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- AUS vs ENG Highlights, 3rd Ashes Test Day 5: Australia win by 82 runs to retain the Ashes
AUS vs ENG Highlights, 3rd Ashes Test Day 5: Australia win by 82 runs to retain the Ashes
Chasing an imposing 435, England were always up against history. No side in Test cricket has ever successfully chased more than 418 in the fourth innings. Despite their aggressive “Bazball” style, England could only reach 352, highlighting the challenges of sustaining high-risk, high-reward cricket against a disciplined Australian attack. Their collapse over three Tests is the joint second-quickest in more than a century, underlining the hosts’ dominance.
Australia captain Pat Cummins praised his team’s effort, describing the win as the product of a grind and a resilient approach over the past two months. Even with Nathan Lyon hobbling off with a hamstring injury and ruled out for the remainder of the series, the Australian bowlers, particularly Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, ensured the final wickets fell decisively.
For England, Ben Stokes described the result as deeply disappointing but recognised the positives in the team’s fight and intent. Will Jacks top-scored with 47, while Jamie Smith’s 60 included audacious shots, earning cheers from Barmy Army fans singing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Nevertheless, Starc’s pace and Labuschagne’s spectacular catch ended England’s challenge.
The result continues England’s struggles Down Under, extending their winless streak to 18 Tests since 2010-11, with past series yielding lopsided results of 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0. With two Tests still to play in Melbourne and Sydney, the visitors face the challenge of regrouping after a humbling Adelaide defeat. Australia, by contrast, maintain control of the Ashes and will look to consolidate their dominance in the remaining matches, showcasing depth, resilience, and strategic precision throughout the series.
- Zak Crawley 56 (119)
- Harry Brook 15 (41)
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Tossed up on middle and leg, this one turns well down leg and Alex Carey does well to pouch it.
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, Tossed up on a shorter length and on the pads, nurdled away past short leg for a single by Brook.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Tossed up, full and around off, reverse-swept through the point region for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Just drags the length back a touch and bowls it on off, Crawley rocks back and punches it away through the cover region and picks up a couple of easy runs.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Tossed up on the stumps, Crawley blocks it off.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, A polite appeal for caught behind but the umpire shakes his head. Flighted ball on middle, this one turns down the leg side, Crawley looks to push at it but the ball goes past the inside edge and again, it is a sharp take from Carey behind the stumps.
- Harry Brook 14 (40)
- Zak Crawley 53 (114)
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Nagging length on off and middle, slides straight on, Brook solidly blocks it off.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Hits the hard length again and bowls it outside off, Brook watches it well and taps it in front of the point region.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, On a hard length now and over middle, Brook tucks it away into the leg side.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Good length, in line with the stumps, blocked straight down the pitch by Brook.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Swift glovework from Alex Carey and the third umpire will have to have a look at this. Full and slanting down the leg side, Brook leans on to flick but misses and Carey whips off the bails in a flash. However, replays show that Brook never got his back leg off the ground and he is safe.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, FOUR! Harry Brook was itching to get a boundary away, and he finally gets a loose ball. Banged in a bit shorter and outside off, Brook forces it up and over the mid-wicket region and the ball trickles away into the fence.
- Zak Crawley 53 (114)
- Harry Brook 10 (34)
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Dragged length on off, turns back in but stays a fraction low. Crawley presses back and jams it out in front of mid-wicket.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Floated up on off, turning back in, this is nudged away into the leg side by Zak.
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, Nice and full again, on off, reverse-swept away just in front of square on the off side for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, Tossed up at the stumps, Brook advances and pushes it back to the bowler. Lyon keeps him on his toes by firing the ball back at him.
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, Flighted ball outside off, Harry Brook sets up fr the reverse sweep and nails it to the left of deep backward point. Scott Boland runs around and slides in to save a couple of runs for his side.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Bowled full and flat, just outside off, Zak Crawley plays the reverse sweep through backward point and gets a single.
- Harry Brook 7 (31)
- Zak Crawley 52 (111)
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Wider on the crease, a touch fuller and angled into the pads, Brook gets inside the line to flick but the ball brushes the pads and rolls behind to the keeper. Another maiden.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, That could have turned out really bad for Harry Brook and England. Brook premeditates and shuffles across the off stump but Boland sees him doing that and fires it full at the stumps. Brook just about manages to get the toe of the bat on it and nudges it to square leg. He even sets off for the single but has to quickly turn back.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Good length again, around off, angling it in, Brook prods halfway and defends it out.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Just back of a length, in and around off, Brook plays it late and with an angled bat, just to the left of Cameron Green at gully.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Pitches the ball fuller and in the channel around off, Brook opts to stay back in his crease and blocks it off.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Good-length delivery, in line with the off and middle stump, Brook hangs back and pushes it across into the on side.
