No miracle for England as Aussies retain Ashes

FE Team | Published: December 21, 2025 21:41:01

ADELAIDE, Australia, Dec 21 (AFP): Dominant Australia collected the last four wickets they needed Sunday to win the third Test and retain the Ashes in just 11 days of cricket, crushing the dreams of a "hurting" England side who finally showed some fight.
England's dogged resistance on day five at Adelaide Oval lasted into the second session before Scott Boland removed Josh Tongue for an 82-run victory to ensure the famous urn remains in Australian hands.
"It feels pretty awesome," said Australia captain Pat Cummins.
"It wasn't easy today, but we got it done. It's an exciting changing room.
"The last two months have been a bit of a grind," he added.
"But it's all worth it for days like this. That's when we are at our best ... it's good old-fashioned grind, and I love the toil from all the guys."
The tourists needed a win to keep the five-match series alive after being crushed by eight wickets at Perth and Brisbane, with two more Tests still to play at Melbourne and Sydney.
But despite showing more grit, they were again outplayed by an Australian team who suffered a setback with spin wizard Nathan Lyon hurting his hamstring and hobbling off.
Chasing 435
was always going to be a huge challenge, with no side ever reeling in more than 418 to win in Test history, but England at least gave it a crack as they got to 352.
Their demise in just 11 days is the joint second quickest in more than a century since the 1921 series was completed in eight days, with their "Bazball" style of ultra-attacking cricket exposed.
"That dream is now over, which is incredibly disappointing," said England skipper Ben Stokes.
"Everyone is hurting and quite emotional about it. It hurts, it sucks, but we ain't going to stop."
But Stokes also
took some positives from the way England battled, having demanded more fight leading into the
match.
"That stuff I wanted to see, I've seen that this week. I think we can take a lot from this game," he said.