mop' in the summer and joked about him eating 'rabbit pie' when he ran through India's tailenders, and he ensures that Australia's innings is over in a hurry. His nip-backer cleans up Michael Neser for 35 - the highest score of the day - and then gets Scott Boland first-ball, edging to Harry Brook at second slip who holds onto a sharp chance.
Tongue has his third five-wicket haul in only his eighth Test, and his first in the Ashes. His bowling strike rate in Test cricket is just 40, putting him in good company at the top of this list.
Australia lost their last four wickets for nine runs - a collapse which started with Cameron Green's self-inflicted run-out - and have been bowled out for 152. That's only their second-lowest first-innings total of the series, after their 132 all out in Perth, yet they find themselves 3-0 up.
27 Josh Tongue is the first England bowler to take a five-for at the MCG since Dean Headley in 1998 - 27 years ago.
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Starc goes cheaply
Mitchell Starc has a big swipe at Brydon Carse, looking to launch a length ball over the off side, but doesn't get much of it. It hangs it the air as Ben Stokes runs back from mid-off, and he clings onto a good diving catch to give Carse his first wicket. Carse has been a long way short of his best today but you can see why Stokes always wants him in his team: even when he is struggling, he has a knack of picking up wickets.
Starc was unusually aggressive - and loose - during his short innings... and looked like a man who is keen to get bowling. Carse was really pushing the crease with where his front foot landed, but Ahsan Raza deemed it a fair delivery.
Those with day three tickets to the MCG might be feeling a little concerned#AUSvENG #Ashes
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) December 26, 2025
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Bullseye!
Cameron Green defends Brydon Carse into the off side, and looks to tip-and-run after a moment's hesitation. It proves fatal: Carse scampers after it in his follow-through, picks it up, and throws at the non-striker's end with Green diving for his ground. It's a rare direct hit by an England fielder in this series, and they break a partnership that was threatening to get away from them. Mitchell Starc - averaging 50 for the series - walks in at No. 9.
It is another incredibly frustrating dismissal for Green in the series and his average in home Tests has dropped to 28.16. Australia have invested heavily in him over the last five years since his debut but he remains something of an enigma at Test level.
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Australia counter-punch
Cameron Green and Michael Neser are playing some shots, and their partnership for the seventh wicket is worth 52 in 10.4 overs. That's already the highest stand of the day, overtaking the 38 that Khawaja and Carey added for the fifth wicket, and these are very useful runs for Australia after they slipped to 91 for 6.
Neser struggled against Ben Stokes early on, beaten on both edges, but has decided to throw the bat whenever he gets the chance and has scored heavily behind square on the off side as a result.
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4lb
He edges Josh Tongue to slip on the half-volley off the first ball of the 42nd over, then lashes three boundaries in a row while driving outside off. The fifth ball is a short one which he ducks, but the sixth flicks the pad and deflects down to fine leg for four leg byes.
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Green gets going
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Authoritative batting from Cameron Green, who hits back-to-back boundaries as Josh Tongue returns for his first over since lunch. He puts away a juicy full-bunger on the pads, then climbs into a pull over midwicket. This is a big innings for Green, who was under pressure for his place heading into this Test match and finds himself in an unfamiliar role down at No. 7.
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Edge drops short
Ben Stokes induces a thin edge from Michael Neser, but it falls just short of Jamie Smith - as third umpire Ahsan Raza confirms with the help of several slow-motion replays. There's hasn't been much pace in this pitch, particularly for the softer ball since lunch.
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Stokes strikes, Aussies slide further
Ben Stokes' plan works to perfection. After the first ball of his fourth over, he moves Zak Crawley into leg slip (from forward square leg) and his second ball is a half-volley angling down the leg side. Alex Carey looks to flick it away behind square but doesn't get all of it, and neither Stokes nor Crawley can believe their luck as they celebrate a simple catch going straight to hand.
"I'm not sure Alex Carey actually saw him move there... I don't think he saw him. He's just looking at the slips cordon," David Warner says on Fox's commentary as the broadcasters study the replay. A curious dismissal which leaves Australia in deep trouble at 91 for 6.
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Atkinson gets Khawaja
England have a fifth after lunch. Usman Khawaja drives Gus Atkinson sweetly through mid-off for four, taking him past 8,000 Test runs, but his next ball is in what Damien Fleming calls the avenue of apprehension and England are convinced that it has taken the edge, angling in then nipping away. They convince Stokes to review, and there's a little murmur on Snicko as the ball past the bat. Khawaja's problems against right-arm-around bowling continue, and Cameron Green walks in at No. 7 with a job to do.
