Australia v England, Second Ashes Test day five: England hopes dashed, Aussies take 2-0 lead

Second Ashes Test: Day five scoreboard

Australia win by 120 runs

England 2nd inns: 233 (84.2 overs. Root 67, Stoneman 36, Bairstow 36, Malan 29, Cook 16, Vince 15; Lyon 2-45, Starc 4-84, Cummins 1-39, Hazlewood 2-41)

Australia 2nd inns: 138 (58 overs. Khawaja 20, Starc 20, Marsh 19, Lyon 14, Warner 14, Handscomb 12, Paine 11; Anderson 5-43, Woakes 4-36, Overton 1-11)

England 1st inns: 227 (76.1 overs. Overton 41*, Cook 37, Woakes 36, Ali 25, Bairstow 21, Malan 19, Stoneman 18, Root 9; Lyon 4-60, Starc 3-49, Cummins 2-47, Hazlewood 1-51)

Australia 1st inns: 442-8d (149 overs. Marsh 126*, Paine 57, Khawaja 53, Warner 47, Cummins 44, Smith 40, Handscomb 35, Lyon 10*, Bancroft 10; Broad 2-72, Overton 3-105, Anderson 1-74, Woakes 1-84)

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Day five report

England folded quickly in pursuit of a national-record chase as Australia took six wickets in under a session to go 2-0 up in the Ashes with a 120-run victory.

The hosts had appeared a little rattled for much of the penultimate day in this second Test, while England captain Joe Root was sustaining England's unlikely fightback with a determined half-century.

But Steve Smith's men were right back on their game as the Adelaide Oval sunshine came out to play at last on the final afternoon, Josh Hazlewood wasting no time with the instant wickets of nightwatchman Chris Woakes and Root himself in successive overs and Mitchell Starc (five for 88) turning the screw.

After that, despite the best efforts of Jonny Bairstow, the rest was just details as England were all out for 233 after being set 354 to level the series.

The tourists had done enough over the preceding day-and-a-half to give their supporters hope, even vaguely realistic hope.

But on the resumption, from 176 for four, they simply could not have got off to a worse start.

The Barmy Army was still singing Jerusalem, as is its wont before the second ball of each day, when Woakes got the thinnest of edges behind to a very good delivery.

Contact was so feint, in fact, that Aleem Dar's decision was upheld after Woakes went to DRS only on the basis of a Snicko spike and in the absence of any corroboration at all from Hotspot technology.

In Hazlewood's next over, Root did not hang around to query Dar's ruling of another caught-behind - departing like Woakes without addition to his overnight score.

Both had succumbed to significant movement off the pitch, not previously evident in this match, and Hazlewood kept getting the ball to dart around against new batsmen Moeen Ali and Bairstow too.

It was Moeen's off-spin opposite number Nathan Lyon who would account for him, though, for the second time in the match and fourth out of four in the series.

In the first innings, Lyon had pulled off a crowd-pleasing caught-and-bowled from a tame chip back too close to him; second time round, Moeen missed a sweep and had to go lbw after chancing his team's second review in vain.

England had therefore lost four wickets for 19 runs, dating back to Dawid Malan's dismissal late on Tuesday night.

Debutant Craig Overton had helped to kickstart the revival with some fine tailend resistance in the first innings but was dealt an even tougher hand for his second Test innings.

He survived on five when Cameron Bancroft could not hold a very sharp chance off Pat Cummins, wearing a helmet at an advanced third slip, but got little further before Starc pinned him lbw in the crease at his first attempt with the second new ball.

For the record, Starc bagged Stuart Broad caught-behind and Bairstow was last out chopping on to his former Yorkshire team-mate.

England therefore knew for sure the urn will be on the line again when they rejoin battle at one of their unhappiest hunting grounds in Perth next week.

Post-match reaction

England captain Joe Root:

"Last night and leading into that we showed what we can do and we showed the side that we actually are.

"We need to make sure we repeat those performances for longer periods of time.

"We came to the ground this morning well in the fight but unfortunately those two early wickets really did cost us.

"If we got in and went on and make a decent partnership there it is a completely different game. But, unfortunately, we just weren't able to do that.

