Australia vs England | England tour of Australia, 2025/26 | 3rd Test

England had a reasonable day, but the damage was already done. Australia might be confident that they have batted England out of contention, being just four wickets away. With the tourists still 228 runs adrift, the task indeed looks really big. The question is, can the English lower order sustain the pressure and mount another fightback? The likes of Starc and Cummins will come afresh the next morning, so negotiating their pace and bounce will be very tough. We go into the fifth and final day then. We will be back on Sunday, 21st December, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 11.30 pm GMT (Previous Day). Till then, you can follow all the action from the Big Bash League 2025/26, as the Sydney Smash is about to get underway in a short while between Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers in Game 7 of the season. But from here, we sign off. See you on Sunday. Take care, cheers!

Australia's ALEX CAREY is up for a quick chat with the broadcasters. He says they don't want to look too much ahead. Adds that they will reflect on their performance and come up with plans to win the game. Mentions that Lyon was bowling really well, and with a lot of energy and he wanted him to continue that and he finally got his wickets towards the end. Says that he always wants to contribute and win games of cricket. Tells that he will hit the pool with his kids tonight and then come back for the final day. Ends by saying that the bowlers have been hitting the right areas and hopefully they continue to do that and make it hard work for the remaining English batters.

Australia relentlessly hammered their line and length in the first innings. The aging pitch eased up for the quicks, offering less assistance than before. But the spinners extracted good grip and turn from the wearing surface. Though the Head experiment didn't quite give them the results, Lyon smelled blood upon his return and struck immediately. He trapped Brook with an uninspiring shot as impatience got the better of him. Then came the big hammer blows. Lyon outfoxed Stokes before producing an absolute ripper to dismiss the well-set Crawley on 85. From a comfortable 177 for 3, England nosedived to 194 for 6. Jamie Smith and Will Jacks showed good resilience against the spin in tandem and batted till the end.

Australia were hunting for wickets, and Cummins delivered shortly after the restart. He dismissed the well-settled Root for the 13th time in Tests to break that crucial 78-run stand and wrestle back control. Crawley, though, slightly tinkered his game and looked in much control, forming a 68-run stand with Brook, being impatient at times. For a chase this big, perseverance is absolutely non-negotiable. You have to keep doing the right things over and over for extended periods, which is far easier said than done. One brain-fade moment is all it takes to flip the script entirely, and that's what happened as the shadows lengthened.

England stumbled to 4/1 before Pope's familiar flaws resurfaced, edging one to Labuschagne, who pulled off a stunning one-handed catch at second slip. Cummins bowled a marathon spell, consistently threading deliveries in that corridor and beating the edge repeatedly. However, Crawley and Root dug in with discipline, absorbing pressure from the seamers before shifting gears against Lyon, sweeping and reverse sweeping to deny him any rhythm in his first spell. With the frontline attack out of the picture, the pair added 78 runs at a fair clip, mounting a spirited fightback through Root and Crawley from 31 for 2, striking off 101 runs in 24 overs while losing just one wicket at Tea.

It was an action-packed day in the City of Churches, so let's take a quick recap. The overnight pair of Travis Head and Alex Carey pushed Australia's lead with a 162-run partnership, before Head fell to a short-ball trap from Josh Tongue and Carey departed on 72. The tail couldn't wag this time and crumbled quickly as Tongue, Carse, and Archer cleaned up effectively from 311/4 to bowling Australia out on 349. England needed to survive a tricky 10-minute passage before Lunch, but pressure struck again. Ben Duckett whipped his first ball through mid-wicket for four, only for Pat Cummins to find his edge the very next delivery, giving Australia first blood and the final word of the session.

It's going into the fifth day, folks. What an absorbing day of cricket in Adelaide. To England's credit, they scrapped hard and made Australia earn every breakthrough. They did not lose wickets in clumps, won the first two sessions, but then Lyon's brilliance exploded the resistance, dragging them right back to square one. Australia, just as they've done throughout the series, seized the crucial moments and capitalized ruthlessly. They've now inched closer to retaining the Ashes.

Okay then, last over of the day coming up. Travis Head (9-2-34-0) to bowl. Jacks to face with a slip and forward short leg in place.