England inched closer to a humbling Ashes defeat as Australia’s accidental opener Travis Head scored his second century of the series.
Head struck a match-winning hundred in the first Test at Perth after volunteering his services as an emergency stand-in and another vital ton on day three at the Adelaide Oval put his side in sight of an unassailable 3-0 lead.
By stumps he had 142 not out in a score of 271 for four, leaving England 356 runs behind. Their eventual chase will surely dwarf the unforgettable 362 they made at Headingley in 2019, while their previous high of 332 on Australian soil is a distant memory.
A battling stand of 106 from England’s warrior-like captain Ben Stokes and tailender Jofra Archer had kept the first-innings deficit down to 85, giving the slightest hint that a remarkable comeback might be possible.
And when Brydon Carse removed Jake Weatherald lbw with his third ball, those slim chances ticked up another few percentage points. But Head took the game away with another excellent counter-punching knock at his home ground, where he now has four hundreds in his last four appearances.
He was dropped on 99 by Harry Brook in the gully, a hard chance but another installment in an increasingly long list of drops, and ended the day dominant with 13 fours and two sixes.
England are now fighting to avoid the ignominy of losing their biggest series in just 10 days of competitive cricket, an unwanted record that would beat the 11 days Nasser Hussain’s 2002-03 team managed against a vintage Australia.