Out comes the hammer for Boland to flatten out the landing area. Good to continue.
- Zak Crawley 52 (111)
- Harry Brook 7 (25)
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Tossed up, nice and full around off, Crawley leans on to defend. A maiden for Lyon!
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Floated up on a nagging length, tentatively played towards mid on.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Oh, that could have easily gone to hand. Drags the length back a touch and gets the ball to stick in the deck. Zak Crawley is caught on the crease and awkwardly flicks it uppishly towards mid-wicket.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Pushed through flatter and on off stump, Crawley presses back to defend.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Nicely tossed up, outside off, Zak Crawley looks to sweep but is beaten by the extra bounce and gets a thud on the pads.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Flighted up, on the rough outside the right-hander's off stump, Crawley leans on to defend.
- Harry Brook 7 (25)
- Zak Crawley 52 (105)
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Touch full and on middle, clipped away to mid-wicket where Khawaja stops it.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, A lengthy appeal for LBW, but not given. Seemed to be going down leg with Carey's position behind the stumps. Boland is in chat with Cummins, but no one seems convinced enough and the timer runs out. Fires one on the leg stump line on a good length. Harry Brook is stuck on the crease and tries to work that across, but gets beaten on the inside edge and wears on the front pad. Hawk Eye shows that it would have missed the leg stump by a fair bit.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Fuller and straighter, around off. Crisply driven off the front foot to extra cover. Inglis with a diving stop to his right.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Length-delivery, outside off, Crawley steers it off the back foot to deep backward point for a single.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Short of a length, on middle, Harry Brook pulls it away to deep square leg for a single.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Back of a length, outside off, dabbed towards gully.
- Harry Brook 6 (20)
- Zak Crawley 51 (104)
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, Turns in from a length, explodes off the pitch. Brook steers off the back foot to deep square leg for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Full and outside off, reverse sweeps it to deep point for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, An off break that turns square with bounce on a length with a puff of dust. Left alone as it goes down leg.
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, Full and on off, Brook shimmies down the track and drives it to long off for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Harry Brook, A big appeal for LBW, but not given. Carey is pre-occupied with what happened behind the stumps. Cummins jogs towards the bowler and has a chat. But they don't review. Height might be the factor. Sharp turn back in from off, on a good length. Harry Brook goes on the back foot and tries to nudge it across, but seems to have missed on the inside edge and wears on the front pad. Oh, UltraEdge shows that there was an inside edge involved.
After 4 good overs from Travis Head, Nathan Lyon replaces him from this end.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, FIFTY FOR ZAK CRAWLEY! His 21st in Test cricket. This has been a controlled one from him. A half volley on off, driven down the ground to long off for three runs.
- Harry Brook 4 (17)
- Zak Crawley 47 (101)
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Stump-to-stump on a fuller length. Brook blocks it off the crease to mid on.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Nips in from a length, on middle. Harry Brook tucks it across to short mid-wicket.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, On a tight line and length, short on off, Brook gets right behind the line and drops it down the pitch.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Snaps his wrist and bangs it short, slanting into the batter. Brook nudges it to square leg off the back foot.
Scott Boland to Harry Brook, Hammered on a length, on off, Brook weighs back and blocks it down the surface.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, With Carey standing up to the wickets, Boland lands it on a length, around off, Crawley heaves it to the left of deep mid-wicket for a single.
England’s fight on Day 5 lasted into the second session before Scott Boland claimed the final wicket, completing the Australian victory. Chasing a daunting 435, England fell short at 352, with no team in Test history having chased more than 418 in the fourth innings. Their collapse in just 11 days marked the joint second-quickest series defeat in over a century, exposing the limits of England’s aggressive “Bazball” approach.
Australia captain Pat Cummins lauded his team’s effort, highlighting the grind and resilience that characterised the series. Despite losing Nathan Lyon to a hamstring injury during the match, the hosts remained dominant, with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland taking key wickets to seal the win.
England captain Ben Stokes acknowledged the disappointment but found positives in the team’s improved fight and intent. Will Jacks top-scored with 47, while Jamie Smith made 60 before falling to Starc. The defeat extended England’s winless run in Australia to 18 Tests, a stretch dating back to 2010-11.
The match also showcased moments of crowd fervour, with Barmy Army fans singing Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” as England tried to mount a comeback. Despite these flashes of resistance, Australia’s superior bowling and disciplined approach ensured the urn remained Down Under, leaving England to regroup for the remaining two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
Match Statistics
Venue
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
