The Ashes Daily: England end 15 year wait for win in Australia in two-day thriller

0:00Oh, that's a start, that is from Crawley. Chris Wokes nails it for four. The Ashes alive and Test cricket alive.

0:08Nasser Hussain:Ice in his veins. Pat Cummins has led his team to a famous victory. Yeah, go! Down, he gets his goal. It's a landing. England's captain, Ben Stokes. While he is there, England have hope. Put the beer away. Put the champagne on ice. 24 years of pain in Australia. Finally they're beaten at home by England. Well, it's 45 minutes after play here at the MCG. One or two England supporters just down still in Bay 13, celebrating what has been an extraordinary victory. Well within two days, the second two-day test match of this series. But more importantly, England's first win here in Australia for a generation.

0:55Nasser Hussain:They hadn't won since Andrew Strauss' team won here in 2010-11. So for the likes of Ben Stokes and Joe Root, a first taste of victory on Australian soil. Remarkable game, remarkable day. Remarkable two days, really. I mean, we played in one a very long time ago in 2000 West Indies. And that was nice. It was fun. You look back on it fondly and you sort of think, did that really happen, a test match in two days? We've had two in four games. I mean, bizarre. and because of the pitch, it got more and more bizarre as you went through both days. And in the end, I think it suited England playing on a pitch that did a bit, brought their seamers into it, and also playing on a pitch that because it did a bit, you had to take the attacking option.

1:37And this afternoon, once you saw that score, that target of 175, you knew, I don't know how you felt, but I knew there was only one way that England were going to play. Duckett and Crawley in particular were going to go very hard.

1:51Nasser Hussain:Yeah, I mean, the low target just set it up for them perfectly. You know, there's been lots of talk about their approach in this series and whether they blinked on that flat pitch in Adelaide, but they're only ever going to go one way here. And we talked yesterday about Harry Brooks innings, and everybody who's been successful on this surface has had a dash. Runs have come either from those who've been prepared to take risks or those a bit further down the order, so it was the right approach. Let's talk surface first before we talk England, because 15 years of pain, so we must highlight what an event this is for England players and fans more importantly.

2:29Was that pitch good enough for Test Match cricket, in your opinion?

2:32Nasser Hussain:Well, it wasn't dangerous and it was fair to both sides in the sense that it didn't change. So it was a kind of just a shootout really on a difficult pitch. But in terms of the spectacle, it's unsatisfactory. because there's not an over of spin ball throughout the game. You've got 90 ,000 people who have got tickets for tomorrow. It's going to cost Cricket Australia an absolute bomb. And you've got players who are saying, well, the only way to play on this surface is in an unorthodox manner. So for all kinds of reasons, it's kind of an unsatisfactory feeling sitting here at the end of a two-day test, as it was in Perth.

3:15Nasser Hussain:I liken it, and this is going to upset our Indian viewers who watch on YouTube, because I liken it to some of the ranked turners that we've seen in Asia in recent years, where the pitch spins at the start. So in a sense, it's a fair contest because both sides have got an even chance, but it doesn't necessarily allow for the whole range of skills to show. You know, we've had at no batter get past 50 there. and the number of two-day tests actually I was looking at the frequency of it you mentioned that game in Headingley 2000 there wasn't a two-day test between 1946 and 2000 I think that's the 11th now 10th or 11th since that point so they're becoming more frequent and they're becoming more frequent because the pitches are skewing more to the bowlers and the batter's response in this modern age where their only response tends to be, we'll get some before the ball gets us, means that the games are accelerated and we're ending up with some very short games and that's not necessarily satisfactory.

4:19Does it matter that the people that were here for two days would have got their money's worth and really enjoyed it or does that not count at all?

4:25Nasser Hussain:I mean, obviously, England supporters there will be absolutely thrilled that they've seen a win here. England's The players will be absolutely thrilled that they picked up a win. So there's that. But I think there'll be a lot of people who've watched the game will be thinking, you know, what kind of test cricket have I seen here? You come to Test Match to watch a broad variety of skills to see the game develop over a period of time. Now, of course, you're going to get extreme conditions from time to time, but we've had two of them now in this series. I don't think you want to see this too frequently.

