Ben Stokes moment says it all as England’s Ashes dream dies painful death | Cricket | Sport

Australia quashed England’s attempted resurgence, establishing a dominant position on the third day of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer endeavoured to inject some vigour into England’s dwindling campaign with a resolute century partnership. An early wicket from Brydon Carse gave them a glimmer of hope, but it may already be too late.

With a 2-0 series lead already under their belt, Australia ended the day at 271 for four – a comfortable 356 runs ahead with plenty more firepower left. Travis Head is leading the charge with a masterful unbeaten 142 at his home ground, while England’s energy seemed to be flagging in the field.

Captain Stokes, who had been battling cramp and dehydration during his 198-ball innings of 83, did not bowl a single over. Earlier, he had achieved the slowest fifty of his Test career, scrapping his way to 83, with Archer contributing his first Test half-century.

Their ninth-wicket partnership of 106 helped England reach a total of 286 all out, reducing Australia’s first-innings lead to 85. Stokes had ended the second evening virtually strokeless, plagued by exhaustion in the scorching heat, but appeared more at ease in the milder conditions on Friday.

He relied on Archer to hold his end, and together they began to whittle down the Australian lead with measured batting. Archer, who was mostly restrained, let loose with a powerful swing that sent Nathan Lyon’s delivery soaring over long-on for six.

Stokes reached his half-century in 159 balls and showed no signs of slowing down, executing a perfectly timed reverse sweep off Lyon over backward point and driving Scott Boland through cover. In an attempt to quell the English resurgence, Australia opted for a second new ball for the first time in the series.

However, Stokes responded swiftly with consecutive boundaries off Pat Cummins, one a forceful pull shot and the other a fortunate inside edge. Fresh from taking five wickets, Archer surpassed his previous best score of 38 before reaching his fifty.

But England’s momentum was halted by Mitchell Starc. Starc delivered a ball angled towards the stumps, which slipped past Stokes’ inside edge and dislodged the bails.

Stokes could not contain his frustration, leaping into the air and shouting in disappointment as his resilient innings came to a dramatic close. Archer was next to go, edging Boland to slip, leaving England with five overs to make an impact.

While Archer couldn’t deliver, Carse managed to breach Weatherald’s defence and dismissed him for one, although replays suggested the ball may have pitched outside leg and could have been overturned on review. Marnus Labuschagne struggled to find his rhythm and was dismissed for 13, caught at slip off Josh Tongue following a series of misjudged shots.

However, Head proved a more formidable opponent. Despite England’s efforts to restrict his scoring options with a heavily stacked offside field, he hit 13 fours and two sixes. Usman Khawaja got 40, while Alex Carey brought up his half century before the close of play.