England’s dismal Ashes series defeat was confirmed as Australia sealed an 82-run victory on the final day of the third Test in Adelaide.
After comfortable wins in Perth and Brisbane, the result gives Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series after just 11 days of cricket, equalling the shortest period in which the Ashes have been decided in the last hundred years.
Having begun Sunday on 207-6, England showed fight as Jamie Smith (60), Will Jacks (47) and Brydon Carse (38 not out) gave Ben Stokes’ side hope, but Mitchell Starc (3-62) moved Australia to the brink of victory before Scott Boland dismissed Josh Tongue to bowl the tourists out for 352 in their pursuit of a record 435 to win.
Ben Stokes was left dejected after England’s series defeat was confirmed
The dominant nature of Australia’s victory will inevitably raise questions over the futures of Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as head coach, with England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach coming unstuck under its toughest examination.
“That dream that we came here with is now over, which is obviously incredibly disappointing,” Stokes said. “Everyone is obviously hurting and quite emotional about it. But we’ve got two more games to go and that’s where the focus needs to switch to now.
“We came here with a goal in mind and we’ve not been able to achieve that. It hurts and it sucks, but we’re not going to stop.”
McCullum, meanwhile, accepted responsibility for not getting England’s Ashes preparation right, saying: ‘Could we have done more leading into game one and could we have done less leading into game two?’ You put your hand up and say I didn’t get that right because we’ve lost 3-0.”
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Ben Stokes reacts after England lost to Australia during the third Test in the Ashes.
‘Worst Australia team in 15 years? We want 5-0’
Australia have dominated despite having to deal with key absences throughout the series. Captain Pat Cummins only returned for the third Test after missing the first two through injury, fellow quick Josh Hazelwood hasn’t featured, while Steve Smith missed out in Adelaide due to illness after skippering the hosts in Perth and Brisbane.
Australia had to overcome another blow on the final morning when spinner Nathan Lyon limped off after injuring his hamstring while making a diving stop in the outfield, leaving his participation in the rest of the series in doubt.
Having won back the Ashes from England in 2017, Australia have now retained the famous urn on four successive occasions, drawing two away series and winning twice at home.
“It feels pretty awesome,” Cummins said. “An amazing series, one I’ve been thinking about for a long time.
Australia captain Pat Cummins said he was ‘proud’ of his side
“One of the things I’m most proud about with this group is nothing ever really happens perfectly, there’s always something that gets thrown up, but this group just cracks on.
“I missed the first couple of games, but Steve [Smith] steps right in and it’s seamless. Nathan Lyon did his hamstring today, but the boys just say, ‘okay, that’s happened but let’s crack on’. I think that’s one of the big reasons why we’ve had the success we’ve had the last couple of years.”
Cummins is not expecting to play in the fourth Test in Melbourne, which starts on Boxing Day.
“There might be a sense of ‘job’s done’, and let’s kind of reassess the risk,” he said.
“I doubt I’ll be playing Melbourne, and then we’ll have a chat about Sydney.”
Australia celebrate taking an unassailable 3-0 Ashes series lead
Marnus Labuschagne, who produced a spectacular catch to help hasten the end of England’s last-day rally, was quick to respond to Stuart Broad’s pre-series description of the host squad as the worst to contest the Ashes in Australia since England won the 2010-11 series Down Under.
“Have to say, being called the worst Australian team in 15 years… like it’s nice to be sitting where we are, 3-0 up,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“The job’s not done yet. We want to make sure it’s 5-0 and really take that urn.”
England away drought continues
Defeat in Adelaide means England are without a win in their last 18 away Ashes Tests, with the home side having won 16 of the contests since the tourists’ last victory on Australian soil in 2011.
England were on the back foot after blowing superb batting conditions on day two at the Adelaide Oval to concede an 85-run first innings lead.
Marnus Labuschagne took a stunning catch to remove Jacks on the final day
Australia’s second innings total of 349 – led by Travis Head’s brilliant 170 and first innings centurion Alex Carey’s 72 – left the home side just over five sessions to bowl out an England team that had only passed 300 once in five previous attempts on the tour.
England battled to 177-3 to keep alive their hopes of pulling off a miracle in the Christmas Test, but spinner Lyon took three quick wickets on Saturday evening for the loss of just 17 runs to all but end the contest.
Having won their last two home Ashes series 4-0, Australia will resume their quest to claim a first whitewash since 2013-14 when the fourth Test begins in Melbourne on Boxing Day, before the contest draws to a close in Sydney from January 4-8.
“We aren’t going to just fall over and let this series play out. We’re going to leave absolutely everything out there on the field,” Stokes said.
“We’ve got people coming over here to watch these last two games. We’ve got so much more to play for.”
How Australia sealed Adelaide victory
Jamie Smith gave England hope with a counter-attacking 60
Lyon’s injury on Sunday morning occurred just before Australia were due to take the new ball, at which point it was always likely to fall upon Starc and Cummins to finish the job.
Smith initially counter-attacked impressively, striking four boundaries from as many balls across two overs, but he went for one big shot too many as an attempted slog into the leg side off Starc went straight up into the air for Cummins to catch.
Another 50 stand by Jacks and Carse brought the required run tally under 100 shortly after lunch, but just as Australian nerves may have been ramping up, Marnus Labuschagne produced a second stunning slip catch of the match to give Starc Jacks’ wicket.
Mitchell Starc celebrates taking Will Jacks’ wicket
Jofra Archer (3) picked out Jake Weatherald on the point boundary to give Starc, who tormented England in the first two Tests, his third wicket, putting Australia on the brink of victory.
The final dismissal deservedly went to Boland (1-35), who consistently kept the pressure on England through the final day, as he has done for almost the entire series since struggling in the first innings in Perth.
It was fittingly another slip catch from Labuschagne that ended the match, with Tongue’s edge sparking delirious celebrations for the home team.
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
Australia lead five-match series 3-0