"It's very frustrating, I thought the way we responded in the second innings with the ball and then the fight and resolve we showed last night with the bat was outstanding.

"It would have been nice to be two or three down going into today, but, credit where credit's due, they bowled very well up front and we just have to be better.

"There are lots of things that you look back on and maybe do differently but that (bowling first after winning the toss) wasn't one of them.

"I don't actually (regret it), you want to give your bowlers the best chance to take 10 wickets and in those conditions with the quality that we have I fully expected those guys to take 10 wickets.

"With the rain around and losing some time potentially hampered us, we would have had 10 overs with the second new ball that night that were taken away from us under lights."

England coach Trevor Bayliss:

"I don't think there is a real need to panic, the guys have shown the capabilities we have got.

"We have just got to find a way to do it for longer.

"In both Test matches we have competed for a couple of days but to win against Australia in Austrlaia we have to compete for longer than that.

"Certainly the batting (is a bigger concern), yes. You have to take 20 wickets but, to put pressure on the opposition, you have to score more than 220 in each innings.

"All of our players have competed at different times and showed they can bat but we just have to do it for longer.

"We have to work out a way to keep that concentration and compete for longer."

Australia captain Steve Smith:

"I was a little bit nervous at times, sometimes it was just about having faith and belief and try to keep doing the basics really well.

"If you get enough balls in the right areas then you are going to get rewards.

"Would I do the same again, I am not sure. It has been on my mind over the last couple of days to be honest. I thought 'have I made a mistake here?'

"My thoughts and rationale behind it was that it is a really long summer, I don't want to bowl my bowlers into the ground.

"Although the conditions were favourable for England bowling that evening, we have seen that the new ball in pink-ball cricket can swing.

"On another day I may have gone the other way but, at the end of the day, we have won the Test match so it is irrelevant."

"It's phenoemenal to be 2-0 up in the series.

"I thought England fought back really hard but we always thought coming into the day with 18 overs until the new ball then things would be in our favour. We always thought 180 runs was a lot of runs to get today."

Day four report

Joe Root took it upon himself to keep English hopes alive as his team tried to complete a remarkable reversal of fortune in the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Root's men earned an outside shot at a national-record run chase after bowling Australia out for 138 and then reaching 176 for four by stumps on day four, on the back of their captain's unbeaten 67, in pursuit of a highly-improbable 354.

The architects of England's improvements, dating back more than 24 hours after their miserable start to this match, have been Chris Woakes and Craig Overton with the bat and then James Anderson and Woakes again with the ball.

Anderson recorded his first five-wicket haul in Australia, while Woakes finished with four for 36, as the hosts mustered only a joint top individual score of 20 after Steve Smith chose not to enforce the follow-on the previous evening.

Then Root ensured England would take it into the last day here to determine whether they will go to Perth level again at 1-1 or a dispiriting 2-0 down with three to play.

England's second-innings efforts with the ball were outstanding, as was their fielding.

Stuart Broad intimidated Nathan Lyon early on, and Anderson reaped the reward when the nightwatchman holed out to mid-off.

In his next over, Anderson (five for 43) had an out-of-sorts Peter Handscomb especially well-held by Dawid Malan diving to his right at gully.

And Woakes got in on the act thanks to an even better catch of contrasting style when Overton made ground from fine-leg to cling on as he threw himself forward following a mis-hook by Tim Paine.

Mitchell Starc and Shaun Marsh gave the hosts some significant extra leeway until Woakes bowled the first-innings centurion as he aimed to leg.

Starc then became Anderson's fifth victim, miscuing to deep mid-off, and Overton finished the job when Josh Hazlewood propped a catch to gully.

England had given themselves the slimmest of unexpected chances, and their top order was never going to lack for motivation after its collective first-innings mishap.

But the odds, and around 140 years of Ashes history, were still stacked ominously against them.

A half-century opening stand raised hopes, Alastair Cook surviving on one when Australia incorrectly chose not to review for a Hazlewood lbw.

But Cook, lbw to Lyon after Smith did go to DRS this time, and then Mark Stoneman - propping Starc to gully - were to go for the addition of only a single.

James Vince began the dangerous dusk-and-dark session by edging a drive at Starc to slip, leaving the onus more than ever on Root.

