England are on the ropes and need a miracle heading into Wednesday’s third Ashes Test in Adelaide, with ruthless Australia boosted by the return of Pat Cummins as they look to seal the series.
Eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane mean England have now gone 17 Tests since winning in Australia, dating back to their last series victory there in 2010-11.
Equally damning, a win for the hosts will ensure the five-match showdown will be over inside three Tests for the fourth consecutive series in Australia.
The mountain England must climb is huge. Only once in history has a team come from 2-0 down to win the Ashes, all the way back in 1936-37, when a Don Bradman-inspired Australia overcame the deficit.
With the Ashes on the line, England have axed paceman Gus Atkinson with Josh Tongue coming in as a like-for-like replacement.
It was the only change announced by the team on Monday, with off-spinning all-rounder Will Jacks keeping his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir.
Atkinson failed to take a wicket in the series opener in Perth, although he did make a useful 37 runs with the bat in the second innings, before returning figures of three for 151 in Brisbane.
Right-arm quick Tongue has taken 31 wickets in six Tests at an average of 30 and took five wickets in his only previous Test against Australia at Lord’s in 2023. He will complement a pace attack led by Jofra Archer, skipper Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse, who was expensive at the Gabba.
Bashir’s omission for a third straight Test was a surprise.
He was considered England’s number one spinner leading into the tour, but was overlooked in an all-pace attack for Perth, then Jacks got the nod in Brisbane.
Jacks only bowled 11.3 overs at the Gabba, taking 1-34, but was composed with the bat, cracking a gritty 41 in the second innings in a 96-run stand with Stokes.
It is a big call by England. Spin is likely to play a role in Adelaide with extreme temperatures forecast during a Test they must win to avoid a crushing series defeat with two Tests to play.
England kept faith with their misfiring top seven, giving the under-performing Ollie Pope another crack at number three in preference to Jacob Bethell.
Only Joe Root has an average above 30 through the first two Tests against an attack led by Mitchell Starc, who has taken 18 wickets so far.
Coach Brendon McCullum insisted on Sunday that England’s aggressive style of batting will not change but batter Harry Brook said on Monday he needed to rein himself.
Brook, who has contributed 98 runs to England’s cause over four innings so far, conceded two of his dismissals in Perth and Brisbane were the result of “shocking shots” that he would reconsider if he had his time again.
“I’ll admit that every day of the week, especially that one in Perth, it’s nearly a bouncer and I’ve tried to drive it. It was just bad batting,” he told reporters at the Adelaide Oval.
“The one in Brisbane, I’ve tried to hit for six so that’s what I mean when I say that I need to rein it in a little bit. I can almost just take that and hit it for one and get down the other end.
“I’ll be the first person to stand up and say that they were bad shots. I don’t regret them, but if I was there again, I’d try and play it slightly differently. Sometimes we’ve got to learn when to absorb the pressure a little bit more and then realise when the opportunity arises to put pressure back on them. I feel like I probably haven’t done that as well as I usually do in this series so far.”
Brook paid tribute to the skill and discipline of the Australian bowlers and said the England players also needed to stand up and be counted in crunch moments if they were to avoid going 3-0 down in the five-match series.
“There’s them pressure situations, which we haven’t been really that good at so far,” he conceded. “When we’re head-to-head, they’ve managed to be the better side and sneak in front. And everybody realises that. We’ve just got to stand up in them certain situations, read the game slightly better [and] just have a little bit of grit and determination about you.”
Lyon ready to roar again
Australia are set to be reinforced by skipper Cummins, who missed the first two Tests with a back injury, leading the attack alongside the outstanding Starc, and Brook said it was imperative that England step up.
“You can’t take this bowling attack lightly,” said the 26-year-old. “They don’t miss often and you’ve got to tip your hat to them, they’ve bowled really well this series.”
Veteran spin king Nathan Lyon is also expected to play after being overlooked for Brisbane — his first omission while fit in 12 years, with Brendan Doggett and either Scott Boland or Michael Neser likely to make way.
Lyon made clear his disappointment at being dropped for the day-night Test at the Gabba but is only looking forward before the third Test at a ground he knows very well.
“Every opportunity that there’s a Test match on, I want to be a part of, I love playing cricket,” Lyon, who was part of the Adelaide Oval ground staff before becoming Australia’s most successful Test off-spinner, told reporters after being added to the stadium’s ‘Avenue of Honour’ on Monday.
“So there was a lot of disappointment, but there’s no point looking back now, we’re looking forward and moving on, and looking at what my role looks like this week.”
Lyon has only bowled two overs so far in the series, something he is keen to put right at a ground where he has taken 63 Test wickets.
“I haven’t really had the opportunity to get my teeth into this Test series yet, but that opportunity will hopefully come soon, and we’ll put it into play,” he added.
Lyon needs two more wickets in Adelaide to surpass fellow Australian Glenn McGrath’s 563 and move into sixth on the all-time list.
In a minor worry, Steve Smith, who captained the side in Perth and Brisbane, was unwell and skipped a net session on Monday.
The main selection question for Australia is whether a fit-again Usman Khawaja reclaims his place as opener or the hosts persist with the aggressive Travis Head alongside Jake Weatherald.
