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A brilliant one-wicket spell by Gus Atkinson consisting of four maidens out of nine mounted pressure on Australia, who lost three of their top-order batters to kickstart the Boxing Day Ashes Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) at a terrifying note on Friday.
At the end of session one, Australia was 72/4, with Usman Khawaja (21*) and Alex Carey (9*) unbeaten. England won the toss and opted to bowl first, with Aussie openers Travis Head and Jake Weatherald coming out to bat. The batting duo started off cautiously against Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse. In the sixth over, Australia released some pressure, with Head getting two successive boundaries against Carse, one being an elegant cover drive, and Weatherland ended the over with another cover drive for four, getting 15 runs off the over. Atkinson earned England their first breakthrough, with Head chopping on a delivery angling across him into his stumps. Head was gone for 22-ball 12, with Australia on 27/1 in 5.1 overs. From the ninth over, Josh Tongue started his spell of horror for the Aussies, with Weatherald strangled down the leg side and caught by keeper Jamie Smith for a 23-ball 10. Australia slipped to 31/2 in nine overs. It was the Boxing Day Test and England, who had failed to secure the Ashes, were not holding back with their punches as Tongue got Marnus Labuschagne (6) and Steve Smith (5) in quick succession, leaving Aussies in disarray at 51/4 in 19.2 overs, with the cream of Aussie batting sitting in the pavillion barely an hour into the Test match. The left-handed batting pair of Alex Carey and Usman Khawaja managed to see Australia through the remainder of the session. Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith(c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey(w), Cameron Green, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Scott Boland England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue. (ANI)
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