Australia vs England, 3rd Test - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Australia 3, England 0. The Ashes began on November 21, 2025, and precisely a month later on December 21, Australia have retained the Ashes. Three Tests. Three emphatic statements. Test cricket reduced to its purest and most ruthless form by the Aussies. Travis Head set it all in motion with a commanding century in Perth, a knock that gave Australia both momentum and belief. That authority carried through to Adelaide, where, in front of his home crowd, his influence again proved decisive in sealing the Ashes. Starc’s timely strikes and Carey’s measured contributions added steel to the performance, ensuring strength in every phase. This was not a victory driven by moments alone, but by a unit operating with clarity and purpose. Australia didn’t just win the series, they have done it with precision and authority. With a couple of Tests still to be played, the story is far from over and there’s more Ashes drama waiting to unfold. We’ll return on 26th December as the focus shifts to the Boxing Day Test, where the next chapter of this contest will be written. See you then!

Pat Cummins: Feels pretty awesome, been thinking about this series for a long time. It wasn’t easy today, but we got it done and pretty excited changing room. (On his comeback) A fair bit of patience initially and then the last two months have been a bit of a grind. Just giving myself every chance. It’s all worth it when you get days like these, packed crowd and retaining the Ashes. (On being calm under pressure) I think that’s when we're at our best, this cricket team. You can’t really rush things here in Australia. You kinda will it to happen, but it doesn’t really work that way. It’s good old-fashioned grind a lot of the time. I loved the toil from all the guys today. It got a little bit closer than I would’ve liked, but pretty happy. (Strategy going into the series) First of all, you need more than just 11 players in an Ashes series - five Tests, and even three Tests in, we’ve shown that. We’ve used 14 or 15 players. Steve was great. It's always always about focusing on what we do really well as bowlers, not trying to get too carried away with the opposition, most of the time it’s focusing on what we do well. (Adaptability in this series) That’s one of the things I’m most proud of with this group. Nothing ever really happens perfectly, there’s always something that gets thrown up. Over the last few years, this group has shown it can just crack on. I missed the first couple of games, Steve stepped straight in, it was smooth and seamless. Nathan Lyon doing his hamstring with a couple of hours left today, the boys just go, “Okay, that’s happened, lets crack on. What’s next?” That’s one of the big reasons why we've had our success over the last couple of years. (On Australia's fielding) Incredible. I think Steve and him (Labuschagne) might have a fight over who gets second slip back next week. On this tough pitch here in Adelaide, there wasn’t too much on offer. Taking 20 wickets was always going to be pretty tough, Marnus manufactured a couple more for us with some of his fielding. Travis Head and Alex Carey - don’t know where their statues are going to go soon, but they deserve it. It’s such a wonderful place to play Test cricket. Packed crowds all five days. So many people travel in for this one Test every year. Seeing two homegrown heroes was awesome. We’ll see how I pull up over the next day or two and make a decision. But let’s savour this for now.

Ben Stokes: Obviously, the dream that we came here with is now over, which is obviously incredibly disappointing. Everyone’s hurting and quite emotional about it. We’ve got two more games to go and that’s where the focus needs to switch to now. We came here with a goal in mind and we haven’t been able to achieve that. It hurts and it sucks, but we’re not going to stop. (Difference between the two teams) Just the constant execution, Australia have been able to execute things on a much more consistent basis than us with the ball, with the bat, and in the field. This game of cricket is based on how you bat, how you bowl, and how you field, and they’ve outdone us on a much higher level. We’ve shown it in passages across these first three games, and again this week, we did incredibly well to take it to where we did to in this fourth innings. I thought we were on for another heist this morning when Jamie and Will were playing so well, but we can't do what we came here to do. There’s some good stuff to take out of this game. Looking back on this game, losing the toss and going in to bowl, keeping Australia to an under-par score, not being able to respond with the bat the way we wanted to when we knew we had a great opportunity to put a big score on the board. Then to fight back the way we did with the ball yesterday morning to take six wickets for 60 or something, we were confident we had a very good chance of chasing it down because we knew how good the wicket was. There were always going to be challenges that were presented to us and we dealt with them pretty well in passages. Losing those three wickets at back end of the day yesterday set us back a bit. All the stuff from last week around the stuff that I wanted to see a bit more from this team, I can definitely say I’ve seen that this week. Some of the guys lower down the order stuck in and showed that courage, fight, and responsibility that I was asking for. Yes, we’ve been on the wrong side of the result, but we can take a lot from this game into the remaining two games. We’ve learnt a lot about ourselves as a team. We haven’t been consistent or relentless enough, our execution hasn’t been anywhere near good enough to come to Australia and compete with these guys. At the moment, the scoreline reflects that. But we’ve got two more games. We’ve got so much to play for, we’re not going to fall over and just let this series play out. We’re going to leave absolutely everything out there in the field. We’ve got people coming over here to come and watch these last two games, we’ve got so much more to play for. W're going to give absolutely everything for these last two games.