4:58Nasser Hussain:You know, you'll get the odd game where the groundsman just gets it wrong and the pitch is a bit tricky, or the players get it wrong and they mess up. But you don't want to see too many of those. You know, test cricket doesn't have to last five days, but it's scheduled for that to allow the range of skills to come to the fore. What do you think? Well, I'm sitting thinking of this great ground and our great friend, and we've done a piece and you've written about him this week, Shane Warne. I don't think he would have thought that was acceptable. A man who... Well, he wouldn't have bowled him over, probably.

5:28Nasser Hussain:He always said, it seems it spins, but he probably wouldn't have got on. No, because the seamers were doing so much damage. He would have bowled at some stage in that partnership today. He would have conned himself on. He would have conned himself on with some magical delivery. But, you know, I don't think it's acceptable not having spin at all and having so much movement in the surface. It was farcical at times. And when things are farcical, it is thrilling to watch. But your point is a very good one, that there are traditionalists still in Test Match cricket. The likes, the ebbs and flows and the slow build.

5:58That was not slow. That was cricket in fast forward. And we have enough of that. We have enough fast forward cricket, whether it be T20, T10, 100. We have that. There'll be tonight or tomorrow night. There's big bash games or whatever. This is supposed to, with 90 ,000 in nearly every day and would have been, supposed to build slowly. Nothing built slowly. But what did happen was England finally, after 15 years of pain, have a win.

6:22Nasser Hussain:And I was very pleased for Ben Stokes because we both listened to him before the test match. It was a very difficult build-up for him, not just because the team are 3-0 down and playing poorly, but because of all the off-field stories. And that, as you know, is a tricky place to be as captain. And I was very impressed with how he dealt with it. He basically wrapped his arms around the team, said, I give them my full backing no matter what. We've got a game to concentrate on here and we need to get ourselves right for the very two important final test matches. Because there's always things to play for, even if you've lost the series.

7:00Nasser Hussain:There's so much you can get out of these two games. And I was impressed with the way he dealt with that before the game. And I thought his players at least showed that they were committed to play for him here over the two days. And a great moment for him when they won. And they needed him when Atkinson went off with that hamstring. You were like, OK, one seamer down and one of our better seamers, with Kars struggling again up front this morning. But he upped his game on the back of Stokes, yet again delivering with the ball. Once Atkinson walked off, the rest of that seam attack had to step up, and they did.

7:33Nasser Hussain:Yeah, I mean, England have been out-bowled in this series, clearly. These were perfect conditions to bowl on. Kars was better today than he was yesterday. I thought he was poor yesterday. It was a tricky moment when Atkinson walked off, and he looks as though he'll struggle for Sydney, I imagine. Tong now is almost the number one pick in this team, the number one Seamer pick in this team, and he had a terrific game. And so there's things to draw on. You know, Bethel at number three today. He got in some really good positions, didn't he? I was watching him. I know there was a lot of white ball stuff and there was a scoop just our first ball after, or reverse scoop, first ball after tee.

8:11But when you see him play those cover drives, wide of mid-off, straight of extra cover, He gets in some really good positions. If he can just keep playing and keep batting, I think he's got something about him, that lad.

8:23Nasser Hussain:Well, absolutely. You know, on the one hand, it's credit to the selectors who plucked him out for New Zealand a year ago. You know, they saw something, but it's to their discredit the way that he's been treated since. As we've been saying consistently, you can't mothball a 21-year-old kid and have him not playing cricket and expect to come out in front of 90 ,000 and do the business. So, you know, that's been terrible, really, the way he's been handled over the last 12 months. And the way he played today almost highlighted that fact, I thought. But it was good to see him get a few runs. And I don't think they were...

9:01Nasser Hussain:I thought Crawley played well and Duckett came out, you know, and finally, you know, decided to do what he can do. And that start has hurt England in this series. Those two have been such a central part of England's batting identity and the fact that they've not been able to get off to starts in this series has hurt them a lot. They got a bit of a start here. I never really felt they were in that much danger once that start had happened and they put Stark off his line. I thought they were always going to get over the line after that. I was just wondering if Steve Smith, an exceptional captain, could have gone to Boland a little bit earlier.