He needed some fine-margin decisions to go his way, notably when he reviewed an lbw decision against him off Lyon on 32 and saw technology demonstrate the ball clearing middle-stump by a whisker.

He also survived on 60 when Cameron Bancroft could not hold a sharp chance at short cover off Pat Cummins.

But there was decidedly more skill than luck about Root's hugely-determined 78-ball half-century as he and Malan battled through 26 overs together under lights until the left-hander was bowled by a beauty from Cummins just before the close.

Day three report

Re-energised England produced a spirited revival with bat and ball but still trailed badly after three days of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Only a sterling, unbeaten 41 from debutant number nine Craig Overton helped the tourists approach even relative respectability in their first innings as Nathan Lyon (four for 60) and Mitchell Starc (three for 49) shared the bulk of the proceeds.

Then after Australia decided against enforcing the follow-on, James Anderson and Chris Woakes deservedly bagged two wickets each under lights in the hosts' 53 for four at stumps.

When they faltered to an alarming 142 for seven, England were still 300 runs adrift, before Overton and Woakes' eighth-wicket stand of 66 helped them to 227 all out.

Anderson and Stuart Broad then used the new ball emphatically better than they had on day one - but with an overall lead of 268 at the close, Australia retained their grip on this match.

There was very little to like for England supporters through the first half of the day.

Events did not feature one of the manic collapses they have often succumbed to in recent years, but if anything their desultory stumble was even harder to watch.

James Vince got England's day off on the wrong foot when he edged behind to the fourth ball he faced from Josh Hazlewood, trying to force runs into the off-side.

Joe Root was then livid with himself when he edged an attempted drive at Pat Cummins to third slip.

Alastair Cook was compliant too as too fell to a slip catch, pushing forward well outside off-stump to Lyon, and Cummins then returned with a very good delivery from round the wicket at his first attempt in a new spell to have Dawid Malan inside-edging behind.

Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow hinted at much-needed resistance either side of tea, but it was not to be as each fell to smart return catches - albeit from poked rather than punched drives, neither of which would have reached the boundary.

Lyon's dive to his left was a crowd-pleaser, but Starc's was the better catch - knocked up with his right hand, before he collected the rebound.

It was therefore over to England's eighth-wicket pair - and unlike all who went before them, they significantly exceeded expectations.

Woakes set the tone, and Overton ably followed.

Australia tried to bounce both of them out, but the response was assured with minimal fortune required as numbers eight and nine ducked, weaved, left and occasionally took on the short ball.

It was a surprise, in fact, when Woakes eventually got it horribly wrong to present Starc with his second caught-and-bowled.

Broad and Anderson could then muster only three runs between them, and Overton was left stranded short of what would have been a richly-deserved half-century in his maiden Test innings.

Back to their day job, England's frontline seamers made life especially tough for Australia.

Anderson soon had Cameron Bancroft caught-behind, and in the 10th of his 11-over spell he took one back away off the seam from round the wicket to Usman Khawaja for lbw.

A hugely-becalmed David Warner then edged Woakes to third slip to go for 14 from 60 balls.

Steve Smith had survived on nought by overturning one lbw verdict against Anderson but could not do so a second time when Woakes hit him in front.

Day two report

England at least defied expectations of an instant twilight collapse after Shaun Marsh's century piled the pressure on them on day two of the second Ashes Test.

The tourists may have feared a stumble at the first hurdle under lights after Marsh (126 not out), Tim Paine (57) and Pat Cummins helped Australia rack up 442 for eight declared.

Instead, in 9.1 overs before evening rain brought day two to a premature end, they lost only Mark Stoneman - lbw to a full ball from Mitchell Starc - in a stumps total of 29 for one.

England captain Joe Root's gamble to bowl first here brought only aggravation and his team nonetheless remains badly up against it to somehow remain only 1-0 down.

Australia bagged a remarkable 200 for three in the first two sessions, despite losing Peter Handscomb to the third ball of the day.

When Stuart Broad pinned him deep in his crease lbw, England's hopes briefly rose at 209 for five.

