‘Consolations win do matter’: Nasser Hussain opens up about the significance of England’s win in Melbourne Test against Australia

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that the win in the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne carried some meaning for the visitors, especially for captain Ben Stokes and batting talisman Joe Root, who will now have a win Down Under in their resume at the end of their careers. The 57-year-old also said that the victory was important for the fans, who had not seen England win in Australia since 2010-11.

“Consolation wins do matter. This victory will be especially important to Ben Stokes and Joe Root, two of England’s great cricketers. For them to have ended their careers without a Test victory in Australia – and I don’t know if they will be back next time — would have been a great shame.”

“This win will mean something to England even though the Ashes are gone. It will mean something to players who have come in for criticism here and it will mean a lot to England supporters who have been through 15 years of pain watching Tests in Australia,” Hussain wrote in his column for ‘The Athletic’.

Ben Stokes in action. (FILE photo)

Hussain said that England did many things right on that Melbourne surface, praising Harry Brook for setting the tone by charging down to Mitchell Starc in the first innings, despite his side in dire straits.

“England did get a lot of things right. Harry Brook, for instance, set the tone perfectly in the first innings by taking the attack to Australia.”

“Running down the pitch to Mitchell Starc’s first ball with England at eight for three was a brave thing to do after Key had talked before the match about dumb shots. But it was the right thing to do on this surface because of the amount of movement that was being produced. If you just tried to keep the ball out and stay there, you ended up with a 15-ball duck like Joe Root. But Brook got his tempo exactly right,” he wrote. He also said he was impressed by how Jacob Bethell batted in the second innings to help England chase down 175 runs for a win.

“Jacob Bethell played an important part in that second innings. I don’t like to get too high or low on a young player when they first come into the side, but I liked how composed Bethell was on a really difficult pitch in front of more than 90,000 people. Bethell just needs to play and, now he’s in the side, he needs to be given the same length of time as others have been given and play more red-ball cricket,” Hussain wrote.

England's Jamie Smith, left, Ben Stokes, second left, Harry Brook andJoe Root, right, shake hands after defeating Australia on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)