Alex Carey | Player of the Match: We knew what was on the line coming into this match, and I thought the boys stayed really present and played what was in front of us. We know England are such a good cricket team and that we were going to be challenged. Again, right to the end today, it was a real grind. For the boys to all chip in throughout the series so far, it has been a lot of fun. And this Adelaide crowd throughout the last five days has just been something special. Travis, again, something special here - four Test hundreds at the same venue. I know how good he is, and he’s showing the world he’s one of the best players. To have family and friends, to be able to contribute to Australia’s victories is always something I’m trying to do. To do it here in Adelaide this week was pretty amazing. I’m lucky to play a lot of Sheffield Shield cricket here, it’s a familiar surface. Against a really good bowling attack, we were definitely challenged throughout the day. To be able to put on a partnership with Usman Khawaja, who came back into the group and played really well at late notice, it was fantastic ... again, not surprising from such a great player. I guess patience and trying to get through spells of really good bowling and then trying to pick up boundaries when the opportunities were there. A very special moment. Having the immediate family here, to score a hundred and then look up to the heavens was something very special. (On his wicketkeeping) Keeping to a really good bowling attack gives you lots of opportunities. They’ve been unbelievable. I’ve been lucky enough to come up to the stumps and keep to Boland and Neser last week, they’re beating the bat and bowling fantastically. Nathan Lyon was again, fingers crossed he’s okay, he was really, really special yesterday late in the day. It’s been a lot of fun, and this bowling attack is really, really good.

Travis Head: He (Starc) saved me in the end, not having to bowl too many overs when Gaza (Lyon) went down, I thought, jeez, I might be able to take a wicket, and that would be a nice touch. Then I got panned everywhere for the first three overs, I couldn’t hit the rough. It’s huge. We’ve had this next-man-in mentality. I’ve spoken about it the last couple of days. We’ve used, what, 14 of the 15, no, probably all 15, from the squad. Blokes coming in, blokes stepping up, and he’s been enormous. I’m not sure how many wickets he’s (Starc) got in the series now, but I can’t think of three games in a series better than what he’s produced with the ball, and then stepping up with the bat as well. He’s been awesome. He really has. A few weeks ago I sort of tempted the idea of finishing it here, so I’ve got my work cut out for tonight and tomorrow, organising a few things in Adelaide, which are already done. I’m really looking forward to the next 48 hours. I guess they’re all nice. But this is right up there, winning a series and getting runs in the second innings. I would’ve loved a few more, but I don’t know how much longer I could’ve gone for another couple of hours. To set the game up in the third innings on a good wicket, I felt it was there. Batting all day is still a bit new to me, so that was nice. I’m looking forward to not doing tickets every morning. It’s been hard work but awesome. The crowd’s been pumping, as it should be. Record numbers again today, it’s been a huge week. Bit of a rev-up from the boys. I’d seen Dave Warner bat here, so I thought the fourth time, I might as well kiss the wicket. It’s been pretty good to me. Probably a bit out of my comfort zone, but it got a rise out of the lads. I forget sometimes it’s a national stage, I’m really just trying to make the 15 blokes and staff laugh and enjoy it. Nice one to put on the wall. I’m happy batting anywhere in the team. I feel like I’m batting well. I was disappointed with a couple of starts earlier in the series, so backing innings up has been important. I like the new role, I like the new ball. There are opportunities to score, get off to quicker starts, and problem-solving. Ron’s always talked about that, and I feel like that’s what I bring. Looking forward to the next challenge.

