Lashes for England - Australia wins second Test by 275 runs to take 2-0 lead

Set 468 runs to win, England was bowled out for 192 with 21 overs remaining on the final day of play in the Day/Night Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Jos Buttler (26) faced 207 deliveries for England before treading on his stumps to be out hit wicket in a losing cause. “That is the attitude we have to harness through the whole game,” England captain Joe Root said after the match.

Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith said that England “showed some really good resistance and fight.”

“We always felt [it would only take] a couple of balls, there was still plenty of time left. We just tried to stay calm,” Smith said.

Only one team has come from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series: Don Bradman’s Australia in 1936-37. As holder of the Ashes, Australia needs to only draw the next match.

Paceman Jhye Richardson (5/42 off 19.1 overs) took five wickets as Australia followed its nine-wicket triumph in the first Test in Brisbane with another resounding win, its ninth consecutive victory in Day/Night matches. Meanwhile, Australia has named an unchanged 15-man squad for the remaining three Tests.

Josh Hazlewood missed the Adelaide Test because of a side strain. Fast bowler and captain Pat Cummins, a late scratch from the second Test because he was a close contact of a COVID-19 case, will rejoin the squad on Thursday.

Hazlewood will need to prove his fitness in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets to play the Boxing Day Test starting December 26. The fourth and fifth Tests in Sydney and Hobart, respectively, are in January. Under-pressure opener Marcus Harris, who averages 22.19 from 12 Tests after scores of three and 23 in Adelaide, is expected to remain at the top of the order.

BRIEF SCORES: Australia 473/9 decl. & 230/9 decl. bt England 236 & 192 in 113.1 overs (C Woakes 44, J Richardson 5/42)