Dominant Australia strike regularly to take control of Adelaide Test

Australia took a decisive step towards regaining the Ashes with a collective bowling performance that left England struggling at 213 for 8, trailing by 158 runs after the second day of the third Test at the Adelaide Oval.

England had reason for optimism after taking eight wickets on Day 1, but Mitchell Starc’s lower-order batting dragged Australia to 371. England’s reply then crumbled under sustained pressure.

Jofra Archer’s five-wicket haul was overshadowed by the collapse. Archer bowled more overs (20.2), more maidens (5), and at a better economy (2.60) than any teammate, only to be needed later with the bat.

Starc, though wicketless, scored back-to-back Test fifties for the first time in his career. With Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon restored, Australia’s attack proved too deep and accurate for England.

England started steadily, reaching the end of five overs unscathed with four boundaries. Cummins then broke the opening stand, angling a length ball to take Zak Crawley’s edge.

Lyon needed just six balls in Adelaide to move past Glenn McGrath into second on Australia’s all-time wicket-takers list. He removed Ollie Pope with a catch to mid-wicket and Ben Duckett with a delivery that drifted in and spun away to clip the top of off stump.

England were fortunate not to lose Joe Root before Lunch when a caught-behind decision went in their favor after third umpire review. However, Cummins dismissed Root early after the break, catching him on the crease for the 12th time in Tests.

Ben Stokes dug in, surviving a blow to the helmet from Starc, while Harry Brook chipped away at the deficit. Their 56-run stand was broken when Cameron Green found Brook’s edge, dismissing him five short of fifty.

Jamie Smith struck three fours and a six in a 26-ball innings before under-edging a pull to give Cummins his third wicket. The dismissal involved controversy: Snicko showed a spike a frame after the ball passed the bat, and an earlier appeal for a catch behind was turned down despite a visible glove movement, with the third umpire ruling it deflected off the helmet.

Scott Boland then removed Will Jacks—thanks to a sharp catch by Alex Carey—and Brydon Carse. Carey became the first wicketkeeper since Matt Prior in 2011 to score a century and take five catches in an Ashes Test.

England narrowly avoided the follow-on, with Archer and Stokes sharing an unbroken 45-run stand to close the day.

Brief scores:
England 213/8 (Harry Brook 45, Ben Stokes 45*; Pat Cummins 3-54, Nathan Lyon 2-51) trail Australia 371 (Alex Carey 106, Usman Khawaja 82, Mitchell Starc 54; Jofra Archer 5-53) by 158 runs.