| Second Ash Test, Adelaide (May 5) |
| Australia 473-9-December (Labuschange 103, Warner 95, Smith 93) & 230-9 December |
| English 236 (Malan 80) & 192 (Richardson 5-42) |
| Australia won with 275 runs |
| Transcript |
British resistance was finally broken as Australia completed a 275-run win in the second Ash Test match in Adelaide to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Needing to wait a day to draw with six goals remaining, England defied expectations to bring the game into the final match.
Jos Buttler, who should have been caught for a duck, survived 207 balls for 26 balls, raising slim hopes of the most unlikely British escape, but falling appreciably amazed in the second part of the night session.
He made 31.2 passes with Chris Woakes, who made 44, and another 14.2 with Ollie Robinson but stood firm on returning to a shorter ball from Jhye Richardson.
James Anderson was last on the field, caught by Richardson’s fifth shot, with 20.5 overs. He was 192 out of 113.1 rounds.
It dashes their hopes of a first Ashes streak win in Australia since 2010-11, as the tour moves to Melbourne for the Third Test, which kicks off at 23: 30 GMT December 25.
England have never come back from winning 2-0 in the 139-year history of this series.
I fight but it’s too late
The final day feats of Britain, especially Buttler, were brave, but the result was still a clear Australian victory.
Buttler hid all of the attacking instincts that made him one of the best cross-border players in the world, only to fall uncanny at the end of his second longest inning. .
Ollie Pope was caught slipping away from Mitchell Starc in four games on Monday, at which point there were fears England could go within a session.
Their fates were finally decided on the third day as they catered for their latest catastrophic demise.
The failure, Britain’s 11th in their previous 12 tests in Australia, has been expected ever since, and is particularly damaging when looking at the broader picture.
This day-night test is seen as helpful to England’s career, headlight and ball lighting conditions are said to help their seams and batting, and Australia doesn’t have captain Pat Cummins and speed pitcher Josh Hazlewood.
Only once had the team taken a 2-0 lead to beat Ashes – Australia in 1936-37, and that was with legendary smasher Don Bradman on their team.
The next test is at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, the only venue where England have avoided defeat in an inconclusive defeat, but their fans will wonder why this batting didn’t. come earlier.
Than to follow.