Mitchell Starc: Feels bloody good. I’ve managed to work for it. It was a bit of a flat wicket and they played pretty well, but I think those are the ones you cherish a bit more when you have to work a bit harder, isn't it? So yeah, another Ashes win. It’s been a great atmosphere all week, all series so far. Can’t fault anyone today, it was awesome. The wicket didn’t do as much as we probably thought it would with the newer ball. It was a shame for Nathan to go down as well, we thought he would’ve done a great job with the harder, newer ball out of that rough. But again, we just found a way, which I think has been a feature of this group over a number of years now. Even at times when it’s not going our way, we can find a way to get ourselves back in line. It was a bit gusty, coming from all directions. But it’s part and parcel of playing cricket, with the footmarks and whatnot. Another fantastic day. Obviously a massive shame for Josh. He was flying heading into the series, so that was a big loss for us there. I don’t think I’ve changed anything. There’s been a lot made outside the group about Pat not being there for the first two, this week he was phenomenal, and he’s the Pat Cummins we know and love. We had Nathan back this week and until later today he was fantastic again. Ness, Doggett - they played a massive part in these three Tests. And Scotty, we know what Scotty does. It’s been an all-round performance with the ball, and certainly with the bat. The two guys playing at home this week had a phenomenal week, so I’m really pleased for them as well. Always nice to contribute. A bit tiring! But yeah, it’s something we’ve spoken a little bit about in the group, how important those lower-order runs can be. Certainly the session that Scotty and I batted in Queensland to get us through to the night session played a big part in the rewards we got later in the day. So any time we can contribute with the bat is always important. Managed to get a bit of luck as well, good fun. (Experience counts?) One hundred percent. We do laugh at some of the comments that come back to us about how old we are. I think that plays a part in how calm this group is. It hasn’t always been going our way, or the rub of the green. That’s certainly led by Pat and Andrew and how they’ve gelled this group together over a number of years. Experience plays a part, going through your highs and lows, but I think the level-headedness of this group, being able to find a way in most situations and forgetting about things that haven’t gone our way, is huge, that plays a big part. We’ve got a few younger guys too, and I think that rubs off on them as well. Credit to all the players, but definitely the staff, led by Andrew. We’ve got a big contingent of staff members and they’ve played a massive role, not just in this series but over a number of years. He's (Head) the king of Adelaide. It was great to watch him - not just Head, but also Alex, these two guys playing at home and how much this ground means to them. And how much that partnership meant to us as a group. It was bloody good to watch.

Stats by Roshan Gede

The last time England breached the 350-run mark in an Ashes Test in Australia was at the MCG in 2017/18. That remains one of the two Tests they managed to draw in the country since 2013/14, having lost each of the other 16.

190.1 overs batted by England across the two innings - the most they have batted in a Test match in the Bazball era, surpassing 182.4 against India at Headingley earlier this year.

England played out 39 maidens in this Test, comfortably the most since Stokes and McCullum took over in June 2022, surpassing 27 at Lord’s earlier this year. 21 maidens in the run-chase is the most for them in an innings in the timeframe.


3.35 is England's third-lowest run-rate for a Test match (across two innings) in the Bazball era, after 3.13 and 3.31 against India at Ranchi 2024 and Lord's 2025 respectively. For context, they have gone at 4.5 overall in the timeframe, well clear of the next-best Australia (3.64).

Australia’s last four home Ashes series
Won 5-0 in 2013/14
Won 4-0 in 2017/18
Won 4-0 in 2021/22
Leading 3-0 with two Tests to go in 2025/26


Mitchell Starc in Tests in 2025
Matches: 10
Wickets: 51
Avg: 17.15
SR: 28.7
5-fers: 3

Of the 108 instances of a bowler bagging 50 or more Test wickets in a calendar year, Starc’s strike-rate of 28.7 in 2025 ranks the best, followed by 29.5 for Waqar Younis (55 wickets in 1993).

Starc has dismissed 12 of the 13 England players at least once in the series so far, Josh Tongue being the lone exception, having faced just seven balls off him.

Additionally, he averages 50 with the bat in the series; only Joe Root averages 40-plus for England (43.8).

Most wickets at a venue in Tests for Australia
82 - Dennis Lillee, Melbourne
68 - Shane Warne, Brisbane
68 - Nathan Lyon, Adelaide
65 - Glenn McGrath, Brisbane
64 - Shane Warne, Sydney

Catching efficiency in the series
Australia: 85.45% (47 out of 55)
England: 76.7% (33 out of 43)

Alex Carey is just the second wicketkeeper to register a hundred and bag seven dismissals in an Ashes Test, alongside Matt Prior, who did that at the SCG in 2010/11.

This was just the sixth instance of four 50-plus stands in fourth innings of an Ashes Test (fourth for England), the last of which had come in a drawn game at the SCG in 1982/83.

14:15 Local Time, 03:45 GMT, 09:15 IST: It's taken 11 days for Australia to go 3-0 up and win this Ashes series. It wasn't a stroll in the park today as they had to work hard to pick the four remaining wickets. Jamie Smith and Will Jacks batted at a good tempo and forged a 91-run stand. England's wicketkeeper notched up a fifty but got out to Starc immediately after hitting back-to-back boundaries. Jacks and Carse kept their team in the hunt as they brought the target under 100 but once again Starc came back to extinguish England's hopes. The left-arm speedster had Jacks caught at slip, accounted for Jofra as well and then Boland wrapped up the proceedings. This was England's best performance of the tour and yet they fell short by 82 runs. Shows you the class of this Australian team - they never really allowed the visitors to dictate terms and have always found a way to win crunch situations.

Boland to Tongue, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Carey goes back

Carey is up to the stumps for Carse. Here's Boland