Australia 9-164 (Chris Rogers 61, Brad Haddin 43*, Stuart Broad 3-30, James Anderson 3-50) trails England 255 (Kevin Pietersen 71, Michael Carberry 38, Mitchell Johnson 5-63) by 91 runs.
The English speedsters led by James Anderson and Stuart Broad, took their team to a commanding position after crushing the Kangaroos batting in the 1st innings.
The visitors managed 255 runs in their first innings and the hosts were restricted to 164 for the loss of nine wickets in 73.3 overs.
The second day’s play of the fourth Ashes Test came to an end on Friday, December 27, 2013, at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Earlier, England went into bat at 6-226 after 89 overs whereas Kevin Pietersen and Tim Bresnan were at the crease for 67 and 1 runs. Mitchell Johnson removed both batsmen in the second over of the day for 71 and 1. The tail order batsmen surrendered without much resistance and the entire English team was bowled out for 255 in exact 100 overs.
Mitchell Johnson was the supreme bowler with five wickets, Ryan Harris held two whereas Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon and Shane Watson shared one wicket each.
The Aussies lost their first wicket at 19 and Chris Rogers was the only batsman who was defending well while the wickets kept on falling at the other end regularly. The top and middle order batting collapsed against the lethal pace attack of the tourists and Rogers attained his fifth Test fifty in the process. He was gone at 112 after scoring 61 and Brad Haddin fought until the close of the play for his 43 as the Kangaroos reached 9-164.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad were the most successful bowlers with three wickets each, Tim Bresnan got two whereas Ben Stokes chipped in with one wicket.
England still has a valuable first innings lead of 91 runs and will try to get the last Australian wicket at the earliest for holding the match in their favour.
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