AUS vs ENG Highlights, 3rd Ashes Test Day 5: Australia win by 82 runs to retain the Ashes
THE TIMES OF INDIA | Dec 21, 2025, 10:23:18 IST
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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 sealed the Ashes in emphatic fashion, defeating England by 82 runs in the third Test at Adelaide Oval. The visitors, needing a win to keep the series alive after heavy losses in Perth and Brisbane, showed glimpses of fight on the final day, but their resistance lasted only into the second session. Scott Boland claimed the final wicket of Josh Tongue, ensuring that the Ashes remained in Australian hands after just 11 days of cricket.

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.
07:50 (IST) Dec 20
Score after 4 overs 16 - 1
Runs Scored: 0
001400
  • Ollie Pope 7 (10)
  • Zak Crawley 1 (12)
Pat Cummins2-0-10-1
0
Overs3.6
Score16 - 1

Pat Cummins to Ollie Pope, BEAUTY! Nearly draws the edge! Hones in on a fuller length, on the fifth stump line, getting it to just straighten up. Ollie Pope is sucked onto the front foot and tries to block but gets beaten on the outside edge by a kitten-whisker. 

07:49 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs3.5
Score16 - 1

Pat Cummins to Ollie Pope, Just outside off, slightly short, Pope covers the line and decides to leave. 

07:48 (IST) Dec 20
4
Overs3.4
Score16 - 1

Pat Cummins to Ollie Pope, EDGED, FOUR! Inglis was in the game at third slip. Cuts away from a fuller length, around off. Ollie Pope is drawn forward and pushes at it with hard hands. It goes off the outside edge and shoots flat, between gully and the diving Inglis at third slip before running to the fence behind.

07:47 (IST) Dec 20
1
Overs3.3
Score12 - 1

Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, And Crawley's away! Hard length, angling in at the pads. Crawley rides the bounce and tucks it wide of mid-wicket for a quick single.

07:47 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs3.2
Score11 - 1

Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Beauty! Just around the off stump, on a length. Zak covers the stumps and makes a tight leave. 

07:46 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs3.1
Score11 - 1

Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Nip and bounce into the batter, on a good length, on off. Zak Crawley drags the bat in front and defends it off the inner half to the leg side.

07:46 (IST) Dec 20

Who bowls now? It will be the skipper Pat Cummins.

07:45 (IST) Dec 20
Score after 3 overs 11 - 1
Runs Scored: 0
4(4B)20000
  • Ollie Pope 3 (7)
  • Zak Crawley 0 (9)
Mitchell Starc2-1-2-0
0
Overs2.6
Score11 - 1

Mitchell Starc to Ollie Pope, Slants across off on a good length. Left alone by Pope. 

07:44 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs2.5
Score11 - 1

Mitchell Starc to Ollie Pope, Fuller ball, on the leg stump line. Pope tries to flick, but closes the bat face a bit early. The leading edge is found and the ball rolls towards point. 

07:44 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs2.4
Score11 - 1

Mitchell Starc to Ollie Pope, On a hard length, at 141.3 kph, extra bounce outside off. Ollie Pope defends it off the front foot and it goes off the splice to backward point. Could have gone anywhere. 

07:43 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs2.3
Score11 - 1

Mitchell Starc to Ollie Pope, Wide across the off stump, on a good length. Pope offers no shot. 

07:42 (IST) Dec 20
2
Overs2.2
Score11 - 1

Mitchell Starc to Ollie Pope, Much fuller, swinging in from middle. Pope flicks off the pads to deep mid-wicket for a couple of runs. 

07:41 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs2.1
Score9 - 1

Mitchell Starc to Ollie Pope, FOUR BYES! Oh, hello? That has taken off from the runway like a flight. Short from Starc, angling across off. Ollie Pope hangs his bat in the air and leaves. The ball flies over Carey, who stretches his hands over his head and leaps to grab, but parries it off the gloves behind to the ropes. 

07:40 (IST) Dec 20

We are back for the post-Lunch session! The Australian players spread out from the huddle and take up their respective field positions. Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley will resume batting for England and need to be at their absolute best to give the visitors any chance in this game. Mitchell Starc to start proceedings with the ball. Here we go...

07:40 (IST) Dec 20

... DAY 4, SESSION 2 ...

07:13 (IST) Dec 20

Everyone knew England would take the aggressive route in pursuit of this daunting target, but first, the openers had to survive a tricky 10-minute passage until Lunch. As we have seen throughout this Ashes, pressure moments have often undone them, and it happened again here. Ben Duckett got off the mark in style, whipping Pat Cummins through mid-wicket for a boundary, but the Aussie skipper hit back immediately, finding his edge next ball to ensure Australia had the final say in the session. Zak Crawley and Cummins then engaged in a brief game of cat and mouse, and with that, the stage is set for a fascinating post-Lunch session. Join us at 2.10 am GMT for all the action.

