Ashes 2025/26: Twenty wickets have been pulverised into dust in a single day. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is usually a stage for grinding attrition. On Boxing Day, it transformed instantly into a fast-bowler’s paradise.
Australia scrambled to 4/0 in their second dig after skittling England for 110. Now, Day 2 looms as much more than a continuation; it could be the end of the match. History teeters on the edge of a cliff.
If the bowlers maintain their stranglehold, the MCG could witness its first two-day Test finish in decades. Only a handful of matches in the lengthy chronicle of Ashes cricket have evaporated so quickly. Should 20 more wickets tumble, this contest will etch itself into the archives.
It would stand as the most volatile match in modern memory. The current record for the shortest completed Test match in Australia stands vulnerable. Fans holding Day 3 tickets might feel nervous.
Josh Tongue, England’s surprise wrecker-in-chief, eyes a rare achievement. He has already claimed a five-for and now hunts a ten-wicket match haul. Such a feat at the 'G' puts a bowler in an elite group.
He would join legends like Dennis Lillee and Shane Warne. Tongue needs five more scalps in Australia’s second innings to seal personal glory amidst team despair.
Scott Boland, the local cult hero, stalks his own slice of history. His love affair with this ground defies logic. He has snared three wickets in the first innings. Another fruitful spell would elevate his MCG average to statistically absurd levels.
Boland could even top the strike rates of every visiting and home bowler with minimum wicket cut-offs. He will currently go out to bat as a nightwatchman. This gives Boland a strange shot at a high score that might outlast the specialists.
There also exists the grim potential for batting ignominy. Joe Root, fresh off his seventh Ashes duck, risks extending an unwanted streak. Another duck pushes him further up the list for most ducks by a top-order batter in Ashes history.
On the other side, Steve Smith chases a century to make up for lost time while leading in Pat Cummins' stead. A three-figure score here would tie him with the venue’s all-time greats for most hundreds.
He would do this while surviving the pitch’s demonic nature. The surface demands brilliance; the record books demand new entries. The volatility ensures that by sunset, the landscape of this series will look radically different.
