Australia seized the initiative on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, already batting for a second time and holding a 46-run lead after 20 wickets fell in front of a record crowd of 94,199.
The green-topped pitch came into focus as the contest swung from session to session.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan labelled the pitch a "shocker" but Australia seamer Michael Neser, who led his team's bowling with 4-45 and batting with 35, had no complaints.
"We know it can move real fast day one and two, and then once that wicket hardens up and dries out, it can be quite nice to bat on," he told reporters.
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss, his third in four Tests, and opted to bowl.
For a time, it appeared a masterstroke as Australia were bundled out for 152 inside 46 overs. Michael Neser top-scored with 35, Usman Khawaja made 26 and Alex Carey added 20, while England seamer Josh Tongue exploited the conditions to finish with 5-45.
Australia hit back with equal venom, reducing the tourists to 4 for 16 and then 9 for 91 before England were dismissed for 110.
Harry Brook offered sustained resistance, scoring 41 off 34 balls. Neser led the Australian attack with 4-45, Scott Boland claimed 3-30 and Mitchell Starc took 2-23 as the ball consistently moved off the seam.
By stumps, Australia were 4 for no loss in their second innings, with nightwatchman Scott Boland edging a delivery from Gus Atkinson that trickled to the boundary.
It was only the third time in Ashes history that 20 or more wickets had fallen on the opening day of a Test.
Leading the series 3-0, Australia chases a whitewash, while England remain desperate to salvage something from a grim tour.
“What theatre. Test cricket is alive and well,” Alyssa Healy said on Kayo Sports.
England’s Tongue reflected on a day dominated by bowlers. “It’s an amazing day of Test cricket wasn’t it? It was a great effort to bowl them out for 152,” he told TNT Sports after his five-wicket haul.
“It’s what dreams are made of. I have always wanted to play in the Ashes and in one away. Words cannot explain how I am feeling,” he added.
If the 19-wicket day in Perth was chaotic, the MCG on Boxing Day raised the bar. Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne said the batters would need to adapt on a surface that demanded creativity.
The wicket, which came under scrutiny from experts, offered such assistance that Australia were bowled out before tea and England lost all 10 wickets for 110 in the final session.
“Obviously, there’s a fair bit of grass on there, so the ball’s just sitting in the wicket a little bit, making scoring a little bit tough, especially down the ground,” Labuschagne said on Fox Cricket after making six runs in the first innings.
“So something that we’re going to have to work through in our next innings is trying to create some scoring opportunities and try and score a bit square on the wicket.“
Fox commentator Mark Waugh noted the uneven nature of the surface and the movement it generated. “The pitch looks like it might be a little two paced as well,” he said.
“Some balls really zip … and then you get the other ones just holding up a fraction. So it just might depend on what part of the grass it hits on the pitch. Some areas are a little thicker than others,” he added.
Australia’s decision to field a four-pronged pace attack, leaving out spinner Todd Murphy, was influenced by the 10mm grass cover on the wicket. The move paid dividends on a day dominated by seam and swing.
England’s collapse also placed the innings among their lowest totals under coach Brendon McCullum, alongside 112 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2024 and 122 against India in Rajkot the same year.
Their 110 in Melbourne added another grim entry to that list as the Boxing Day Test promised more drama on a pitch that had already dictated the narrative.
The historic crowd of 94,199 at the MCG on Friday surpassed the previous record of 93,013, set during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand.
It also established a new record for the highest attended single day of Test cricket, eclipsing the 91,112 spectators who attended the MCG for Day 1 of the 2013 Boxing Day Test between Australia and England.