Australia secured an 82-run victory in the third Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval, retaining the title with two games to spare, and England once again faced criticism for a failed campaign.
Chasing a world record 435 runs to win on Sunday, England held out on the fifth day, but quick left-armer Mitchell Starc took three wickets and Scott Boland’s final dismissal of Josh Tan before tea brought them back to 352.
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Australia captain Pat Cummins, who picked up six wickets in his return from a back injury, told reporters: “I’m very happy for Sreenil for a number of reasons, but I was particularly impressed by the same calmness he had in our conversations before the start of the series.”
“This group is great at just getting it done.”
Much of the talk in preparation for the Ashes was the age profile of the Australian squad, but Starc said the veterans had proven their worth.
“Sometimes I laugh when I get comments about how old we are,” the 35-year-old said.
“I think experience has a lot to do with the ups and downs of life. … It plays a big role in everything.”
England, who suffered eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane, have now lost three matches in the Ashes for the fourth consecutive year on tour and 16 of their last 18 domestic Tests.
There are still two tests left, but this capitulation could top previous tours as a total disappointment.
Despite England captain Ben Stokes’ words, there were hopes for a real match, with some hoping that ‘Buzzball’ might win Australia for the first time since 2010-2011.
All that was wiped away in Adelaide, where England ditched their trademark aggression and returned to more traditional Test batting, and still suffered a convincing defeat.
England captain Stokes said: “We obviously came here with a goal and we haven’t achieved it. It hurts and it sucks.”
“They were able to outplay us at a much higher level. … I thought we did incredibly well in those four innings and were able to take it this far.”
“We didn’t do what we came here to do, but there were some good things that came out of this game.”
king of adelaide
Still needing 228 runs to win on the fifth day, England’s hopes rested on all-rounder Will Jacks and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who resumed with 207 for 6.
Jacks twisted his ankle while trying to push Wrinkles away as he tried to run, but continued to fight for 40 minutes until rain forced a halt to play.
The England fans cheered, but it was just a passing squall and the ground was soon bathed in sunlight.
The Surrey duo put together a 50-run partnership with the old ball and soon spared spinner Nathan Ryan, who was dismissed with a hamstring injury after cutting four on the field.
When the second new ball came, Smith attacked with fervor, smashing both Cummins and Starc for four in a row.
However, the lead narrowed to 150 points, and Cummins, who threw the bat three times in a row at Stark and backpedaled midway through, was caught at 60 points.
Jacks played a steady hand with the last-placed Kearse, who withstood toughly against the all-rounder who finished with 39 not out and scored 52 runs.
The home fans shifted uncomfortably in their seats as the two cut the gap to less than 100 points, but Starc returned and Marnus Labuschagne slid in to avoid danger.
The 47-year-old Jacks drove to Starc’s ball off the seam and missed Ollie Pope with a screamer on the fourth day, before Labuschagne dove to his left and made another superb one-handed catch.
Jofra Archer then tried to run Starc down, but he sent the ball down the throat of Jake Weatherald at deep point, and England lost with just one wicket before Borland sent another slip catch on Tan to Labuschagne.
Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey was named Man of the Match with 106 in the first innings and 72 in the second innings, while Travis Head set up the victory with 170 in the third innings, his fourth successive Test ton at Adelaide Oval.
“Without him before, he’s the king of Adelaide,” Starc said of Head, who scored 123 game-winning points in Perth.
“He won’t have to pay for another beer (here). I don’t know how he does it, but hey, it’s pretty nice to see.”
