Ashes 2025-26: Smith credits England after MCG defeat ends Australia’s home run

Steve Smith was generous in defeat after England produced a stirring four-wicket win over Australia in the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ending the hosts’ long unbeaten run at home against their traditional rivals.

Speaking after the match, Smith admitted England wrested control of the contest on the second day with disciplined bowling followed by fearless batting. “I thought England came out today and played some really good cricket. They got the ball in the right areas and dismissed us,” Smith said.

Advertisement

“And then I thought the way they started with the bat was good. Obviously, they were really aggressive, and tried to break the back of a reasonably small chase on a tricky wicket.

“They got off to a bit of a flier. And a couple of their heavy blows sort of softened our seam quite a bit. Probably didn’t offer as much as it had for the rest of the game after that. So credit to them,” he added.

England’s victory was built on a dominant display with the ball, as they dismissed Australia twice inside two days, skittling the hosts for 152 and 132 on a pitch that offered consistent assistance to the quicks. Set a target of 175 on the second day, Ben Stokes’ side completed the chase in just 32.2 overs to seal a famous win.

Smith felt England’s attacking intent with the bat proved decisive, particularly after they had lost the first three Tests of the series. “The guy with the most success on that wicket was probably Harry Brook. Running down the wicket, playing some rogue shots, and trying to get the bowlers off their lengths,” he said.

Brook had been England’s standout performer with the bat in the first innings, top-scoring with a rapid 41 from 34 balls, before remaining unbeaten during the successful chase as England closed out the match.

Reflecting on whether Australia could have adopted a similar approach, Smith acknowledged it would be a point of discussion. “Whether we could have been a bit more proactive and played a few more of those (attacking shots), that’s something we’ll talk about but in the end, it’s also a tricky one to do that.

“You want to try and dig in for your team, you want to extend a couple of those partnerships and maybe the ball would have got a bit softer and played a little easier. We never really got to that point in the game,” he added.

The defeat brought to an end Australia’s unbeaten home run against England stretching back to 2011, a sequence that included 18 Tests. It also marked the first loss for the two-time World Test Championship finalists in the ongoing 2025–27 cycle, after arriving at the Boxing Day Test with six wins from six matches.

“We would love to win every game and keep every streak going but like I said, England played really well today,” Smith said.

“We probably controlled the first half of the game yesterday and then they came back into the game today and took the game away from us. Particularly the way (Zak) Crawley and (Ben) Duckett started, they got them off to a flier and softened the ball, which made a big difference,” he analysed.

The focus now shifts to Sydney, where Australia and England will meet for the fifth and final Test of the Ashes starting January 4.