9:35He was going to be the most dangerous bowler, wasn't he? Ten overs and he still hadn't bowled and they'd got off to a flyer and the moment had almost gone. You imagine this crowd when the local hero comes on to bowl, that's going to lift. So I was a bit surprised he left him so late. What about the Aussie batting? I know with the ball they've missed quite a few, but with the batting, they do look vulnerable, don't they? Weather all at the top. You've got Labashain who's struggling with angles and tongue. You've got Cameron Green. He really frustrates me, Cameron Green, because I do think there's an exceptional cricketer in there with a three-dimensional fielding, batting, bowling, but he gets out in some really soft ways.

10:11Run out in the first innings, a sort of half charge, half not charge, fend off the slip today. It sort of shows what Stuart Broad was trying to say before a ball went down. I wouldn't go quite as far as what Stuart said, but they were there for the taking, especially with the bat, not so much with the ball.

10:28Nasser Hussain:It's why this victory is a hollow one. It's a great moment. I'm delighted for Stokes, delighted for Root, the supporters, but it's a hollow victory because what might have been? It's almost like they're almost ready to go now to be competitive having played a bit of cricket. So that feels ridiculous. And as you say, they've missed Cummins for four, Hazelwood for five, Lyon for three, and they've got a batting line-up with flaws there, all the ones you've mentioned. So that is the frustration. It's a huge frustration. I've heard that this last week of let's not judge Key and McCollum because if they go well in these two games, that might bring them back into it, that they'll save their jobs.

11:10Actually, I look at it the other way. If they play really well in these last two games, like they've done here, like they did towards the end of Adelaide, as you say, that frustrates me even more. Imagine if you'd prepared properly, started well, after lunch, day two, Perth, got down and did the basics right and went 1-0 up. We could be going to Sydney 2-all. So I agree with you. I find it more frustrating. If anything, it shows that they didn't focus in before a ball was bowled in this series. And now they're ready to go and Australia look vulnerable. Do you think the pitch brought England into it or do you just think it was one of those games where Australia 3-0 up, weren't quite switched on?

11:48Nasser Hussain:I don't know about that. That's always the case, isn't it? When you win what's called a dead rubber and we won plenty of those dead rubbers. People always say, well, you know, Australia lacked a bit of edge. Well, maybe, but I never played against an Australian team where I thought, do you know what? They're not trying as hard or whatever. Now, who knows whether subconsciously a bit of edge goes when the Ashes are won. I don't know. But it was a chancy game. England probably had the advantage of batting second in a game like that. You wonder, Ben Stokes, and he's not a man for regrets, whether he looks back at Perth and wonders whether he might have batted second in that game, actually, on a kind of low-scoring pitch like this one.

12:29Nasser Hussain:But, you know, all those are regrets and what-ifs and might-have-beens. And England, you know, have been too poor in this series and they are where they are. How about you, anyway? You're looking yellow, if you don't mind me saying. I've come to the conclusion that you're a bit like this England batting line-up. You're good on good pitches. If we go to the Adelaide Hills and we're in a vineyard and it's nice and cosy and nice and relaxed, you're good. You're fine. when we come to Melbourne and it's a bit cold and a bit brutal and a bit hard can you do it on a cold night at Stoke I think was your woke was your whatsapp to me this morning yeah cold rainy windy Tuesday night at Stoke you're just not no I'm not you're not quite as good no I'm not I've struggled to be honest but my mood has been lifted by an England win well do you know what we got to fill some time now we got a week do you know where I hear is really nice for a few days to chill where?

13:21Nasser Hussain:Noosa. Noosa's really nice. It's long golden stretches of sand, a few nice beachside bars. We can settle in for the day and chill out. You fancy it? One piece for certain is that me and Af will not be going. Nasser in Noosa. It's not happening to be honest. But one thing we haven't mentioned, those fans, they've gone now. They have had pain. They've had pain for 15 years in this country. They've had a lot of hope dashed. They've had some, And, you know, they've had moments where they felt their team was going to deliver. And finally today in Melbourne, the England cricket team delivered. The ashes are gone, but at least this England team gave their fans something to cheer here at the MCG.

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