England ended the third day of the second Ashes Test with a score of 134-6 at the end of the second innings, falling behind 2-0 in the series and still trailing Australia by 43 points.
England’s glimmer of hope rested on the contribution of another unforgettable captain in Ben Stokes, with four not out for the night after the tourists’ top order subsided again under the lights in the day-night Test at The Gabba.
As Australia resumed the third day at 378 for 6, leading by 44 runs in the first innings, Mitchell Starc top-scored with 77 and continued their excellent series, eventually being bowled out for 511 as dusk reached Brisbane, extending the hosts’ advantage to 177.
A remarkable series continued as Mitchell Starc top-scored for Australia with 77 runs in his first 511 innings.
The game was set up perfectly for Australia, with tails wagging, the bowlers had the perfect twilight conditions to operate the brand new pink ball, and they duly took advantage of it.
England’s openers briefly counter-punched, scoring 45 runs in the six overs before tea time, but Australia’s seamers recovered the gains with six wickets in the final session.
Zak Crawley counter-punched for 44 to start England’s second innings before things went south.
England’s top order blown away under the lights
Ben Duckett, 15, was the first to be dismissed after hitting the toe of his bat with a low kept ball from Scott Borland (2-33) in the second over of the night.
Ollie Pope, 26, added a further 42 runs for the second wicket along with Crawley (44), and after showing signs of great form as well as his first innings score of 76, both performed miserably within four overs of each other.
Michael Nether (2-27) took charge of both catching and bowling, but both could not resist driving to the wrong length, and Crawley in particular was guilty of not learning his lesson from his partner’s dismissal.
Scott Boland was outstanding for Australia as the hosts cruised to victory on day three at The Gabba
Joe Root (15 years old) defeated Starc (2 wins, 48 losses), and Borland, the designated bowler, also scored a good performance in the second innings with Harry Brook (15 years old) nicking off.
Both edges went unnoticed on the field but were tipped over by DRS, while Jamie Smith (4) also failed to detect a faint feather behind and the review failed, giving Starc his 18th wicket in a remarkable series so far.
Prior to this, England’s bowlers showed more discipline with the ball than they did with the expensive new ball in the early hours of the second day, perhaps seeing this Test start to slip away from them.
Stokes (3-113) batted in his third over of the day, but Nether (16) caught up behind him, and Gus Atkinson (1-114) beat Alex Carey (63) with his second new ball to finally claim his first Ashes wicket.
Eight down, Australia’s lead at this stage was 82, but Starc’s steely resistance and the aggressive foiling of Borland (No. 21) at the other end gradually mired the exhausted England bowling attack.
Not only did the pair add 75 for the ninth wicket and bat over 27 overs together to help firmly seize the momentum, but day turned night as England stood in the middle with the second dig, ensuring Australian seamers were in top condition.
Crawley and Duckett briefly gave hope for improved batting with a 48-run opening partnership, but another debacle ensued on the night.
Ashes Series in Australia 2025-26
always UK and Ireland
1st Test (Perth): Australia beat England by 8 wickets 2nd Test (day/night): Thursday 4th December – Monday 8th December (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane 3rd Test: Wednesday 17th December Days of the week – Sunday 21 December (11:30pm) – Adelaide Oval 4th Test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11:30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground 5th Test: Sunday 4 January – Thursday 8 January (11:30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