20 Usman Khawaja has been dismissed 20 times by right-arm seamers bowling around the wicket at an average of 22.60 since the start of the 2023-24 season. Against right-arm seamers bowling over the wicket in the same time period, he has been dismissed six times at an average of 43.83.
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Stokes into the attack
It was curious that Ben Stokes did not bowl a ball all morning, but he starts things off for England after lunch. These conditions should be ideally suited to his brand of full-pitched swing bowling, but he is a little wayward in his first couple of overs.
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Stat attack
4 Only once Australia have lost more than four wickets in the opening session of a men's Test at home since 2000 - against South Africa at Hobart in 2016, where they made 43 for 6 in 25 overs by lunch.
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Lunch: Australia 72 for 4
Lunch - Australia 72 for 4 (Tongue 3-24) vs England
England's morning. They won a big toss, choosing to bowl first on a green pitch in cool, overcast conditions, and have been rewarded for pitching the ball up. Gus Atkinson struck first, inducing a drag-on from Travis Head with a nip-backer, and Josh Tongue has been irresistible: his first wicket was a leg-side strangle, but his dismissals of Marnus Labuschagne (edging a drive to first slip) and Steven Smith (cleaned up with a nip-backer) came from balls that a fast bowler would dream about.
Alex Carey and Usman Khawaja have steadied the ship somewhat with an unbroken 21-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but England will sense their chance to make further inroads this afternoon. The only blemish has been another wayward effort from Brydon Carse, particularly in his first spell - and it is notable that Ben Stokes is yet to bowl a ball.
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Warner on Khawaja's future
Usman Khawaja turned 39 last week and speculation over his potential retirement from Test cricket has been swirling for a while. He was handed a dramatic late recall to Australia's middle order in Adelaide when Steven Smith withdrew with illness, and has been retained ahead of Josh Inglis at the MCG, with Inglis initially due to play ahead of him last week.
David Warner, his friend and long-time team-mate, has been asked about Khawaja's future on Fox Cricket this morning and said that he expected he would pull the pin when he was initially left out in Adelaide.
“He actually hasn't spoken to me about it. He keeps his cards quite close to his chest and I think that moment when he did get dropped potentially at the back of my mind he might have called it. But quite clearly Steve Smith was unable to take the field... Whenever he feels his time is up, he’ll call that for sure.
"I can't tell you what's going through his head right here... He will be just focused on just batting as we did as kids and nothing as ever changed from Uzzy... He just goes out there and does his thing, he’ll be chilled as.”
Khawaja has started well in Melbourne, reaching 21 not out by lunch, and will be happy that England have bowled over the wicket to him for some of this session rather than around.
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Tongue gets Smith once again
WHAT A DELIVERY!
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 26, 2025
Steve Smith looks on puzzled after this peach from Josh Tongue.#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/NpkEgGxOQR
Full, straight, and cleaned up. Josh Tongue is on fire at the MCG. He has caused Steven Smith problems whenever he has bowled to him, with his unusual beyond-perpendicular action and willingness to pitch the ball up, and rearranges his stumps with a nip-backer which sneaks past Smith's booming straight drive. Tongue wheels away wagging his finger, and has now dismissed Smith in every innings that he has bowled to him.
Steven Smith's dismissals in the four matches he has played against Josh Tongue across formats: pic.twitter.com/vQ0Ha96ugj
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) December 26, 2025
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Smith's proactivity
England go upstairs for a caught-behind decision, but Ahsan Raza rightly determines that the ball brushed Steven Smith's hip rather than his inside edge. Smith has been positive early in his innings, often taking a step or two out of his crease in an attempt to negate the movement off the pitch and to throw bowlers off their length: Fox's graphics show that his interception points have all been between two and three metres from his stumps.
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Full house
Over 90,000 fans in the house for Boxing Day at the ‘G - there’s nothing else quite like it pic.twitter.com/78Zmh0el4Z
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 26, 2025
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Weatherald misses out again
Jake Weatherald’s bizarre series continues, writes Alex Malcolm. He has looked the part in Test cricket so far and has hardly seemed overawed. His game looks well suited to the pace of Test cricket. But he has just one score in seven innings. There are some vulnerabilities that have been exposed and he’s also found some odd ways of getting out.
