Australia Rip Through Hapless England, Inch Closer To Securing Ashes In Adelaide Test

A determined Australia dismantled England’s vulnerable batting lineup on Thursday, leaving the visitors on the verge of a third Test defeat and their Ashes campaign in jeopardy barring a miraculous turnaround. At the close of play on a scorching day two, England had crawled to 213/8, trailing by 158 runs after Australia added 45 to their overnight total of 326/8, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius.

Ben Stokes displayed resilience, remaining not out on 45 after enduring 151 balls in the intense heat, while Jofra Archer supported with 30 runs in a crucial Test for England, played on a pitch favourable for batting.

“He’s worn out as you can imagine,” said England batting coach Marcus Trescothick about Stokes. “He’s experiencing lots

of cramping and struggling to ingest fluids and carbohydrates, feeling quite sick. He’s pretty broken in there at the moment.”

The captain’s spirits were dampened by another questionable decision involving the Snicko technology. However, his valiant innings, which included a blow to the helmet from Mitchell Starc, helped England avoid the follow-on. Australia leads the five-match series 2-0 and will retain the urn if they win or draw after consecutive eight-wicket victories in Perth and Brisbane.

Opening batsmen Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley initially managed to fend off Starc and Pat Cummins. However, England’s hopes quickly faded as they lost three wickets for five runs in a rapid 15-ball spell, continuing a recurring pattern of collapse.

Cummins, returning for his first Test since July due to lower back issues, induced Crawley to edge a ball to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, dismissing him for nine. In a strategic move, Cummins introduced spin maestro Nathan Lyon, who had controversially been excluded from the second Test at the Gabba.

Lyon made an immediate impact, claiming two wickets in his opening over. Ollie Pope was caught by Josh Inglis at midwicket for three runs before Lyon bowled Duckett for 29.

“Nice to contribute and finally get into the series,” said Lyon, expressing his frustration at being dropped for the second Test. “I just had to bowl good balls and do the basics well,” Lyon added, noting that his 564th Test wicket moved him past Glenn McGrath to sixth on the all-time list. “There’s no secret to what I do, just bowl in the right areas. (For) our fast bowlers to get them eight down in 68 overs is a pretty big effort.”

Joe Root edged Scott Boland to Carey, but a review showed it did not carry. However, Root failed to capitalise, falling to Cummins in the third over after lunch, with Carey taking another edge. This marked the 12th occasion Cummins has dismissed Root, more than any other bowler.

With the Ashes at stake, Stokes showed grit, shrugging off a fierce bouncer from Starc that struck the back of his helmet. Yet, he kept losing partners, starting with Harry Brook, who was caught by Carey off Cameron Green. Jamie Smith departed for 22 when Carey claimed what Australia contended was a faint bottom edge off Cummins. Snicko indicated a minor spike despite a visible gap between bat and ball, leaving Stokes in disbelief as Smith walked off.

Carey’s century on day one at his home ground was overshadowed by a Snicko error when he was on 72 and given not out. England failed to overturn the decision on review, with replays showing a noise spike before the ball reached his bat. Carey later admitted he likely edged the delivery from Josh Tongue, and the technology operator acknowledged an error.

“In my view it’s not good enough,” Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg commented on the technology before play on Thursday. “We’re hoping to get some answers so we can be assured it won’t happen again.”

Scott Boland quickly dismissed Will Jacks (6) and Brydon Carse (0) before Archer dug in with Stokes to see out the day.

Earlier, Starc hit five quick fours before being bowled by Archer for 54. Lyon and Boland extended Australia’s lead with a 23-run last-wicket stand before Lyon was trapped lbw by Archer for nine, finishing with 5/53 as Australia reached 371.