07:09 (IST) Dec 20

The overnight batters, Travis Head and Alex Carey, came out with a clear intent to push the lead further, doing so without taking undue risks, while England were not particularly aggressive in their approach either. Head cruised past 150 but was the first to fall, undone by a well-set short-ball plan from Josh Tongue. Carey followed soon after, with Ben Stokes pulling off a masterstroke by placing a leg slip. With both set batters dismissed, the rest of the Australian lineup could not offer much resistance, as Tongue, Carse, and Jofra Archer wrapped up the tail swiftly.

07:04 (IST) Dec 20

A fighting session from England, but they remain well behind in the game. To keep themselves in the contest, they needed to wrap up Australia quickly, and they did just that by taking the last six wickets for only 78 runs. However, in the bigger picture, the target staring them down was still a daunting 435. Then came the hammer blow, as Ben Duckett could not survive a couple of overs at the crease, and the Aussies will feel that they may not need a final day here.

07:01 (IST) Dec 20
Score after 2 overs 5 - 1
Runs Scored: 0
40(W)1000
  • Zak Crawley 0 (9)
  • Ollie Pope 1 (1)
Pat Cummins1-0-5-1
0
Overs1.6
Score5 - 1

Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, BEAUTY! Cummins bangs it on a good length, just around off. Zak Crawley is squared up on the back foot, tries to block it out, but the ball straightens up and zips past the outside edge. And that will be LUNCH on Day 4!

06:59 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs1.5
Score5 - 1

Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, In the channel of off, on a length, Zak blocks it back to the bowler. He does some gardening to delay. And Cummins now joins in cheekily and adjusts his shoelaces. It's all happening out there, and the crowd is going wild as Crawley backs away when Cummins is about to deliver the final ball. 

06:59 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs1.4
Score5 - 1

Pat Cummins to Zak Crawley, Short and on top of middle, Zak Crawley gets right behind it and bunts it down the strip.

06:58 (IST) Dec 20
1
Overs1.3
Score5 - 1

Pat Cummins to Ollie Pope, Length ball, outside off, nipping away, driven on the up through cover and mid off for a single. Pope is off the mark.

06:57 (IST) Dec 20

Ollie Pope walks out to bat at number 3.

06:56 (IST) Dec 20
W
Overs1.2
Score4 - 1

Pat Cummins to Ben Duckett, OUT! EDGED AND TAKEN SAFELY! Brilliant comeback from Cummins. Proper Test match bowling. England's vulnerability against the new ball and their opening partnership struggles continue. The Aussie skipper cranks it up and lands it on a good length, wide outside off. It straightens just enough from the pitch and tempts the southpaw to poke at it. Duckett loosely hangs his bat away from his body with no footwork and gets a thick outside edge. It flies towards Marnus Labuschagne at second slip, who makes no mistake with a regulation grab. A nothing shot, really. Could have easily left alone. But that's what lack of confidence does to you. Ben Duckett goes for 4 (2) and England are 4/1, chasing 435 runs. 

06:55 (IST) Dec 20
4
Overs1.1
Score4 - 0

Pat Cummins to Ben Duckett, FOUR! Off the mark straightaway! The ball has travelled to the ropes in no time. Cummins begins from around the stumps and lands it full, on middle, angling back in. Ben Duckett whips off the front foot through mid-wicket for a boundary. 

06:55 (IST) Dec 20

Pat Cummins to share the attack.

06:54 (IST) Dec 20
Score after 1 over 0 - 0
Runs Scored: 0
000000
  • Zak Crawley 0 (6)
  • Ben Duckett 0 (0)
Mitchell Starc1-1-0-0
0
Overs0.6
Score0 - 0

Mitchell Starc to Zak Crawley, Hammers it on a good length, angling across off, Zak Crawley rides the bounce and dabs it to backward point. Starc starts off with a MAIDEN!

06:53 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs0.5
Score0 - 0

Mitchell Starc to Zak Crawley, Aims the sticks, does Starc, clocking 144 kph, on a fullish length. Zak Crawley gets on the front foot and defends it out. 

06:52 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs0.4
Score0 - 0

Mitchell Starc to Zak Crawley, BEATEN! That's the one that angles in and then seams away, fractionally fuller and in the channel of uncertainty. Zak Crawley is sucked on the front foot to defend, but gets beaten on the outside edge. 

06:52 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs0.3
Score0 - 0

Mitchell Starc to Zak Crawley, Bashed hard on a length, on top of off, at 142.5 kph. Zak Crawley hangs back and blocks it solidly to the leg side.

06:51 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs0.2
Score0 - 0

Mitchell Starc to Zak Crawley, Closer to off pole, swings back in late from a length, Zak Crawley prods half-forward and dabs it with soft hands to gully. 

06:50 (IST) Dec 20
0
Overs0.1
Score0 - 0

Mitchell Starc to Zak Crawley, Stars off with a length-delivery, at 146.6 kph, with a gentle inward shape, outside off. Crawley leaves. 

AUS vs ENG Highlights, 3rd Ashes Test Day 5: Australia retained the Ashes after a dominant display at the Adelaide Oval, winning the third Test by 82 runs and crushing England’s hopes of a series revival. The visitors needed a win to keep the five-match series alive after heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane, but their resistance, though spirited on the final day, proved insufficient.

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.