Melbourne, Dec 27 (IANS) England’s dramatic two-day victory over Australia in the fourth Test of the Ashes 2025-26 series has ignited fierce debate about the green pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with former skipper Michael Vaughan saying that while the result merits celebration, the quality of cricket on display will not be celebrated much by fans.
“A win is a win, and England should celebrate, but NO Test cricket fans should be celebrating what we have seen for 2 days .. #Ashes,” wrote Vaughan on his ‘X’ account on Saturday.
The 10mm of grass left on the pitch resulted in 36 wickets falling in six sessions at the MCG, as England ended a 14-year wait for a Test match victory in Australia with a four-wicket win. England dismissed Australia for 132 in their second innings to set themselves a chase of 175 to win, which they completed after losing six wickets.
Meanwhile, England’s fast bowling great Stuart Broad said the win in Melbourne came too late to affect the result in the Ashes. Broad added that the four-wicket triumph would resonate more with travelling fans and the players themselves than with England’s supporters back home.
“I think it (the reaction) will be slightly mixed. I look over to the English fans now, and they’ll have that emotion of being here and seeing England win away, singing the songs, having a few drinks with their friends. I think it will be positive in Australia and for the English fans who travelled here.
“(But) I’m sure there would be a sense back home that it’s too little, too late in a way, in the fact that the Ashes have gone in Adelaide last week. And if Australia weren’t 3-nil up, would Pat Cummins have played? Would Australia have played a stronger side?
“But ultimately, these players will be able to say that they have won a Test match in Australia, and they have had a brutal time of it. It’s such a strange Test series to have two Test matches that go for two days, it’s incredible,” he said on SEN Radio.
Australia hold a 3-1 lead in the 2025/26 Ashes series, with the contest now moving to Sydney for the traditional New Year’s Test starting at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4.
–IANS
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