Australia turned the screw on England on the third day in Adelaide, but England are still fighting hard, writes Richard Mann in his preview of day four.
Cricket tips: Day four betting update
No recommended bets
Most England fans can handle being outplayed, losing a game of skill to a better team, and that is exactly where we are at, with Australia on the verge of retaining the Ashes after three more days of toil in Adelaide.
But what England supporters do demand is hard work and fight. And, to their credit, the tourists are fighting hard to stay alive in this third Test, even though their hopes of winning the Ashes have all but gone.
Captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer extended their overnight partnership to 106, before the former's resistance was broken by his nemesis Mitchell Starc, but England did well to get within 85 runs of Australia at the change of innings.
Running on fumes, England's attack were then put to the sword by Travis Head who notched another century on his home ground as Australia extended their lead to 356 at the close of play with six second-innings wickets remaining.
England can't win from here, but as I argued yesterday, don't expect Pat Cummins to be in any rush to declare. There is very little to gain from offering England any sort of carrot, and the captain isn't the only member of the home bowling unit who doesn't need to spend the best part of six sessions in the field.
That would of course require England to shape up with the bat, but Stokes showed the way in the first innings, and for all the talk about this pitch breaking up, only six wickets fell on day three.
That's not to say I expect England to draw the match from here, but I don't think we'll be blaming the pitch if they can't, and Stokes won't let his men lay down and surrender.
I advised backing the draw at 13.5 in my pre-match preview here, so I don't want to get involved again.
Joe Root's excellent second-innings record – 12 hundreds and an average of 45.91 – means the 7/4 for him to make a fifty has to be of interest, for all I'm not desperate to get involved at relatively short odds.
Here's hoping England show some more fight on day four, then, and that Cummins prefers to put his feet up for something close to two sessions before lacing up those bowling boots.
Posted at 11:40 GMT on 19/12/25
Cricket tips: Day three betting update
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It’s with great sadness that I must inform the reader that England’s hopes of regaining the Ashes are gone, the final nail in the coffin coming on day two in Adelaide when Joe Root went fishing on sixth stump and was dismissed by Pat Cummins for the 12th time in Test cricket.
Despite another stubborn rearguard from Ben Stokes, who ended a challenging day unbeaten on 45 from 151 deliveries, England closed on 213-8 in reply to Australia’s 371, still trailing by 158 runs.
And were it not for a sensible 30 not out from Jofra Archer, who had earlier completed his maiden five-wicket haul in Australia, things would have been a whole lot worse for the tourists.
In fairness, we witnessed a magnificent all-round bowling display from the Australians, led by captain Pat Cummins who bowled beautifully on his return, but England’s lack of basic technique, particularly in defence, was once again found out.
At least there was some fight shown from England, led by the skipper, but they will need a miracle, most likely from Stokes again, to haul them back into the contest, something that seems a long way off.
Australia are now 1/9 with Sky Bet to win the match and series in Adelaide, with England 7/1, though I haven’t entirely given up on the draw, which is priced at 18/1.
It would appear unlikely at this stage, but assuming Australia take a first-innings lead in the region of 100-120 – with that soft Kookaburra ball now 68 overs old and affording Stokes the chance to clear the ropes in the morning – then in all likelihood, Cummins will probably want a lead in excess of 500, if he can get it, before bowling in the last innings.
Remember, Australia only need a draw to retain the Ashes, and with England’s history of chasing down big scores (yes, this England team), I’m not sure Cummins will feel the need to dangle any carrots with very little to gain.
If Australia bat well, I certainly don’t see a declaration coming anytime tomorrow, more likely in the middle of day four, meaning those seamers will have enjoyed ample rest from what have been gruelling conditions.
That would potentially leave England with four and a half sessions to bat, and while that is probably a stretch for this batting line-up, it’s not impossible.
Original Bazball would’ve gone down swinging, whatever the victory target, but you only have to look at Stokes’ last two innings, at the Gabba and in this Test match, to know those days are gone. Bazball is dead.
And remember, England viewed a 2-2 drawn series as a success story in the home Ashes of 2023, so Stokes would surely rather keep alive hopes of drawing another series, instead of allowing his side to surrender like the ‘weak men’ he has said he doesn’t want in his dressing room.
