At the interval on day two, in front of another packed Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia were 98 for 6, with Steve Smith unbeaten on 16 and Cameron Green on six.
The hosts lost nightwatchman Scott Boland (6), Jake Weatherald (5), Marnus Labuschagne (8), Travis Head (46), Usman Khawaja (0) and Alex Carey (4) in a frenetic morning session, despite England being a bowler short after pace spearhead Gus Atkinson limped off with an apparent hamstring injury.
Australia had resumed the day on 4 without loss following a dramatic opening day that saw 20 wickets fall, with the hosts bowled out for 152 and England dismissed for 110.
It marked the most wickets to tumble on the opening day of an Ashes Test since 1909, surpassing the 19 that fell on day one of the series opener in Perth.
With nearly 10 millimetres of grass left on the surface, it proved a bowler’s paradise, though several former greats criticised the pitch for “doing too much” and being “unfair for batters”.
Boland resumed on four alongside Head, who was yet to score, and the pair safely negotiated one over before stumps on Friday. Head began positively on Saturday, driving Atkinson for a boundary, while Boland added two before edging the same bowler to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
Atkinson soon left the field clutching his left hamstring, forcing England to reshuffle their attack.
Josh Tongue returned on a hat-trick after claiming the final two Australian wickets on day one, but Weatherald briefly countered with a whip through midwicket for three. The opener, however, failed again, bowled by Ben Stokes for five by a delivery that jagged back sharply.
Head, dropped on 26 by Will Jacks, continued to look fluent but Labuschagne fell for eight, caught by Joe Root in the slips off Tongue. Head’s resistance ended when Brydon Carse produced a beauty that beat the outside edge and rattled the stumps.
Tongue and Carse then removed Khawaja and Carey in the space of nine balls to swing the momentum firmly England’s way.
Australia, however, have already retained the Ashes after dominant wins in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run victory in Adelaide.
