ADELAIDE, Australia – Australia has emphatically retained cricket’s coveted Ashes urn, sealing a decisive 82-run victory over England in the third Test at Adelaide Oval. The win gives the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, extending England’s winless streak on Australian soil to a staggering 18 matches spanning 14 years.
The final day’s play saw a brief English resistance led by Jamie Smith (60) and Will Jacks (47), but their efforts were ultimately in vain. The tourists, chasing a mammoth target, were bowled out for 352. The match-winning moment came when Josh Tongue edged Scott Boland to Marnus Labuschagne at first slip, who took a spectacular catch to seal the series.
This outcome represents a catastrophic failure for England’s much-hyped ‘Bazball’ project under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. Hailed as the most anticipated Ashes series in recent memory, the tour has instead devolved into a crisis, placing the futures of the entire leadership team in serious doubt. Selection strategies, a perceived lack of preparation including disdain for warm-up matches, and flawed on-field execution have been ruthlessly exposed by an Australian side considered ageing and injury-ravaged before the series began.
In contrast, Australia’s victory is a testament to their depth and resilience. Despite missing captain Pat Cummins for the first two Tests and losing key bowler Josh Hazlewood for the entire series, players like Mitchell Starc and wicketkeeper Alex Carey have delivered career-defining performances. Travis Head’s pivotal promotion to opener in the first Test provided unstoppable momentum, while Pat Cummins returned from a back injury to lead superbly in Adelaide.
With the urn retained, Australia now sets its sights on a 5-0 series whitewash in the remaining Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, an achievement that would place them among an elite group of dominant Australian sides. For England, the tour has become a desperate mission to avoid that ultimate humiliation, with sweeping changes to the team’s regime now appearing inevitable.