Ashes 2025-26: Australia vs England Highlights & Review – 3rd Test, Day 2

NHow did Day 2 of the 3rd Ashes Test go between Australia vs England? — Review, Turning Points & more

Australia continued their dominance over England on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, December 18. The Three Lions are trailing by 158 runs with two wickets left in their first innings.

Earlier in the day, Mitchell Starc brought up a phenomenal half-century before Jofra Archer wrapped up the Australian innings with a five-for. The Aussies made 371 in 91.2 overs.

In reply, England got off to a solid start, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett adding a 37-run stand inside eight overs. However, they lost three wickets for just five runs, with Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins doing the damage.

Joe Root got himself a start but failed to make it count. Harry Brook and Ben Stokes forged an important 56-run stand for the fifth wicket to resurrect the England innings. After Brook departed, Jamie Smith played a counter-attacking knock, which only lasted 26 balls and yielded 22 runs.

Stokes played a defiant knock, while Will Jacks and Brydon Carse were dismissed in quick succession. Jofra Archer gave Stokes some much-needed company after England had slumped to 168/8. They helped the tourists avoid the follow-on.

Stokes and Archer’s partnership yielded 45 runs off 83 balls, as England finished on 213/8 in 68 overs. They are still a long way behind in the Test match.

Top batting performance — Ben Stokes

England captain Ben Stokes curbed his natural instinct, which is to attack the bowlers, and dug deep to keep his team in the Test match. At the end of the day, he batted for 151 balls and scored an unbeaten 45, hitting three boundaries.

Top bowling performance — Pat Cummins

Australian captain Pat Cummins performed brilliantly with the ball, bagging a three-for. He took the important wickets of Crawley, Root, and Smith. Interestingly, all three dismissals were catches taken by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Records Broken and Major Milestones Achieved

• Ben Stokes’ 45* is the lowest score for any England batter off the first 150 balls of an innings in the Bazball era.
• Nathan Lyon moved past Glenn McGrath to become Australia’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
• Pat Cummins dismissed Joe Root for the 12th time in Test cricket. No other bowler has dismissed the legendary batter more times in the longest format.