England were embarking on an adrenaline fuelled run-chase on a manic second day at the MCG as they sought a first Test win on Australian soil in nearly 15 years.
A second two-day finish of the series was on the menu in Melbourne, with England 77 for two in pursuit of 175 at the tea break.
After both teams were bowled out on the first day, England bagged 10 more scalps to roll the hosts for 132 inside 35 overs, leaving them an opportunity to end their winless sequence dating back three tours and 18 Tests behind enemy lines.
To do so they would need the biggest score of the match on a seamer’s paradise but made vital inroads as they took their chances with all-out attack.
Ben Duckett was in the thick of things as the chase began, flicking Mitchell Starc for a pair of tension-relieving boundaries off his pads before a pair of near misses. His off stump survived thanks to an inch of late movement and when he popped a leading edge back down the track, a sprawling Starc could not hold on.
Perhaps buoyed by the palpable shift in momentum, Zak Crawley blazed Michael Neser for an audacious straight six and leathered his follow-up hard through cover. Duckett was riding his luck as far it would take him, beaten on a handful of occasions but finding enough composure to step across and ramp Neser for six over the wicketkeeper’s head.
His rollercoaster knock off 34 in 26 balls ended when Starc speared one through him at pace. The stadium announcer initially announced Harry Brook as his replacement, rather than the carded Jacob Bethell, but England had an even bigger surprise up their sleeve as Carse walked out.
It was an unpredictable move but a predictable result, as Australia set the field back and waited for one to fly high in the air of a wild miss-hit. The gambit lasted eight balls and brought six runs before Bethell belatedly joined the action.
England’s first job of the day involved removing nightwatcher Scott Boland, who opened the batting for a single over to rapturous applause from his home crowd on the first evening.
Atkinson took care of that, a hint of extra bounce in the channel enough to unpick his back-foot block. Atkinson’s joy was shortlived, though, clutching his left hamstring at the end of his fourth over. He departed immediately for assessment and was not seen again.
His absence hastened Ben Stokes’ introduction and the skipper was quickly up and running, attacking Jake Weatherald from round the wicket and knocking back off stump as the left-hander withdrew the bat.
The most prolific batter in the series, Travis Head, went on the offensive, his ability to keep the scoreboard rolling proving invaluable with the ball dancing off a good length. He offered a chance on 26, chopping Tongue to backward point, but was parried by Will Jacks at a cost of another 20 runs.
Marnus Labuschagne was subjected to a brief and bitter stay, rapped twice on the glove in a spiteful over from Stokes, before nicking Tongue to Joe Root at first slip. Labuschagne stood his ground, convinced it had not carried cleanly, and was visibly furious when the TV umpire disagreed.
Head took the lead into three figures and came within a blow of the game’s first half-century before Carse found a ball with his name on it, dragging one from leg to off and toppling the bails for a picturesque dismissal.
That was the first of three wickets for six runs as Australia succumbed to an attack of the jitters in conditions that were ruffling their feathers. Usman Khawaja was bounced out for a duck by Tongue, flapping rigidly to fine leg where substitute fielder Ollie Pope did his bit for the team, before Alex Carey wafted Carse to second slip.
Australia reached lunch at 98 for six, taking the wicket tally to a staggering 26 in just four sessions. England, for once, did not let the opportunity slip, returning after in the afternoon to take the last four for 34 as Carse and Stokes split the spoils.
The reliably timid Cameron Green offered Harry Brook catching practice with a soft jab off Stokes, who finished things off when number 11 Jhye Richardson skied to mid-off. In between, Carse took out Neser and Starc for ducks with consecutive deliveries, the first an instinctive return catch and the second a flash to slip.
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