England may have been swimming against the Ashes tide in this series, but this was a day their lengths paid off. Having surrendered the urn in South Australia, England's pacemen will have collectively pondered, fretted and chewed the festive bowling fat on their journey from Adelaide to the Melbourne Cricket Ground this week. "England just bowled better, and they put it in good areas," former England spinner Phil Tufnell said on Test Match Special. The pitch wasn't seaming everywhere, it was just holding a little bit – that's why England won the toss and had a bowl." According to CricViz, England's average length of 6.89m was the second-fullest they have bowled in any Test innings since Brendon McCullum was appointed coach.

Source: BBC December 26, 2025 12:53 UTC