England media is staggered at the dramatic events of day two of the Boxing Day Test and concedes the Ashes are all but decided.
Led by champion quick James Anderson, England had resuscitated their spluttering Ashes hopes at the MCG, bowling Australia out for 267 and taking to the middle for their second dig trailing by 82.
But left-arm fast Mitchell Starc and Test debutant Scott Boland obliterated the fighting job England had carried out, taking a pair of wickets each to have the tourists reeling at 4-31 at stumps.
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Already facing a 2-0 series deficit and still needing 52 runs to force Australia to bat again, England’s hopes of winning back the urn appear all but dashed.
“England’s bowlers did a fantastic job of getting England back in the game. All they needed and wanted was for England’s batters to stand up. But they didn’t – they fell over again,” said BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew.
“What an hour that was. I’m still coming down from it. It was Test cricket at its absolute best and brutal.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan added: “Test cricket is by far the hardest and toughest format … That last hour tested every facet of a player’s game! Also hard to replicate that atmosphere in other formats”.
https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1475379283707187201
Nick Hoult of The Telegraph marvelled at the electrifying display of Australia’s quicks.
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“It was an hour of adrenaline-fuelled Test cricket at its most captivating as Australia’s fast bowlers hurled their side to within touching distance of retaining the Ashes,” Hoult wrote.
“It left England reeling at 31 for four, 51 behind Australia and all the spade work by James Anderson undone in 12 overs of blood-letting that captivated an MCG crowd banging on the ad boards and plastic chairs, roaring Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc every step of the way.”
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Perhaps England’s two most accomplished batters, captain Joe Root and all-rounder Ben Stokes, will take stance at the start of day three.
But Lawrence Booth of The Daily Mail admitted that even a duo of that class couldn’t rescue England.
“Thanks to a blistering new-ball spell from Starc, and a dramatic penultimate over of the day from Boland, the local hero, the Australians reached stumps a step closer to their objective,” Booth wrote.
“England were 31 for four and – despite the presence of Joe Root and Ben Stokes – all but gone.”
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