Australia have not yet officially retained the Ashes, but it already seems a matter of “when” not “if” after England’s challenge wilted in the heat on day two in Adelaide.
Ben Stokes battled defiantly, facing 151 balls and batting for more than four hours for his unbeaten 45, but the captain found few allies on the burning deck as England were left staring at a hefty first-innings deficit amid ever-diminishing hopes of keeping the series alive until Christmas.
Stokes had asked for his players to “show a bit of dog” in their bid to make an improbable comeback from 2-0 down, but England were all too easily brought to heel by an Australia side with more than enough pedigree, despite the absence of Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood.
Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both made an immediate impact on their return to the XI – Cummins taking 3 for 54 in his first competitive outing since July’s tour of the Caribbean – as England were rounded up without much fuss on what looked like the perfect day for batting.
Their one minor victory came in keeping Mitchell Starc wicketless for the first time in the series; though, as he had started off proceedings by thumping a flurry of fours to bring up his second half-century in as many games, with Australia merrily adding 45 runs to their overnight 326 for 8, that could only be claimed as a partial success.
Australia have not yet officially retained the Ashes, but it already seems a matter of “when” not “if” after England’s challenge wilted in the heat on day two in Adelaide.
Ben Stokes battled defiantly, facing 151 balls and batting for more than four hours for his unbeaten 45, but the captain found few allies on the burning deck as England were left staring at a hefty first-innings deficit amid ever-diminishing hopes of keeping the series alive until Christmas.
Stokes had asked for his players to “show a bit of dog” in their bid to make an improbable comeback from 2-0 down, but England were all too easily brought to heel by an Australia side with more than enough pedigree, despite the absence of Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood.
Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both made an immediate impact on their return to the XI – Cummins taking 3 for 54 in his first competitive outing since July’s tour of the Caribbean – as England were rounded up without much fuss on what looked like the perfect day for batting.
Their one minor victory came in keeping Mitchell Starc wicketless for the first time in the series; though, as he had started off proceedings by thumping a flurry of fours to bring up his second half-century in as many games, with Australia merrily adding 45 runs to their overnight 326 for 8, that could only be claimed as a partial success.
There was more Snicko aggro, too, with both sides making their frustrations with the technology clear. England were aggrieved at Chris Gaffaney, the third umpire, giving Jamie Smith out caught behind off Cummins on the evidence from Real-Time Snickometer, following the controversy around Alex Carey’s non-dismissal on day one.
Smith had survived moments before in bizarre circumstances, with Gaffaney determining the ball had come off his helmet, despite TV pictures suggesting contact with the glove, as Australia argued (although whether the ball had carried to Usman Khawaja at slip or not was a different matter).
Joe Root was also reprieved, with Gaffaney unconvinced that an inside edge on to pad had reached Carey’s gloves on the full. None of which detracted from the fact that England had seemingly torpedoed their own hopes once again with another flaccid batting display as temperatures approached 40C in Adelaide.
A sloppy start with the ball, which led to a heated exchange between Stokes and Jofra Archer even as the latter was on his way to securing a first Test five-for since 2019, was compounded by England losing their top three in the space of 15 balls before lunch.
Root was then dismissed for the 12th time in Tests by Cummins – nobody has had more success against England’s key batter – and the innings fell away after a 56-run stand for the fifth wicket between Stokes and Harry Brook.
Archer did manage to stick around alongside Stokes to the close, putting on the second-longest partnership of the innings, though Australia’s lead was still above 150 and England faced the prospect of batting last on a surface that’s expected to break up in the heat.
The suspicion at the end of day one was that Australia had left plenty of runs on the table, despite Carey’s maiden Ashes hundred taking them beyond 300.
England needed to make good on the promise of runs, that anticipation only sharpened by Starc striking five boundaries in 12 balls as Australia’s tail wagged to good effect. Archer was leaky but removed both Starc and Lyon on the way to a third five-wicket haul against Australia.
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