England will fight, I do believe that, for all their deficiencies in terms of skill, technique and tactics, have been laid bare on this tour already. It probably won’t be enough, but perhaps they can drag this out, and Australia shouldn’t feel the need to chase an early kill.
It’s been a disastrous Test so far on the betting front, though Mitchell Starc – tipped at 12/1 in my pre-series preview – continues to strengthen his claims to finish as overall Player of the Series.
Meanwhile, I’m hoping Marnus Labuschagne can take advantage of Steve Smith’s absence this week and finally register the big score he has promised all series.
Posted at 12:30 GMT on 18/12/25
Cricket tips: Day two betting update
1.25pts Joe Root to make a first-innings fifty at 9/5 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
0.75pt Joe Root to make a first-innings century at 11/2 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
0.5pt Zak Crawley to make a first-innings century at 12/1 (Betway)
0.5pt Ollie Pope to make a first-innings century at 12/1 (Betway)
Opportunity knocks for England on day two of the third Ashes Test match in Adelaide, following a spirited effort with the ball on the opening day.
Having won the toss and elected to make first use of excellent batting conditions, Australia closed on 326-8 thanks to a wonderful hundred from Alex Carey and 82 from veteran Usman Khawaja who was a late replacement for the ill Steve Smith.
However, England toiled hard in soaring temperatures on a wicket that is very flat and promises to be ever better on days two and three.
Were it not for an inexplicable error from the Snicko technology when offering Carey a lifeline after he had clearly edged behind off the bowling of Josh Tongue, the day would’ve been even better for the tourists.
Armed with a new ball tomorrow morning, the impressive Jofra Archer – whose figures so far read 16-5-29-3 – will fancy his chances of restricting Australia to below 350 which, in truth, would appear under-par.
Adelaide always promised to provide the best batting wicket of the series, and we saw very little swing or seam movement on day one, nor the excessive bounce that troubled England’s batting group in Perth and Brisbane.
There really will be no excuses when England get their chance to bat, and speaking on TNT Sports, former Australia head coach Justin Langer labelled the pitch a ‘batting paradise’ and suggested England would want to make hay and only bat once, before spin comes into play on day four onwards.
It’s hard to have complete faith in England posting that big first-innings score on what we have seen on this tour so far, but Adelaide is the one pitch in Australia that visiting batsmen look forward to, and that top seven should certainly be up to speed by now.
One man who is reliable in that England line-up is JOE ROOT, a centurion in a losing cause at the Gabba and with a pretty good record on this ground, too. Root averages 44.00 in four Test matches here, with three fifties.
With no demons in the pitch, and that monkey off his back following his first hundred in Australia in the second Test, Root runs in this England first innings looks the way to go again.
The 9/5 available for Root make another FIFTY at this venue looks good business, with 11/2 about another CENTURY from the Yorkshireman also worth taking.
Finally, call me a glutton for punishment, but I want to chance my arm on ZAK CRAWLEY and OLLIE POPE to make CENTURIES, both at 12/1.
I suspect there won’t be many takers, but Crawley played beautifully for scores of 76 and 44 at the Gabba, and he will find conditions much more to his liking here.
The Kent man clearly enjoys playing against Australia, and it’s probably gone under the radar that he currently averages a very healthy 40.31 against this opposition – some going for an opening batsman.
While he’s clearly hit and miss, Crawley is also very dangerous when on song, and this ground, with its placid pitch and short square boundaries, could prove a perfect storm.
As for Pope, he’s probably at the last chance saloon bar, but if you think back to that first Test in Perth, he looked England’s best batsman as he put together contributions of 46 and 33.
In fact, until Travis Head’s second-innings hundred, Pope had looked the most accomplished batter in difficult conditions on either side, and I do think he’s ironed out a few of the technical issues that troubled him last summer.
The Gabba was less encouraging and he looked frenetic starting under lights in the second innings, but he’s always been that way.
Again, things will be much easier tomorrow, and given this was his home ground in the Big Bash last year, he should have more knowledge of conditions here than most.
If he can get away, there will be few excuses for a supreme talent who really does need to start consistently delivering in an England shirt. I’m prepared to give him one last chance.
Posted at 12:20 GMT on 17/12/25
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