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Australia head to the MCG with a 2-0 Ashes series lead, their captain returning and an opposition in disarray after thrashing England by 275 runs to win the Second Test on Monday night.
Cricket’s most famous urn is almost certain to remain with the baggy green brigade after stand-in skipper Steve Smith guided them to an Adelaide Oval annihilation of a bruised and battered English side.
It didn’t take long for England’s forlorn hopes of forcing a draw on Monday to go from slim to virtually non-existent but their lower order at least showed some fight to prevent an embarrassing capitulation which was on the cards early in the day.
Their resistance all but ended in extraordinary circumstances early in the final session when Jos Buttler became just the third player in Test cricket history at the Adelaide Oval to get out hit wicket.
Test captain Pat Cummins will rejoin the Australian squad in Melbourne after he was a late withdrawal from this match when he was deemed a COVID-19 close contact.
His opposite number, Joe Root, has also been cleared for the Third Test after being hit twice in the abdomen prior to Sunday’s play in warm-ups and late in the evening via a Mitchell Starc thunderbolt.
Australia have named an unchanged squad for the rest of the series but it does not necessarily mean Marcus Harris will retain his opener’s berth with Usman Khawaja an option to replace the struggling Victorian left-hander on Boxing Day.
Jhye Richardson celebrates. (Photo by Mark Brake – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Michael Neser or Jhye Richardson will make way for Cummins although both could be not needed on Sunday if Josh Hazlewood is able to make his comeback from a side strain.
Ollie Pope was the first to go when he snicked Starc to Smith at slip to be on his way for just four and be in even greater danger of losing his spot in the line-up.
Ben Stokes fell for 12, the seventh time in Test cricket he has been dismissed by Nathan Lyon after Smith reviewed an LBW not out verdict which was shown to be straightening down the line to hit leg stump.
Only Indian offie Ravichandran Ashwin (11) has claimed the English all-rounder’s wicket more times in the Test arena.
Buttler, who has varied between the sublime and the ridiculous with his spectacular catches and drops as wicketkeeper in this Test, should have recorded a pair of ducks but an edge from Starc flew between Australian gloveman Alex Carey and David Warner at first slip.
Buttler managed to dig in with Chris Woakes as they managed to resist the Australian bowlers for more than 30 overs before Jhye Richardson struck with the second new ball.
The West Australian speedster jagged an off-cutter back through Woakes (44) to hit the top of middle stump and end the stubborn seventh-wicket stand of 61. It was just the fourth 50-run partnership by England for the series, whereas Australia have nine under their belts.
Ollie Robinson helped England bat past the twilight before he was snapped up for eight to a sharp catch by Smith to make it 8-178.
NO WAY!
Jos Buttler is out … HIT WICKET!
Unbelievable #Ashes pic.twitter.com/b4rMsCOL4d
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 20, 2021
Buttler’s 207-ball vigil finally ended soon after the final break when he stepped on his stumps while trying to take a single off Richardson to retain the strike.
When Richardson claimed James Anderson for two, he pocketed his first five-wicket haul of his career (5-42) as the tourists were bowled out for 192.
England are all but certain to recall their fastest bowler, Mark Wood, for Melbourne after he was inexplicably rested for the Second Test with Woakes likely to make way.
Apart from Root and Dawid Malan, their batting is a house of cards with Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow in contention to replace Pope and opener Haseeb Hameed.
Marnus Labuschagne’s first-innings century and 50 in the second dig saw him named player of the match, continuing his remarkable Test record since returning to the side midway through the 2019 Ashes series.