- News
- Sports News
- Cricket News
- 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 to Zak Crawley, Back of a length and on off, Zak Crawley stays back as Alex Carey is up to the stumps. He pats it down towards short cover.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Touch fuller and on middle, Zak Crawley clips it to mid-wicket.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Good length and on off, Joe Root guides it past point for a single.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, BEAUTY! Scott Boland lands this on a good length and on off, angles in, and then shapes away after hitting the deck. Joe Root shuffles across to play at it but gets squared up as the ball zips past the outside edge. Has a smile on his face, but that was really close.
The plan is clear from Root and Crawley. They are not going let Lyon settle by sweeping and reverse sweeping. Australia won't mind that as there is just enough turn and bounce off the rough patches, and one odd might just nick behind or go off the top edge. Sweeping is always a double-edged sword on a deteriorating surface. It's all about how these two execute their shots.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Short of a length and on off, Joe Root stays back and dabs it towards point.
- Zak Crawley 16 (53)
- Joe Root 19 (26)
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Slows it up, full and on middle, Zak Crawley blocks it down the pitch.
Nathan Lyon to Joe Root, Pushed through quicker, full and on off, turns in. Joe Root gets down and across to paddle it but misses as it goes off his pads towars short fine. A leg bye taken.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Flatter, full and on off, Zak Crawley swipes it away to deep mid-wicket for another run.
Nathan Lyon to Joe Root, Tossed up, full and on off, Joe Root gets down and sweeps it to deep square leg for a run.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Flighted, full and on middle, Zak Crawley tucks it through square leg for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Floated, full and on middle, turns in. Zak Crawley goes down across to paddle it away. It bounces a bit extra and takes the gloves before rolling towards fine leg. Two taken.
- Joe Root 18 (24)
- Zak Crawley 12 (49)
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Short of a length and on off, Joe Root dabs it down to gully.
Boland loses his run-up just when he was about to release the ball. Walks back to reload.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Hard length and on off, holds its line. Joe Root takes a couple of steps forward and across to steer it to point.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Fuller and on middle, Zak Crawley clips it wide of mid on, where Pat Cummins slides to his right to make a good stop. They cross.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Back of a length and on middle, Zak Crawley keeps it out on the deck.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Hard length and on off, Zak Crawley pats it on the pitch and the bounce takes it over the bowler towards mid off.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Good length and on off, nips back in a bit, Zak Crawley watches it through and leaves it alone.
- Joe Root 18 (22)
- Zak Crawley 11 (45)
Nathan Lyon to Joe Root, FOUR! The other way this time! Nathan Lyon gives this one some more air, full and on off. Joe Root goes down again, changes his grip early, and plays the reverse sweep to perfection to the deep third fence for another boundary. 9 runs off Lyon's first over.
Nathan Lyon to Joe Root, FOUR! Nice shot! Flighted, full and on middle and leg. Joe Root gets down on one knee and absolutely nails the sweep to the deep square leg fence for a boundary.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Flatter, full and on middle, Zak Crawley goes down and sweeps it to deep square leg for a single.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Another appeal, but turned down! Slows it up, full and on middle, turns in sharply. Zak Crawley misses his flick and it goes off his pads to the keeper. Lyon already asking a few tough questions here.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, A shout for a bat pad, but not given! Floated, full and on middle, turns in. Zak Crawley strides out to defend but misses. It lobs up off his pads to the right of short leg, where Travis Head dives and takes a one-handed catch.
Nathan Lyon to Zak Crawley, Hmm... showing intent right away! Tossed up, full and on middle, Zak Crawley reverse sweeps it nicely but straight to point.
Time for spin now. Here's Nathan Lyon. He replaces Pat Cummins. Several footmarks to exploit for Garry.
- Zak Crawley 10 (41)
- Joe Root 10 (20)
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Pitched up and on middle, Zak Crawley flicks it through square leg for a run.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Hard length and on off, angling in, Zak Crawley steps across and clips it to mid-wicket.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Back of a length and on off, nips back in a bit, Zak Crawley watches it through and leaves it alone.
Scott Boland to Zak Crawley, Touch fuller and on off, Zak Crawley steers it towards point. Josh Inglis shows a bit of his football skills and juggles the ball. The crowd enjoyed it.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, On a length and on off, Joe Root guides it off the outer half of the bat wide of gully. Cameron Green dives to his right but fails to stop it. However, Nathan Lyon at point dives to his left to stop it. A single taken. Also, 50 up for England,
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Good length and around off, Joe Root presses forward and blocks it out towards short cover.
DRINKS! Australia have been fantastic with the ball in this first hour or so. They have kept tight lines and lengths and made run-scoring very difficult. Skipper has led from the front and got his reward as well, getting rid of Ollie Pope, but much credit goes to Marnus Labuschagne for an incredible catch. It looks like the English are stuck in two minds at the moment. They are neither fully going after it, but are also finding it tough to keep out the Aussie bowlers. A lot will depend on Joe Root and how he plays here as the Ashes is on the line for them.
- Zak Crawley 9 (37)
- Joe Root 9 (18)
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Full and at 135.1 kph, on off. Zak Crawley lunges forward and blocks it solidly.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Zips through the deck, outside off, left alone by Crawley.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, A pearler! Lands it outside off, on a fuller length, nips away a fraction across the bat face and beats Zak on his forward defence. This has been some spell from Cummins.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Short of a good length, on off and middle, Joe Root hops on the toes and nudges it with soft hands to deep backward square leg. Pushes hard for the first one but Beau Webster charges in off the ropes and prevents the second run.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Zeroing in on off, full in length. Joe leans on and defends it to the off side. Cummins has overstepped here and it is called a No Ball.
Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Back of a length, on off, Root blocks down the pitch.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Full and around off, Zak shuffles outside off and clips it past mid-wicket for a single.
- Joe Root 8 (15)
- Zak Crawley 8 (33)
Scott Boland to Joe Root, EDGED, DOES NOT CARRY! Almost a similar delivery to which Pope was dismissed. Good-length delivery, straightening up on off. Joe Root plays from the crease and goes with soft hands. Gets a thick outside edge, but it goes on the bounce to Khawaja at first slip and deflects away.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Back of a length, outside off, nudged off the back foot by Root, but he cannot get past Beau Webster's big buckets.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, On a hard length, at the pads, worked through square leg for a couple.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Folds back in from the fourth stump, Root defends it to point.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Length-delivery, outside off, dabbed with soft hands to gully.
Scott Boland to Joe Root, Beats the bat immediately! Root walks forward to negate any sort of movement on a good length. It nips away just enough to beat Root on his back foot defence, squaring him up.
Scott Boland comes into the attack for the first time in this innings.
- Zak Crawley 8 (33)
- Joe Root 6 (9)
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Hits the deck hard, outside off, no shot offered.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Excellent commitment in the field! Short ball, on top of off. Crawley stands tall and pulls it to the left of deep mid-wicket. Jake Weatherald dives across and fumbles a bit, but he is quick to recover. Two taken. England need 391 runs now.
Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Cummins bowls from a wider angle and slants it into Crawley on a good length. The English opener defends it watchfully to mid on.
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
