England’s hopes in the second Test and the Ashes are in tatters after a dismal and depressing third day in Brisbane.
On a Saturday that will sit alongside England’s long history of misery at a ground where they have not won since 1986, Australia tortured the visitors with the bat then applied overwhelming pressure with the ball.
To the delight of a baying Gabba crowd and in the intense atmosphere of the Queensland night, England were left in disarray at 134-6 – still 43 behind. Defeat inside three days was only narrowly avoided.
Faced with a first-innings of deficit of 177, England started their second innings in the twilight against the pink ball with promise – the visitors were 45-0 from six overs at the dinner break.
As ever, England are incapable of batting well enough for long enough, and mistakes were inevitable.
Ben Duckett can feel unlucky to be bowled by a scuttler from Scott Boland, yet Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley both played feckless drives to be caught and bowled by Michael Neser.
Even Joe Root was culpable of edging Mitchell Starc, Harry Brook nicked Boland and Jamie Smith became the umpteenth England player to fall trying to drive Starc.
Ben Stokes has engineered unimaginable Ashes escapes in the past. This will not be one of them and his team is crumbling around him. The captain remains unbeaten, with him and Will Jacks both on four.
Australia were earlier led by 77 from Starc – the pace bowler adding runs to his stellar series with the ball – to keep England in the field for almost two sessions and rack up 511.
It was a slow roast in the Brisbane sunshine and the England collapse that followed was utterly predictable.
England staring down the barrel
Only five days into this series, England are at a point of no return. There would surely be no way back from 2-0 down, especially for a team without a win in this country for almost 15 years.
The intense frustration at England’s predicament is it is largely self-inflicted. They have been wasteful with the bat, wayward with the ball and have dropped catches.
This is not a great Australia team and the hosts are missing a number of key players. Still, the hosts are giving England a lesson in how to win Test matches. Their batting was ruthless, their bowling relentless and they have caught everything.
No team has made as many as England’s 334 in the first innings of a day-night Test and lost, yet Australia put England’s effort into context.
The pitch is showing signs of uneven bounce and there are showers forecast for Sunday night. England will not make the Test last long enough to use either to their advantage.
Sunday will be a case of when, rather than if, Australia will win this match. The same can be said for the series and the Ashes. (BBC)
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