Keith Andrew dropped Arthur Morris off Bedser on 0, allowing the Australian opener to make 153, adding 202 in 232 minutes for the third wicket with Neil Harvey (162).

"[3] When they finally got to bat on the third day England quickly collapsed to 25/4, but then debutant Colin Cowdrey made 40, adding 72 for the 5th wicket with Trevor Bailey who ground out 88 over 283 minutes.

With the "Barnacle" immobile at one end – he took 160 minutes to reach 38 – the Australian bowlers worked their way through the tail until Denis Compton, who had broken the metacarpal bone in his hand on the boundary fence, came at number 11.

Bill Edrich made a battling 88 and put on 124 for the 3rd wicket with Peter May (44), but when Bailey was out for 23 the tail collapsed from 220/5 to 257 all out despite Tyson making his highest Test score of 37 not out.

In the Second Test Keith Andrew, Reg Simpson and Alec Bedser were unceremoniously dumped from the England team, which they discovered when they saw the batting line up posted in the dressing room.

One piece of good news for the England team was the arrival of Henry Sayen, a rich American industrialist and cricket fan who was seen as a lucky mascot.

Despite a recent operation and the advice of his doctors he travelled across the world to see England play and dined with the MCC team, Ian Johnson, Sir Donald Bradman and Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

Australia needed 223 runs to win in over four sessions, which was regarded as not too difficult a task, especially if Frank Tyson was affected by his injury, but instead he was very angry and ready to exact revenge.

Richie Benaud was not a patient batsman and took a swipe at "Applecart" which he hit sky high to Tyson in the deep, who only managed to snatch it inches above the grass to have Australia 102/5.

Tyson bled runs at double that rate, as Tom Graveney recalled "I was fielding in the slips and we were having to stand 40 yards off the bat, and still the ball was often going over our heads from edged shots".

[9] Henry Sayden had danced for joy with MCC Secretary Ronnie Aird at the fall of each Australian wicket, took the entire England team to a celebratory dinner at Prince's Restaurant and handed out bonuses all round.

England received Denis Compton at the expense of Tom Graveney, but faced a crisis on the first day of the Test when Len Hutton refused to leave his bed because of his fibrositis and a heavy cold.

The manager Geoffrey Howard, George Duckworth, Bill Edrich and Godfrey Evans had to persuade him to play so as to not damage the morale of the team, especially as the series was locked at 1–1.

[22] With Ray Lindwall dismissing Peter May for a duck England were 41/4 and in deep trouble, but according to Ralph Barker, after "Surviving the early horrors through perfect technique, the 22-year-old Cowdrey made 50 out of 69 and 100 out of 158".

[24] He completed his maiden Test century, adding 74 with Trevor Bailey (30) and 54 with wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans (20) before falling to Ian Johnson with a ball that "hit the edge of one of the cracks in the wicket, which was now assuming the appearance of a tessellated pavement.

[23] Bill O'Reilly, not an easy man to impress, said that it was the best Test innings he had ever seen and aged only 22 Cowdrey was the youngest Englishman to make an Ashes century since Jack Hearne on the same ground in 1912.

Although Cowdrey would make 22 Test centuries they would all be measured against the yardstick of his Melbourne hundred, and still it remained greatest innings; "his driving, concentration and command were all faultless...a tribute to his wonderful ability".

Fearing that the wicket would break up in the middle of the Test it was surreptitiously and illegally watered to bind the cracks and make it last an extra couple of days.

Neil Harvey and Richie Benaud took the score to 75/2 by stumps and over 50,000 supporters came on the fifth day to see them knock off the remaining runs, but what they got was "the fastest and most frightening sustained spell of fast bowling seen in Australia".

Australia added only 36 runs that morning as Tyson took 6/16 off 6.3 eight-ball overs, 7/27 in the innings, hurtling down from the Richmond End and slightly into the breeze, but at enormous pace.

He, England's first professional captain, was leading a triumphant team – in Australia!...He frowns on 'sleeping with the enemy' and counsels against our going into the Aussie dressing-room to fraternise with our affable opponents.

[36] The Test was referred to in the Goon Show, in the original script of episode 15 of their fifth series "1985" broadcast on 5 January 1955 Neddie Seagoon wanders into an antique shop in 1985 and sees an old cricket bat.

[37] Despite the form of Peter Loader and Alec Bedser in the recent tour matches England kept their winning team from Melbourne and Len Hutton even kept Bill Edrich as his opening partner.

Hutton made himself unpopular with his deliberately slow over rates so that he could rest his exhausted fast bowlers, and Brian Statham ripped the nail off his right big toe and had to hack a hole in his boot so he could continue to bowl.

Len Maddocks (69) justified his selection and was the only man to pass fifty, adding 92 for the ninth wicket with Ian Johnson (41) until Bailey removed the captain.

In the Australian second innings Hutton made his bowling changes with great cunning, removing Tyson and Statham after a few overs and bringing on Bob Appleyard whose 3/12 accounted for Morris, Burke and Harvey before the day was out, leaving the home side on 69/3.

[40] The only change in the England team was that Bill Edrich was dropped for poor form and replaced by Tom Graveney, who became Hutton's fourth opening partner of the series.

With an eye to the imminent tour of the West Indies the Australian selectors picked debutants Peter Burge and Bill Watson and Les Favell and Ray Lindwall returned to the side.

Colin McDonald responded with 72, adding 53 for the first wicket with Bill Watson (18), but Maddocks (32) was the only other batsman to make more than 20 as the England spinner Johnny Wardle (5/79) worked his way through their batting with a mixture of orthodox slow left arm spin mixed with chinamen and reverse googlies.

More shocks for Australia, the Melbourne disaster, Les Favell got going, his wicket went tumbling, We got them out cheaply, and score second victory, Good captaincy from Len Hutton, but the honours must go to Typhoon Tyson.