Then for a few tantalising seconds not long afterwards, they thought it was 240 for six when Chris Gaffaney gave what appeared at first sight a very feasible lbw against Marsh, who got in a rare tangle pushing forward to James Anderson.

He rightly chanced a review - almost certainly in the hope the ball had pitched outside leg - only to discover instead that technology projected it going on to clear middle stump.

Marsh therefore survived on 29, and in similar circumstances so did Paine on 24 in the luckless Anderson's next over.

England were still threatening to take a clutch of wickets, bowling better than on Saturday on a pitch providing more lateral movement, yet they mustered just one more before tea when Paine mis-pulled Craig Overton to deep square leg.

That ended a crucial stand of 85, followed by one of even more substance as Marsh was joined by Cummins - surely one of the best number nines in this or any era.

England did not make it easy, and Cummins needed significant skill and self-belief as he took 37 balls to get off the mark.

He eventually did so with a tucked-up, aerial cut for four off Overton - after which he and Australia never looked back.

Marsh had his near five-and-a-half-hour century in safe keeping by dinner when a pinpoint pull off Chris Woakes brought him his 12th four from the 213th ball he faced and took Australia past 400.

There was still time for the last ball before the break to serve up a tragi-comic moment as apt summary of England's fortunes when Marsh spliced a short ball from Woakes gently behind square on the off-side only for James Vince and Alastair Cook to collide with one another rather than either take the catch.

In four further overs, after Cummins upper-cut to third-man to fall short of a maiden Test 50, there was some crowd-pleasing slapstick hitting from Nathan Lyon and a memorable six from Marsh over long-on off Broad - a mighty and memorable strike.

By then, dating back to last week's second innings in Brisbane, England had spent 199 overs in the field since they last had a bat.

In those circumstances, they did not fare as badly as many feared in a mercifully truncated session.

Day one report

England struggled to vindicate Joe Root's gamble to bowl first on a cagey first day of the inaugural pink-ball Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Only Usman Khawaja (53) could post a half-century, and no stand exceeded 53 as England arguably fluffed their lines with the new ball but stuck to their task to restrict Australia to 209 for four at the close.

There was a prize maiden wicket for England debutant seamer Craig Overton - home captain Steve Smith - and Chris Woakes edged back towards his best in support of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

No one, though, could claim to have achieved a telling advantage in front of a modern-day ground-record crowd of more than 55,000 on a day briefly notable too for the niggle which has often overshadowed this high-profile series so far.

At dinner, England had made worryingly little headway.

They did not help themselves by pitching too short initially - although as well as no wickets, the other consequence was relatively few runs.

The attritional tone which had prevailed in last week's first Test at the Gabba was therefore, against expectations, set here too.

It was down to Woakes that, after an opening session truncated by showers to only 13.5 overs, England then bagged a couple of much-needed breakthroughs in the second.

First, Woakes was alert and accurate with his direct-hit throw after David Warner sent Cameron Bancroft back as he attempted a single to Moeen Ali's misfield - and the young opener could not regain his ground.

England had also starved Warner of fluency, and arguably he was running a little short of patience when he tried to engineer a run-scoring angle off the back foot but succeeded only in edging Woakes behind.

There would have been another for Woakes if Mark Stoneman had held a running catch at deep square-leg when Khawaja mis-pulled on 44.

The left-hander took only minor advantage, though, completing his 89-ball half-century with a back-cut off Moeen Ali for his eighth boundary only to then fall in the first over of the final session as the lights began to take effect.

He tried to attack a length ball from Anderson and edged to a fine gully, where James Vince took a sharp catch diving to his left.

Smith's entrance immediately brought a verbal set-to with Broad and Anderson - unsurprising, given the exchange of views which has travelled south from Brisbane between the Australia captain and his opponents.

When Anderson was later deployed to take up a short mid-on position to Broad, it looked a provocative move close to Smith's personal space as he backed up - and once again, there were words as well as one minor physical brush as both went for the same ground.

It was a potential flashpoint which went no further thanks to Overton - who was triumphant when he got one in the perfect spot to Smith and found lateral movement too to have the world's number one batsman bowled off inside-edge and pad.

That, however, was as good as it got for Root's men as Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh dug in to close out the remaining hour-and-a-half.