2m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:39pm

66th over – The lights are reflecting off the batters’ helmets

Nathan Lyon resumes under lights. This Adelaide Test really is throwing up every condition.

There’s some spin and bounce for Lyon, and Smith manages to squeeze a single out to the off side.

3m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:37pm

Cloudy skies

Jacks and Smith are both accomplished batsmen with first class centuries. But the cloudy grey conditions should be good for the Aussie quicks.

– Steve

It’s very dark out in the middle as the heavy cloud cover comes in.

It certainly could have an impact, especially with the new ball.

6m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:34pm

65th over – Big Cameron Green comes in for his fourth over of the innings

The new ball is 16 overs away, so no need to put more overs into Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc.

Smith can’t help himself when the ball is short, and the field is certainly set for that, with a deep square leg, deep backward square leg and a deep fine leg on the rope.

Oh he’s almost chipped one back to Green, but the big fella can’t get his hand hand down to it in time. Three runs down the ground. I wonder if Smith is anticipating the short ball here so his weight was a bit on the back foot, which meant he drove a little more uppishly than he would have liked.

Beaten! Will Jacks pushes at one outside off and is lucky not to nick off.

A good accurate set to start from Green, with no short balls in sight.

11m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:29pmNathan Lyon will start the day’s play with ball in hand

Jamie Smith is on strike to start the 64th over. The Englishman is on 2 off 30.

He starts a little bit shorter than the rough outside off, and Smith is forward to defend.

Smith shuffles down and clips three runs down the ground.

Will Jacks is playing back as a shorter ball skids onto him.

14m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:27pm

The quickest Ashes victory ever

If Australia gets the job done today, it will be, in terms of balls, the quickest Ashes victory ever.

I think this stat from Ric Finlay speaks to the atrocious over rate we’ve witnessed so far this series, as well.

24m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:16pm

Is there hope for England?(Getty)

We’re all giving England the last rites — and fair enough too because they’ve been summarily beaten for most of this series thus far — but there is a slim hope for the Poms.

Jamie Smith doesn’t keep for his county. He really is just a batter and has the numbers to go with it. He averages over 40 with the bat in his 18 Tests, including an unbeaten 184 against India.

Will Jacks showed in Brisbane he can fight with the bat, and has displayed big hitting against the white ball in the past.

And then there’s Jofra Archer, who looked as good as anyone in the first dig in Adelaide.

It’s not unreasonable to think Smith and Jacks could pick off 100 runs in the first session and put some fear in the Aussies.

31m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:10pm

Bazball? Boring ball? Don’t matter; Australia in 3

After all the talk around Bazball since 2022, with its explosive batting and impossible run chases, England turned traditional yesterday and put a scare in the Aussies.

Then the evening session happened, as Dean Bilton wrote about …

The painful truth, which became crystal clear on Saturday afternoon, is that it doesn’t matter which version of England presents itself. The Australians are simply better.

37m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 11:04pm

Weather watch

It’s trying to rain up here in the Adelaide hills – is the weather likely to affect today’s play?

– Lynne

(Supplied: BOM)

There is rain lurking around, but only some very gentle morning showers. Nothing that will affect play in any significant way.

42m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 10:58pm

Crawley and England ‘staring down the barrel’

Zak Crawley has just told Fox there’s hope within the England camp that Jamie Smith and Will Jacks can help pull off a miracle.

But last night, although not completely resigned, he was already signing something of an epitaph for England.

47m agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 10:53pm

What happened on day four

There were a few moments where England, batting like an honest to god Test team, looked ready to launch for a the record run chase.

Unfortunately for England, the Aussie bowlers refused to go away and Nathan Lyon got three enormous wickets to blow the game open.

1h agoSat 20 Dec 2025 at 10:37pmAustralia on the brink of winning the Ashes again(Getty)

I know we said it yesterday, but today marks another chance for Australia to wrap up the Ashes, with the hosts four wickets away from victory on day 11 of this series.

Also remarkable is the fact we’ve made it to day five of a Test, which felt exceedingly unlikely after the first game ended in two.

But, the equation is simple today:

Australia needs four wickets to win the AshesEngland needs 228 runs to complete a world record run chase and keep the series alive

Let’s get into it!