Highlights
- Australia reduce England to 213/8 by stumps on Day 2 of the third Test
- England squander favourable batting conditions amid another collapse
- Cummins, Lyon and Boland lead a relentless Australian bowling display
Heat, confusion and a familiar England unraveling
A blistering afternoon at Adelaide Oval leaves England once again asking uncomfortable questions. Travis Head’s exasperated cry of “What is going on here?”, picked up by the stump microphones, captures the mood as England let a golden opportunity slip on one of the hottest Test days the ground has seen.
England’s batting falters on a pitch that is flat and slow, conditions that should invite control and long partnerships. Instead, familiar frailties resurface, pushing them towards yet another damaging position in an Ashes series where expectations had been high.
Jamie Smith and the turning point
The dismissal of Jamie Smith becomes a flashpoint. Debate around technology and umpiring will follow, but the deeper frustration lies in shot selection. Pat Cummins lays an obvious trap, stacking the leg-side boundary and tempting the pull. Smith falls for it, swinging at a short ball well outside off stump, undoing England’s momentum at a critical moment.
If Smith’s exit is rash, Ollie Pope’s earlier dismissal is worse. Facing Nathan Lyon in his first over back after being dropped in Brisbane, Pope plays a loose flick from outside off stump, gifting a simple catch and doing little to strengthen his case in the side.
Australia’s bowlers set the tone
Focusing only on England’s errors undersells Australia’s performance. This is a disciplined, ruthless bowling display in extreme conditions. Cummins leads from the front, striking early and then removing Joe Root after lunch with another probing delivery.
Lyon enjoys a dream return, claiming Ben Duckett with a ball that drifts, grips and straightens, taking him to second on Australia’s all-time Test wicket list. Scott Boland maintains relentless pressure, suffocating England before striking late, while Cameron Green dismisses Harry Brook with a delivery of rare quality.
Mitchell Starc bowls at speeds exceeding 146 kph despite the heat, even if wickets evade him on the day.
England cling on, but the music fades
Ben Stokes digs in with a stubborn, unusually slow innings by Bazball standards, but it feels out of sync with the rest of the line-up. England resemble a band playing without rhythm, while Australia operate in perfect harmony.
Stokes and Jofra Archer, after an early-day disagreement, combine late to offer resistance, keeping England afloat, just. Yet as stumps are drawn, the sense is unmistakable. Australia control the Test, the heat continues to rise, and England’s Ashes hopes begin to wither once more.