That trend continued in Melbourne. After some lovely drives and watchful leaves he got strangled down the leg side trying to glance a half-volley. His low crouch in his stance and his starting head position outside off stump does leave him vulnerable to a straighter line at high pace.
It’s not been an issue that is often exposed in Sheffield Shield cricket but the high-140kph velocity of Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue has caused him trouble trying to get the bat down around his front pad. He’s been out three times lbw in the series - albeit one was pitching well outside leg - and strangled down the leg side by a full ball. He’s also been cramped twice by short balls into the armpit and popped up catches playing half-blooded pull shots.
Getting starts and getting out also hasn’t been his modus operandi in Shield cricket. He has had a habit of turning starts into big scores. But he’s got to 10 five times in seven innings in the series, facing 23 balls or more on each occasion, and only has one score above 23 to show for it. That 72 also felt like an even bigger score gone begging in the blazing Brisbane sun, when he set Australia up for a score of 511.
141 Weatherald has scored 141 runs in the series, more than half of them (72) coming in the first innings of the day-night Test in Brisbane.
Tongue gets Labuschagne
Two in two overs for Josh Tongue! England have three wickets in the first hour, and Marnus Labuschagne's quiet series continues. Tongue has been willing to pitch the ball up to Australia's right-handers, going full in the channel outside off stump, and gets consecutive deliveries to shape away from Labuschagne's outside edge. The first one is played to second slip on the bounce with soft hands, and the second flies low to Joe Root at first. In walks Usman Khawaja at No. 5 with a job on his hands.
37 Consecutive Test innings without a century for Marnus Labuschagne, dating back to July 2023. His last hundred was at Old Trafford during the 2023 Ashes.
Tongue strikes second ball
Josh Tongue replaces Brydon Carse and is in the wickets straightaway: his second ball is full, angling down the leg side, and strangled behind by Jake Weatherald. Steven Smith, greeted with boos from the Barmy Army followed by loud cheers from the home fans, gets a beauty to start and is beaten on the outside edge. Despite Carse's loose start, Australia are two down inside 10 overs in the first innings for the same week in a row.
Head chops on
Gus Atkinson gets Travis Head to chop on early on Boxing Day! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/g7sVWPBKaL
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 26, 2025
Gus Atkinson strikes with the new ball, and there's a huge roar from the thousands of travelling England fans at the MCG. Travis Head was patient early on before hitting back-to-back boundaries off Brydon Carse, and Atkinson offers him a hint of width from a good length at the start of the seventh over. Head looks to play his favoured cut shot, but is cramped by a hint of seam movement back in and chops onto his stumps via the under-edge.
It's a near-identical dismissal to how Atkinson got Head out in the second innings at the Gabba.
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Carse's sloppy start
A very poor start from Brydon Carse: his first ball is a front-foot no-ball, and five of his first seven balls are down the leg side. England's plans have been curious too: they started with three slips and a gully, but very quickly put a leg slip in and appear to be bowling for a leg-side strangle on a green-top after winning the toss and choosing to bowl.
Carse averages 42.62 against left-handers in Tests, compared to 23.91 against right-handers, making it particularly curious that England have picked him as one of their opening bowlers against Travis Head and Jake Weatherald in the third and fourth Tests. He is England's leading wicket-taker on this tour, but has leaked more than five runs per over.
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Malcolm: 'Astounding' Australia XI
That is an astounding XI that Australia have selected, Alex Malcolm writes. After going 14 straight years picking a spinner at home, they have picked an all-pace attack for the second time in three home Tests, the third time in four straight Tests all up, and the first time in a red-ball game.
The reasoning appears to be two-fold. Firstly, Australia’s selectors are very keen to get Jhye Richardson back into the team following shoulder surgery. He has played just five first-class games since his last Test appearance four years ago in December 2021 due to multiple injuries. He has only played one first-class game since his most recent shoulder surgery in January this year. But given his age, 29, and the skills he brings, bowling 87mph/140kph skiddy outswing, there is a desperation to get him back into Australia’s set-up as they transition away from the ageing cartel. But one thing to watch in this Test is his fielding: he will not be able to throw with any venom and will underarm and bowl balls in from the deep.
Secondly, Australia feel this MCG pitch is going to play very similarly to the 2021-22 surface. That one had 11mm of grass on it. This one had 10mm on it three days out but curator Matthew Page suggested he would shave it back towards 7-8mm like it was last year when Australia and India played out a five-day epic where Nathan Lyon was a key figure on the final day. But the word was that the surface was “furry” with patches of thick grass interspersed among areas of less grass. The feeling within the Australia camp is that spin will hardly play a role. In 2021-22, Lyon took three wickets on day one, but they were all tailenders, before not bowling a ball in the second when Scott Boland bagged 6 for 7.
