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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.
Scott Boland (5-1-6-0) comes into the attack now. Also, Alex Carey is standing up to the stumps.
- Zak Crawley 46 (100)
- Harry Brook 4 (12)
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, On a fuller length, around off, Zak Crawley works it straight down the ground and calls for two straightaway. The ball slows down in the outfield and Pat Cummins hunts it down from extra cover. Three taken. England need 313 runs, with 7 wickets in hand.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, Full and outside off. Brook drives it along the ground to deep cover for a single.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, Another overpitched delivery, on off, drilled to the right of the bowler. Head stops it on his follow-through.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, A bit too full, on off, Brook plays off the back foot and bunts under his bat.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, Aims the sticks, on a fuller length, Harry nudges it off the back foot to forward short leg.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, Flat and full, outside off, Harry shimmies down a bit and pushes it back to Head.
- Zak Crawley 43 (99)
- Harry Brook 3 (7)
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, A little bit of nip into the batter from a length, Zak Crawley gets behind the line and watchfully keeps it out.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Nice and full, around off, Crawley covers the line and blocks it.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, FOUR! Clubbed! On a back of a length, outside off. Zak Crawley stands tall and pulls it across to deep mid-wicket for a boundary. That has been slapped off the middle. Zak moves to 43!
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Full and straight on the fourth, Zak Crawley is solid in defence.
Pat Cummins to Harry Brook, In-between length, outside off, Brook steers it by opening the bat face and gets a single at deep backward point.
Pat Cummins to Harry Brook, In the channel, on a length, Harry presses forward and blocks it out.
- Zak Crawley 39 (95)
- Harry Brook 2 (5)
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, At 88.1 kph, full and on off. Zak Crawley takes a giant stride forward and smothers the spin.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, He punches the short ball to deep cover for a single.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, That one stays low, on a length, on middle. Harry Brook hangs deep in the crease and plays it early as the ball holds up a bit and chips it on the bounce to Head.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Tossed up fuller, outside off, Zak Crawley gets on the front foot and drives it to sweeper cover for a single.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Fired in at the pads, on a length. Nudged off the back foot to backward square leg.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, Short and outside off. Harry backs away and steers it to deep backward point for a single. Brook is off the mark with Nelson on the board.
- Zak Crawley 38 (92)
- Harry Brook 0 (2)
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, A real tempter, full and outside off, Zak Crawley resists and ignores.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Fires it full and on off, Zak Crawley presses forward and drives it to mid off, beating Cummins' dive to his left on the follow-through.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, A searing bumper on the leg stump line. Zak sways inside the firing line and lets it fly back to the keeper.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Short of a good length, around off, Zak Crawley hops and dabs it into the off side.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Slows it up, on a fuller length, Crawley flicks it with soft hands to widish mid-wicket. Zak sniffs a single, but Brook sends him back as Head misses his shy at the striker's end.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Pitched full and around off, Zak prods forward and drives it dead straight as the ball smashes into the stumps at the non-striker's end.
- Harry Brook 0 (2)
- Zak Crawley 38 (86)
Travis Head to Harry Brook, On a length, on the stumps, spinning in. Brook steers it to the leg side, in front of square.
Travis Head to Harry Brook, Full and flat, on off. A nice forward lunge as Brook blocks it back to the bowler.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Full and on the stumps, Crawley plays with the spin and works it to long on for a single.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Pushed full and on middle, eased back to the bowler.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Full and just outside off, Crawley defends off the front foot. It goes off the outer half to point.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Another one, almost! Good length ball, gripping and turning sharply back from outside off. Crawley gets forward to defend, but the inside edge balloons to the right of short leg and drops safely.
Harry Brook is the next man in.
- Joe Root 39 (63)
- Zak Crawley 37 (82)
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, OUT! EDGED AND GONE! The skipper strikes yet again and provides a massive breakthrough for Australia. For the 13th time in Test cricket, Cummins has dismissed Root. On a hard length, in the channel on off. Seams in and then nips away off the pitch. Root just cannot resist himself from poking at it and gets a thin outside edge behind to the keeper. Carey makes no mistake with a simple gather behind. Joe Root is livid with himself and punches the bat in frustration, letting out a huge grunt. The English premier batter departs for a well-constructed 39 (63). The 78-run partnership is broken and England are 109/3, needing 326 runs.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Fuller one, around off, Root strides across on the front foot and drives it straight to the point fielder.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Hits the hard length, on middle. Root defends it back to the bowler.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Back of a length, around off, knocked off the back foot to extra cover.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Slams the deck hard, on top of off. Root walks across and blocks it off.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Aims the stumps, full in length. Root blocks it straight back from the crease.
Pat Cummins to share the attack.
- Joe Root 39 (57)
- Zak Crawley 37 (82)
Travis Head to Joe Root, Length ball, nudged across to square leg for a single.
Travis Head to Joe Root, Head lands it on the rough outside off and gets a sharp turn into the batter. Root leans forward and pads it away. A lengthy appeal for LBW, but the umpire, Ahsan Raza, is unmoved. Head is pleading, but nothing doing. Cummins has a chat with the keeper and Head and goes upstairs. Quite unusual from Root as he didn't offer any shot. Ball Tracking saves him as the ball is crashing on the off pole on the umpire's call. Just nearly. The on-field decision is upheld. The review stays for Australia, and so does Root for England.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Full and outside off, Crawley leans on and drives it through extra cover for a single.
Travis Head to Zak Crawley, Spins in from a length, on middle. Zak nudges it off the back foot to mid on.
Travis Head to Joe Root, Tossed up on a length, outside off, Root cuts it late to backward point for a single.
Travis Head to Joe Root, Starts with a drag-downer, on middle. Root backs away and punches it to mid on.
We are back for the third and final session! Australian players are in a huddle, where Pat Cummins is giving them a pep talk before they spread out and take the field. The next two hours or so will define this Ashes. Joe Root and Zak Crawley are the two batters for England. A surprising move from the Aussie skipper as he has handed the ball to Travis Head, but the Adelaide crowd loves it as he is their local lad. Let's go...
... DAY 4, SESSION 3 ...
With the front line of Australian bowling out of attack, the scorecard was ticking along nicely with both churning out runs at a fair clip. They played spin really well and have added 75 runs together now. But Australia will be confident that a wicket or two early in the final session could put them right back in control. They are still ahead in this Test, but wouldn't want to give England an inch. 4 more sessions to go and a very important last couple of hours of the day coming up, folks. A lot hinges on which way the final session goes. Play resumes at 4.30 am GMT. Stay tuned.
Crawley played good balls on merit without rushing into anything rash. Root anchored the other end, absorbing everything the Australian seamers hurled at him as they refused to dish out any easy runs. Root switched tactics when Lyon came on though. He and Crawley then went after the spinner with intent, pulling out sweeps and reverse sweeps from the arsenal. The message was clear to not let Lyon settle into a rhythm or exploit those rough areas developing around the sticks.
England were in all sorts of trouble starting the session, with one down on just 4 runs. They needed stability and a bit of patience against some relentless new-ball bowling from Cummins and Starc. Pope looked set before his familiar demons returned, edging one through to Labuschagne, who plucked a sensational one-handed stunner. While that catch deserves all the applause, Cummins earned equal billing for threading the needle around off stump and beating the bat repeatedly through a marathon spell.
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
