As the home side moves to 2-0 in the Ashes, England can still win this series but a second dominant display by Australia has made that eventuality unlikely.
The difference was 275 runs, more than England managed in either of their batting innings.
Once again, Australia batted better, bowled better and fielded better, meaning England have a lot to work on before Boxing Day.
Here are three moments from each team that defined the match.
The good
With the news that both Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins would be missing, many were worried that without their top two bowlers Australia would struggle to take wickets.
That was not the case.
Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon led from the front, taking six and five wickets respectively, but it was the young bowlers who really impressed.
In his first Test in three years, Jhye Richardson got through a mountain of work in both innings and was rewarded with a five-fer in the second.
Cameron Green took two wickets in the first innings and when brought into the attack late on Day 5, hit dangerous lengths and got the ball moving.
As the world-class Australian attack begins to decline over the next few years, it is great to see that the next generation of fast bowlers are already able to perform on the biggest stage.
Jhye Richardson celebrates the wicket of Haseeb Hameed. (Photo by Mark Brake – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Joe Root and Dawid Malan put on a 138-run partnership in the first innings, the only one worth more than 70 runs in either innings for England, but it was another batsman that really stood up.
Coming to the crease with his team 5-86 an hour into the last day, Jos Buttler battled hard, facing a mammoth 207 balls for his score of 26, giving the Barmy Army and all their supporters back home some hope for a draw.
Unfortunately, Buttler stepped too far back in his crease, knocking the bails off the stumps at the beginning of the final session, snuffing out any chance of survival.
The bad
Not really a bad moment but poor David Warner just can’t get to triple digits, out for 95 in the first innings at Adelaide. He’s averaging 67 this series and has two knocks in the 90s but is yet to secure a century.
Looking calm and assured at the crease, Warner is painting a different picture compared to his last Ashes. In that English series he scored 95 total runs in ten innings, top scoring with 61.
Warner has always been a bit of a home-ground bully and the difference in these two series against the same attack demonstrates this perfectly.
It was at the MCG four years ago that Warner last scored a century against England and Australian fans will be hoping he finally breaks his drought come Sunday.
England haven’t batted well, they haven’t bowled well (more on that later), and to top it all off they haven’t fielded well. For all his ‘nearly heroics’ in the final innings, Buttler dropped three catches behind the stumps and another three chances slipped through the hands of fielders in the first innings alone.
These misses in the field cost them 108 runs and could have changed the course of the Test.
England look lethargic, struggling to muster up more than a slow jog between overs and chasing after balls without any urgency. Effort should be changed coming into the third Test and showing intensity in the field at the MCG while taking the chances that Australia offer will give the visitors a fighting chance in a must-win match.
The worst
Marcus Harris once again failed to fire at the top of the order, scoring 3 and 23. An average of 22 for his Test career is just not good enough.
Harris has yet to get the dreaded duck but two 50s to show in over 20 innings demonstrates that he struggles to score runs.
Boasting a combined 1156 test wickets, Stuart Broad and James Anderson’s inclusion was the trump card England needed, or so they thought. A heavily criticised decision to leave the experienced pair out in Brisbane was reversed for Adelaide, with the pink ball under lights seemingly perfect for two world-class bowlers who have made a name for themselves through swing bowling.
That was not the case. Broad and Anderson struggled to generate movement and five wickets in two innings between the both of them does not spell trump card.
None of the other bowlers really threatened either and a lack of variety in the attack made creating wicket-taking opportunities difficult for England.
The visitors need to get their bowlers right on Boxing Day or the Ashes will slip away from them.
What were your moments that defined the Adelaide Test?
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Cheers Tom. World of pain awaits the poms sadly... can't say we didn't warn them!
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
Seeing that January is Hobart's hottest month, average 20°C max, the English will feel at home and get through all their overs as fast as they should. That will give them the maximum chance to take 20 wickets However if they continue to serve up dross they will be clattered. The Australian top six will have had another 300 overs to get used to them. Green will have honed his outswinger which will be suited to cooler days and moister air. The English only hope lies in the weather. Hobart in January has between 15 and 22 rain days on average and allowing for La Nina pushes that to the high side My prognostication is for two or three days with significant rain interruptions. Sydney may,as is its history, be the same. Despite having a no-rotation policy , Australia may have had six quicks play by the Sydney Test. The top three, Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood will be pretty fresh by Hobart and if they bowl to conditions and the wicket, it's going to be tough for England. How have spinners gone at Hobart this Sheffield Shield season? Lyon's now in his groove,with the 400th behind him. I would say a shellacking is coming England's way.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
I actually don’t care whether Warner gets 95 or 100, apart from giving him extra satisfaction and a morale boost. The difference is a few percent, but his 95 was way better in terms of quality than many other centuries in the past, maybe better than hundreds of the 4000 plus tons scored in all Test cricket, certainly including Marnus’s chancy knock. Worth noting with all England’s supposed lack of preparation, Adelaide was only his second red ball match since March and third since January. I’m afraid to say that Richardson did NOT get through a mountain of work in Adelaide compared to bowlers throughout Test history. He’s well down towards the middle of the list. He bowled 19 overs in each innings - a total of 38.1 six ball overs, which puts him in equal 8,650th place on the list of total balls bowled in a Test, the great majority spells by pace bowlers, and we’ve only had 2,441 Tests so far.
Paul
Roar Guru
how do you think the Poms will like Hobart?
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
If the Stawell Gift was the MCG test, England would be on 12 metres, Australia on scratch and would still win going away. Player for player, England have only Hameed above Harris, Smith and Root at evens, Robinson over Neser. I'm forecasting an innings victory with a follow-on following an England all out for 90 effort. They're not changing the line-up,the MCG is suited to fast bowlers, just ask Boland, who's probably the tenth best quick in the country at the moment. England are tired already, imagine them at Perth with 40° days. Maybe McGowan is a secret supporter -he is from Rockingham after all...
Tom Desborough
Roar Rookie
Green’s batting this series has been a little bit of a letdown so far but you are right, that second innings was excellent by him and will hopefully mean he can push on and continue batting well the rest of the way. Carey has always been known as a run scoring keeper so to see him put together a great knock gives me a lot of faith in him to continue scoring runs down the order and when Australia are in trouble!
Paul
Roar Guru
Thanks Tom, that was a nice summary of the Test match. The highlight for me was the second innings batting of Head & Carey in particular, but Green as well. England had their tails yup with some quick wickets on the morning of the 4th day but Head played a terrific short knock to drag momentum firmly back Australia's way. Carey got his first 50, which will help his confidence no end, as will the innings Green played. I don't know if they had a huge bearing on the match but on the series they will and on the careers of these players it could be huge.