England end 13-year wait in Australia with famous win at MCG

The winter is over. After nearly 14 years, 18 Tests and three-and-a-half tours of frustration, England finally broke free of their Australian curse with a famous victory in the two-day Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Chasing 175 on a devilishly seaming surface Michael Vaughan described as a "joke", Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley gave England their best opening stand of the series, putting on 51 with calm assurance. It came on a pitch that had exposed Australia's batting frailties earlier on the second morning, when they were bowled out for 132 inside 35 overs.

Australia did not extract quite as much from the pitch as Brydon Carse had earlier in the day during his four-wicket haul, but the hosts kept finding ways to stay in the contest by chipping away with wickets. Crawley and Jacob Bethell added a decisive 47 for the third wicket, steadying England after the first breakthrough, before Joe Root played an anchoring hand of 15 off 38 balls, his innings ending with a marginal on-field lbw decision.

Ben Stokes fell to Mitchell Starc for the 13th time in Tests, briefly giving Australia hope, but Harry Brook kept his composure to finish the chase. His unbeaten 18 off 22 balls sealed a long-awaited win, one that finally ended England's prolonged drought on Australian soil and delivered a Boxing Day Test to remember.

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