If you blinked today, you probably missed a wicket. Maybe two. The Ashes Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground didn't just start; it exploded. In a display of pure cricketing anarchy that left fans and commentators gasping for breath, 20 wickets fell in a single day. This wasn't just a bad day for batters; it was a historic collapse that turned the clock back 125 years.
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To put this madness into perspective, the last time an Ashes Test saw 20 or more wickets fall on Day 1 was way back in the 1901-02 season. Think about that. That was an era where players wore flat caps, the pitches were left uncovered to the natural elements, and the game was almost unrecognisable compared to today's professional sport. Yet, here in 2025, on a modern, manicured surface, we saw the same level of destruction.
Most wickets on Day 1 in Ashes (AUS vs ENG) Tests
25 - Melbourne, 1901/02
22 - The Oval, 1890
20 - The Oval, 1882
20 - Old Trafford, 1909
20 - Melbourne, 1894/95
20 - Melbourne, 2025/26*
19 - Perth, 2025/26
It was a parade of batters walking in and walking right back out. No one could settle. The bowlers looked like giants, and the stumps seemed to be made of magnets. The scorecard reads like a horror story for the batting coaches of both Australia and England.
We often talk about how T20 cricket has changed the game, making players aggressive and hasty. But today wasn't about aggression; it was about survival, and nobody survived. History books will mark this day in the Ashes not for the runs scored, but for the sheer speed at which the lineups disintegrated.
For the fans in the stands, it was breathless entertainment. For the players, it was a nightmare they couldn't wake up from. The Ashes have always been about drama, but today, it was pure chaos.
