England have been left clinging to the faintest of hopes, requiring a monumental 228-run miracle on the final day in Adelaide to keep the Ashes series alive, while Australia stand just four wickets away from securing a crushing 3-0 series lead.
Lyon's Ruthless Spell Dashes English Hopes
At the close of play on day four, England's innings was in tatters at 207 for 6, chasing a mammoth world-record target of 435. The tourists' resistance was brutally dismantled by veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, who produced a match-turning spell of three wickets for just 20 runs in a devastating 20-ball passage of play.
England had shown rare fight, reaching 177 for 3 thanks largely to a gritty 85 from 151 balls by opener Zak Crawley. However, Lyon's intervention proved decisive. He first clean-bowled Harry Brook for 44, before removing the dangerous Ben Stokes for just 5, with the ball clipping the England captain's off stump. The collapse was completed when Crawley, in sight of a deserved century, was stumped by Alex Carey after charging down the track.
Cummins Sets The Tone With Early Strikes
Australia's victory charge was initiated by their skipper, Pat Cummins, who produced a masterclass of precision fast bowling with the new ball. He struck with his second delivery, removing Ben Duckett for a duck, and later dismissed Ollie Pope for 17 and the key wicket of Joe Root for 39.
Root's dismissal, caught behind feeling for a delivery outside off stump, was his 13th against Cummins in Test cricket, underlining the Australian captain's dominance over England's premier batsman. Pope's exit, courtesy of a spectacular one-handed catch by Marnus Labuschagne, continued a miserable tour for the middle-order batsman.
A Glimmer Before The Storm
Earlier in the day, England's pace attack had shown a glimpse of its potential, bowling Australia out for 349 in their second innings. Josh Tongue finished with 4 for 70, while Brydon Carse took two wickets in two balls. A fatigued Ben Stokes, who did not bowl on day three, managed a seven-over spell for one wicket.
This effort, however, was swiftly overshadowed by the scale of the batting task ahead. The partnership of 78 between Crawley and Root had offered a flicker of belief, but Lyon's afternoon onslaught extinguished it almost entirely.
The Mountain To Climb On Day Five
Nightwatchman Jamie Smith and Will Jacks will resume at the crease on Saturday 20 December, knowing that history is against them. No team has ever successfully chased more than 418 in the fourth innings of a Test match.
A defeat in Adelaide would hand Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, retaining the Ashes urn and condemning England to a second consecutive series defeat Down Under. The tourists have at least avoided the ignominy of losing the series inside 10 days of cricket, a fate that seemed possible after their heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane, but their hopes of a miraculous escape now rest on a final-day performance for the ages.