Meanwhile, the batting line-up is equally intriguing. Usman Khawaja will bat at No. 5 with Steve Smith’s return to No. 4. Khawaja was due to be left out in Adelaide with Josh Inglis preferred until Smith fell ill on game-day. Now, after scores of 82 and 40, including a huge slice of luck in the 82 when he was dropped on 5, the 39-year-old keeps his spot and Inglis is squeezed out. Alex Carey is remaining at No. 6 due to his exceptional form and Cameron Green will now bat at No. 7, having batted at No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 across his last five Tests.
Broad: Exciting opportunity for England
Former England seamer Stuart Broad is back in Australia and tells Channel 7 that England must seize their chance to bowl Australia out on a grassy pitch:
"It's an exciting opportunity... It's a really exciting thing as a fast bowler when you arrive at a pitch that is you know is going to move for you. That adds a bit of pressure as well, in a sense, that you're expected to take wickets and expected to get the ball talking.
"But if you can get that out your mind, and go back to the absolute basics of what Test match cricket is and has been for a long period of time: hit the top of off stump more often than not, as consistently as you possibly can, and you're going to put a lot of pressure on the Australian batters this morning."
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England choose to bowl
England win the toss and will BOWL first #Ashes pic.twitter.com/tJqMLAJde2
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 25, 2025
England win the toss and choose to bowl first. That's their eighth win in their last nine tosses since the start of their series against India this summer. There's a decent covering of grass on the pitch, and Steven Smith says that he would have made the same decision as Ben Stokes: "It does look like it could do a bit, so our batters will need to be on their game."
As expected, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser take the final two spots in the Australian attack, with Brendan Doggett squeezed out. For England, it's a big opportunity for Gus Atkinson in particular on a pitch that should suit him.
4 The team winning the toss has chosen to bowl in four of the last five MCG Tests, dating back to the 2021-22 Ashes. Australia chose to bat first against India last year, and won in the final session of the match.
Australia: 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Usman Khawaja, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Cameron Green, 8 Michael Neser, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Jhye Richardson, 11 Scott Boland.
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Josh Tongue.
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Doggett set to miss out
Ten minutes until the toss and it looks as though Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson will get the nod ahead of Brendan Doggett for Australia. If so, it'll be Neser's first appearance in a red-ball Test, and Richardson's first cap in four years.
Mitchell Starc has been speaking to SEN and makes clear that Australia are taking this very seriously, with WTC points to play for as well as the prospect of a whitewash: "There’s no dead-rubbers nowadays in Test cricket," he said. "You’re playing for points."
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Bethell's big chance
Jacob Bethell made half-centuries in each of his first three Tests a year ago in New Zealand, but has only played three first-class matches since then (one in the County Championship, one for England Lions, and one in England's six-run defeat to India at The Oval).
He has a big opportunity to make an impression over the next five days. There remains a sense among some in English cricket that Bethell has been overpromoted, and there is no doubt that he has been picked on potential more than performance. But he shaped up very well in his maiden series last December, looking the part at No. 3, and will fancy his chances against an Australian attack missing Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
Rob Key hinted strongly that England should have brought him in for Ollie Pope much sooner than they did when he addressed the media earlier this week, saying:
"You start looking at some of the decisions that we've made and think, 'Should we have made a change there much sooner?' I don't think that's right to speculate on who those people are at the moment, but they're the things that you look at."
Ollie Pope throwing balls to Jacob Bethell as England prepare for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Toss is half an hour away on a cold morning pic.twitter.com/7FEKLU716v
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) December 25, 2025
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Who misses out for Australia?
Good morning and welcome to the MCG. There have been a few spots of drizzle in Melbourne this morning on an unseasonably cool day, but the sun is just starting to peek through the clouds and there is no suggestion of a delayed start at this stage.
England named their team on Christmas Eve and Steven Smith confirmed on Christmas Day that Australia will field an all-seam attack on a green-tinged pitch. There's no room for offspinner Todd Murphy, but which of Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Jhye Richardson will miss out?
The members' area is already packed with over an hour to go until the start of play, and tickets are completely sold out for the opening day. It might be a dead-rubber, but it should still be a brilliant occasion.
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