Ashes 2025 live score: England face huge first innings deficit as batting fails to fire again
Jofra Archer took the final two Australian wickets in the morning as the hosts were bowled out for 371
Australia were dismissed for 371 runs in their first innings of the third Ashes Test at Adelaide. The hosts resumed day two on 326-8 and took advantage of some early wayward bowling to add 45 runs before being cleaned up by Jofra Archer.
England needed to outscore the Australians on a flat and tepid surface if they had any hopes of keeping the series alive and they started well with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett positive but watchful. Crawley was then undone by a moving delivery from Pat Cummins which started a collapse that saw England lose three wickets for just five runs as Nathan Lyon came into the attack to dismiss Ollie Pope and Duckett in the same over.
Joe Root fell after the lunch break and Harry Brook’s (45) resistance fell on the stroke of tea. Ben Stokes dug in to keep the Australians in the field but wickets fell around him with Jamie Smith dismissed in controversial fashion due to the Snicko technology and Will Jacks caught behind off Scott Boland with the tourists over 200 runs behind.
Follow the latest score and updates on day two of the third Ashes Test below.
England 191-8
Starc flings a delivery into the legs of Jofra Archer who gets a touch on it and works the ball to fine leg for four.
He then drills a cover drive to the boundary as well just to give Starc something to think about.
Archer and Stokes both take a single as Starc’s over goes for 12.
England 179-8
There’s a drinks break here with 50 minutes of play still to go until the end of the day.
If England manage to still be batting then it’ll be a big win for them.
Stokes takes on a lot of fluids and rests underneath a wet towel. He looks to be struggling.
England 179-8
Archer swings hard at Lyon and punches him down the ground for three runs.
Stokes looks to be more positive and cuts Lyon away for one.
He hobbles to the other end of the pitch and looks to have a bit of cramp.
England 175-8
Four!
Archer slaps Starc away through point for a boundary as he looks to be positive.
He then rolls his wrists over a low, shorter delivery and takes a single.
England 170-8
Stokes has played well today. He pushes the ball into the offside to take one from Lyon.
Archer gets off the mark with an inside edge and for now, England will look to slowly accummulate runs again.
England 168-8
Jofra Archer is the latest England batter to trudge to the crease with only Josh Tongue left in the pavilion.
Ben Stokes might decide now is the time to let loose. That’s the only way to salvage something from another lacklustre batting display.
Archer blocks the rest of Boland’s over.
Wicket! Carse b Boland 0 (ENG 168-8)
Boland hits the same line and length as he’s been peppering all day and it’s too good for Brydon Carse.
He plays around the ball and the stumps shatter. England are eight down.
England 168-7
Brydon Carse is the new man at the crease. He can hit a long ball and it might not be long before he’s told to go after it from Ben Stokes.
Stokes can hit out as well and he’ll be starting to think about being more aggressive to cut the run gap as much as possible.
Wicket! Jacks ct Carey b Boland 6 (ENG 168-7)
Boland gets the ball to jag back into the body of Will Jacks.
He gets an inside edge on the ball and it flicks up for Alex Carey, who is up to the stumps, to cling onto.
England’s seventh wicket falls.
England 168-6
Jacks and Stokes continue to chip away at the Australia total.
They need to bat big and bat long. It’s the last partnership England have with recognised batters.
Stokes is into the 30s and has faced over 100 deliveries.
Nathan Lyon bowls another maiden. It’s been a disciplined day of bowling from the Australians.
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