On the final day of the third Test in Adelaide, Australia’s 82-run victory sealed England’s disastrous Ashes series defeat.
After comfortable wins in Perth and Brisbane, the result gave Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series after just 11 days of cricket, matching the shortest period decided by an Ashes in the last 100 years.
England opened with 207 wins and 6 losses on Sunday, but Jamie Smith (60 points), Will Jacks (47 points) and Brydon Kearse (missed 38 games) showed good performance, giving manager Ben Stokes hope. Mitchell Starc (3-62) pushed Australia to the brink of victory before manager Scott Boland got rid of Josh Tan and pushed the tourists away with 352 points as they chased a record 435 wins.
Ben Stokes depressed after England’s series defeat confirmed
The overwhelming nature of Australia’s victory will inevitably raise questions about the future of Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as head coach, with England’s attacking ‘buzz ball’ approach faltering under the harshest scrutiny.
“That dream that brought us here is now over. Obviously it’s incredibly disappointing,” Stokes said. “Obviously everyone is hurting and pretty emotional, but we have two games left and we need to switch our focus to that now.
“We came here with a goal and we didn’t achieve it. It hurts and it sucks, but we’re not going to quit.”
Meanwhile, manager McCullum accepted responsibility for England’s failure to properly prepare for the Ashes, saying, “Maybe we could have taken a bigger lead in the first game, and maybe we couldn’t have taken a bigger lead in the second game.” You raise your hand and say you didn’t get it right because we lost 3-0. ”
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Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain reflect on the fifth day of the Ashes, which ended with Australia winning by 82 points and England.
“Worst Australian team in 15 years?” We want 5-0
Australia had the upper hand despite having to deal with key absences throughout the series. Captain Pat Cummins missed the first two Tests through injury, returning only for the third Test, fellow quick Josh Hazlewood did not feature, and Steve Smith was absent due to illness in Adelaide after hosting Perth and Brisbane.
Australia had to overcome another blow on the final morning when spinner Nathan Ryan limped off with a hamstring injury during a diving stop in the outfield, threatening to rule him out for the rest of the series.
Australia, who took back the Ashes from England in 2017, have now held the famous urn for the fourth time in a row, drawing twice in away series and winning twice at home.
“It feels great,” Cummins said. “It’s a great series and something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Australian captain Pat Cummins said he was ‘proud’ of his team.
“One of the things I’m most proud of about this group is that things never go perfectly, things always happen, but this group is on a roll.
“I missed the first few games, but Steve[Smith]stepped in right away and things went smoothly. Nathan Ryan did a hamstring today, and the players just say, ‘Okay, that’s what happened, but let’s try.’ I think that’s one of the big reasons we’ve been successful the last few years.”
Marnus Labuschagne, who made a stunning catch to hasten the end of England’s rally on the final day, was quick to respond to Stuart Broad’s pre-series description of England as the worst hosts to face the Ashes in Australia since winning the 2010-11 series Down Under.
“I have to say we’re being called the worst Australian team in 15 years…I’m happy to be sitting where we are with 3 wins and 0 losses,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“The job is not done yet. We want to make sure we win 5-0 and really get that pot.”
England away drought continues
Defeat in Adelaide means England are without a win in 18 Ashes Tests away from home, with home teams winning 16 since the last time the tourists won on Australian soil in 2011.
England were on the back foot on the second day at Adelaide Oval after showing some excellent batting and giving up an lead of 85 runs in the first innings.
On the final day, Marnus Labuschagne eliminated the Jacks with a spectacular catch.
Led by a superb 170 from Travis Head and a 72 from first-time centurion Alex Carey, Australia posted a two-innings total of 349, leaving the home team in just over five sessions to defeat an England team who have only crossed 300 once in their previous five tours.
England fought to 177 for 3 to keep alive their hopes of a miracle in the Christmas Test, but spinner Lyon took three quick wickets on Saturday night and almost ended the contest with a loss of just 17 runs.
Australia, who won their last two home Ashes series 4-0, resume their bid for their first whitewash since 2013-14 before the fourth Test begins in Melbourne on Boxing Day and draws to a close in Sydney from January 4-8.
“We’re not going to just go down and continue this series. We’re going to leave absolutely everything on the field,” Stokes said.
“We have guys who are here to watch the last two games. We still have a lot to play for.”
How Australia decided to win in Adelaide
Jamie Smith gives England hope with 60 points on the counterattack
Lyon’s injury on Sunday morning occurred just before Australia received the new ball, and it was always likely that Starc and Cummins would be the ones to score the finish at that point.
Smith initially had a brilliant counter-attack, hitting four boundaries from as many balls in two overs, but he went for one big shot too many as Starc’s attempted ball to the leg side went straight up and caught by Cummins.
Shortly after lunch, another 50 stand between Jacks and Kaas took the required runs below 100, but just as Australia’s nerves were beginning to rise, Marnus Labuschagne took the wicket of Stark Jacks with his second spectacular slip catch of the match.
Mitchell Starc celebrates taking wicket of Will Jacks
Jofra Archer (3) pulled out Jake Weatherald on the point boundary, giving Starc his third wicket after tormenting England in the first two Tests and putting Australia on the brink of victory.
The final red card deservedly went to Boland (1-35), who continued to put England under constant pressure until the final day, as he had done for almost the entire series since struggling in the first innings in Perth.
It was another fitting slip catch from Labuschagne that ended the match, the edge of the tongue sparking wild celebrations for the home side.
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