Adelaide: Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-Test Ashes series on Monday by beating England by 275 runs, and all but ensured the century-old urn would remain Down Under.Set 468 runs to win, England was bowled out for 192 with 21 overs remaining on the final day of play in the Day/Night Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Jos Buttler (26) faced 207 deliveries for England before treading on his stumps to be out hit wicket in a losing cause.
Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith said that England showed some really good resistance and fight.
We always felt it would only take a couple of balls, there was still plenty of time left. We just tried to stay calm, Smith said.
Marnus Labuschagne | Man of the Match, said, ‘Ā We really stuck it out there, and Davey batted very well and put the pressure on the bowlers. I tried to absorb the pressure and if you have a combination like that out there, it hands us the advantage. I do a bit of self-talk, especially when I congratulated myself on playing the bouncer by Stokes, as opposed to the one before that I played poorly. We played well this Test match and didn’t take our foot off the peddle. Getting my first Ashes ton was terrific and I was disappointed that I didn’t make it a big one despite a few chances. I have played with Neser and played with Jhye in Shield cricket only weeks ago, and they have a unique set of skills – like Neser hits the stumps, for instance. It was great to have two bowlers out and still be able to dominate this Test match.’
Joe Root, England captain, said, ‘Ā I am fine. It was rough day (yesterday), feel a bit better today (smiles). When we look at ball in hand, I don’t think we bowled the right lengths, we needed to bowl fuller. As soon as we did that in the second innings, we made it harder for them. Itās disappointing because we made the same mistakes that we made four years ago. We could have bowled better and should have batted better. We have to be (confident) about turning things around. Iām confident that we have all that we need to win here. Just need to stop repeating the same mistakes. We have to get through that first 20 minutes and then go greedy, need to leave better as well. Need to also manage certain passages of play better. Certainly capable of it. Yes, that’s the attitude (Buttler’s defiance) we needed to harness through the whole game. I feel we competed in patches, but we need to fight the whole game. Thatās what is needed to win here. The attitude today was brilliant. We just need to do more of it. I expect us to have that mentality for the rest of the series.’
Only one team has come from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series: Don Bradmanās Australia in 1936-37. As holder of the Ashes, Australia needs to only draw the next match.
Paceman Jhye Richardson (5/42 off 19.1 overs) took five wickets as Australia followed its nine-wicket triumph in the first Test in Brisbane with another resounding win, its ninth consecutive victory in Day/Night matches. Meanwhile, Australia has named an unchanged 15-man squad for the remaining three Tests.
Josh Hazlewood missed the Adelaide Test because of a side strain. Fast bowler and captain Pat Cummins, a late scratch from the second Test because he was a close contact of a COVID-19 case, will rejoin the squad on Thursday.
Hazlewood will need to prove his fitness in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets to play the Boxing Day Test starting December 26. The fourth and fifth Tests in Sydney and Hobart, respectively, are in January. Under-pressure opener Marcus Harris, who averages 22.19 from 12 Tests after scores of three and 23 in Adelaide, is expected to remain at the top of the order.