England are staring down the barrel of a crushing Ashes series defeat after a devastating spell from Australian spinner Nathan Lyon left them reeling on day four of the second Test in Adelaide.
Record Chase Crumbles Under Lyon's Onslaught
Set a mammoth, world-record target of 435 to win, England had fought their way to a promising 177 for three, with Zak Crawley leading a gutsy resistance. However, the match turned decisively in a brutal 20-ball period from the veteran off-spinner. Lyon, who had been expensive earlier, returned to the attack and produced a match-winning performance.
He first clean bowled the dangerous Harry Brook for 46, before dismissing England captain Ben Stokes for just five. The final blow in his triple-wicket haul was the stumping of Crawley, who fell for a valiant 85 from 151 balls. From a position of relative stability, England collapsed to 207 for six at stumps, still needing a further 228 runs for a miraculous victory.
Early Strikes Set the Tone for Australian Dominance
The tourists' daunting task was made even harder by Australian captain Pat Cummins, who struck crucial early blows with the new ball. Ben Duckett was dismissed for a second-ball duck, while Ollie Pope fell for 17 to a spectacular one-handed catch by Marnus Labuschagne. Joe Root offered some resistance in a 78-run partnership with Crawley but fell for 39, becoming Cummins' 13th Test victim.
Earlier in the day, England's pace attack had shown signs of life, bowling Australia out for 349 in their second innings. Josh Tongue finished with four wickets, while Brydon Carse took two in two balls. However, the damage from Australia's first-innings total of 570 had already put England in an almost impossible position.
The Final Day: A Mission Impossible?
With only four wickets remaining and the tail exposed, England's hopes of salvaging a draw, let alone a win, appear incredibly slim. The unbeaten pair of Jamie Smith and Will Jacks will resume on the final morning, knowing they must engineer one of the greatest escapes in Test cricket history to take the series to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne alive.
The alternative is a 3-0 series lead for Australia, which would see them retain the Ashes with two matches still to play. For Ben Stokes' side, the fight now is to avoid the ignominy of a series defeat inside 11 days of cricket, a fate narrowly avoided here after heavy losses in Brisbane and Perth.
