Australia captain Steve Smith pointed out that Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett’s opening partnership in the second innings of the fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes series 2025/26 made the difference between the two teams.
In the post-match press conference, Smith said: “We’d love to win every game and keep every streak going. But, England played really well today. We probably controlled the first half of the game or yesterday, and then they came back in to play today and took the game away from us. Particularly the way (Zak) Crawley and (Ben) Duckett started, they got them off to a flyer and broke the back of the chase, I suppose, and softened the ball, as I said before, which made a big difference. But we try to win every game we can.”
After winning the toss, England chose to field first. Josh Tongue took a five-wicket haul as Australia could only manage 152 in the first innings. In reply, England were bundled out for just 110. Both innings were completed on Day One.
Australia were again bowled out for a low score in the second innings, managing 132, with Brydon Carse picking up four wickets and Ben Stokes claiming three. Crawley and Duckett added 51 runs off 42 balls, which gave England a strong start in the chase. The rest of the work was completed by the middle order as England won the match by four wickets.
Smith also praised Harry Brook’s performance, who scored 41 off 34 balls in the first innings and an unbeaten 18 in the second innings.
“I think the guy with the most success on that wicket was probably Harry Brook. Running down the wicket, playing some kind of rogue shots, I suppose, and trying to get the bowlers off their lengths that way,” he added.
Also read- Ashes 2025-26: Broad and McGrath criticise bowler-friendly MCG pitch after 20-wicket Day 1
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