Australia, the 2025 World Test Championship runners-up, suffered their first loss in the WTC cycle for the 2027 final, falling to England, who won by four wickets in the fourth Test in the 2025-26 Ashes.
The Boxing Day Test marked England’s first victory over their arch-rivals in Australia since January 2011.
The MCG Test was a low-scoring affair that ended in two days. The opening day alone saw the loss of 20 wickets. Josh Tongue’s five-wicket haul held the hosts to just 152 in 45.2 overs. The Ben Stokes-led team, on the other hand, were bowled out for 110 in 29.5 overs, with Michael Neser taking four wickets.
Australia had a 46-run lead heading into the second day. The tourists bowled exceptionally well, and they were skittled in no time for just 132. Ben Stokes shined with the ball, taking three wickets. England, who were assigned a 175-run target, finished with four wickets to spare. Steven Smith’s speed attack probed, but the tourists were able to overcome the strain and win their first Test in Australia after 18 attempts.
According to the most recent WTC standings, Australia remains in first place with a points’ percentage (PCT) of 85.71%. Meanwhile, England, having played the joint-most number of matches (nine), remained in seventh place. Only Bangladesh and the West Indies are below them. New Zealand and Sri Lanka, although only playing three and two matches in the current cycle, will be the only unbeaten Test sides in 2026.
World Test Championship 2025-27 Points Table
| Position | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | NR | Points | Deductions | PCT (%)* |
| 1 | Australia | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 0 | 85.71 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 77.78 |
| 3 | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 75.00 |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 66.67 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 50.00 |
| 6 | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48.15 |
| 7 | England | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 35.19 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16.67 |
| 9 | West Indies | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.17 |
India
