Nathan Lyon has returned to the side in style in Adelaide, as he picked up two wickets with his first over to help turn the game back in Australia’s favour early in England’s innings. The off-spinner dismissed Ollie Pope (3) and Ben Duckett (29) in the same over to move past Glenn McGrath and into second-place on the list of Australia Test wicket-takers, while the cartel of quicks did their thing even with Mitchell Starc less threatening than he has been in these Ashes.

Pat Cummins was another to send a reminder of his importance to the side after spending time on the sidelines as the captain claimed wickets at crucial times and finished the day with 3 for 54. Cummins dismissed Zak Crawley (9) and Joe Root (19) early, but it is his later wicket of Jamie Smith (22) that will remain the talking point as another contentious Snicko call went in favour of the Australians. Smith had survived a close call when Usman Khawaja reached low for a catch in slips, but the England keeper-batter was sent on his way when Snicko showed a spike as the ball flew past the toe of his bat shortly after.

Lyon is his usual understated self while speaking with Fox Sports.

It has been a pretty tough day. It’s nice and hot out there, but nice to contribute and finally get into the series.

There is no secret to what I do. It’s just about doing the basics for a long period of time and hopefully creating a bit of pressure.

67th over: England 213-8 (Stokes 45, Archer 30) Green continues digging the ball in short – or at least back of a length – to Archer who has a tendency to hook and pull. Ben Stokes steps down the pitch to remind his partner to rein it in with stumps now in sight. Maiden over and we’ll likely get one more in today.

66th over: England 213-8 (Stokes 45, Archer 30) Nathan Lyon returns with Australia hoping to get a few extra overs in before stumps. Stokes drives off the back foot into the deep but despite his best intentions doesn’t have it in him to get back for the second.

Allan Hobbs is finding some optimism with what is now beyond a 50-run partnership between Stokes and Archer, as he begins to wonder whether “Snickogeddon” might be what ultimately decides this Test.

“Seems to me the worst possible outcome here would be England losing the game by fewer runs than the difference between Carey’s final 1st innings score and his ‘edge’. Shades of the ol’ moral victory etc and so on. I mean, clearly a lot of quite inconceivable things would have to happen to get to that point from here, but still.”

65th over: England 211-8 (Stokes 44, Archer 29) England are understandably playing with one eye on stumps now. Stokes keeps Green out before picking up a single at square leg to hang onto the strike.

Another sizeable crowd at Adelaide Oval with 48,849 fans walking through the turnstiles today. A visit to the venue is certainly on my bucket list - 2029 it might have to be.

64th over: England 210-8 (Stokes 43, Archer 29) Cummins goes short to Archer but the England quick has looked as comfortable as any of his teammates against that sort of approach. Archer keeps a pull down for a single to deep square, before Stokes does much the same to the same area to end the over.

Finn has some high praise for Alex Carey, who deserves all of it that is coming is way after another critical performance today.

“Quite enjoying the thorough and patient dismantling of England by the Australians. I’m also happy that Archer is showing his quality, both with the ball and the bat after what I thought was some pretty average commentary by the media last Test.

“I just want to highlight the optics of watching Stokes’ body succumbing to cramp after batting for three or four hours while Carey, having batted for four hours yesterday under immense pressure, looks fresh as a daisy, keeping for five hours in 39 degrees with nary a blemish the whole match. No Country for Old Men, eh?”

63rd over: England 208-8 (Stokes 42, Archer 28) Cam Green returns and almost makes an immediate impact as Archer swipes at a shorter ball and a top edge sends it flying towards Marnus Labuschange at deep square. Labuschange races in and dives forward for what would have been a spectacular catch, but is unable to get a hand to the ball before it bounces over the rope.

62nd over: England 202-8 (Stokes 41, Archer 23) Cummins returns with this partnership now beyond annoying for Australia. England finally reach 200 as Stokes opens the face to guide the ball away for a single at point. Archer finishes the ball pulling high to deep square where sub fielder Brendan Doggett comes steaming in but is unable to reach the ball even with a desperate dive.

61st over: England 197-8 (Stokes 39, Archer 20) Starc ensures there is no suggestion he is tiring as the left-armer begins the over with a 147km/h rocket in the heat in Adelaide. Stokes and Archer are content working singles as England edge closer to the 200-mark.

Jazba is another reader checking in from the other side of the globe and the first, as far as I’m aware, to call for the return of something resembling Bazball.

“Looking in from Blighty this is an all too familiar plight. England have snookered themselves. No intent on the best surface is baffling. Maybe Stokes ought to conjure something now because this series is done as of this point. A counterattack could be the trick.”

Cricket fans are just waking up in England to find a seemingly familiar score at Adelaide Oval. Guy Hornsby has summed up the day well, as though he has seen it all before …

“Ah well, waking up to a familiar disintegration of an England team down under. It could be any year since the late 80s. It sounds like we’ve tried to play more sensibly, but met with a renewed and brilliant attack, we’ve wilted in the brutal Adelaide sun? Add in a snicko drama, have I missed anything? I’m going to be in Melbourne at Christmas with my family, swapping rainy Sale for Fitzroy and my brother Dave, and Boxing Day at the MCG. I hoped it might be a live Test, but that’s not how it really goes, is it?”

60th over: England 194-8 (Stokes 37, Archer 19) Stokes is keen to get on the back foot and work Lyon onto the offside, as he picks up a pair of singles. The England skipper is still moving slowly even after the recent break.

59th over: England 191-8 (Stokes 35, Archer 18) Loose from Starc to Archer as the left-armer oversteps then drifts down leg for five no-balls. Carey won’t mind that not being called as byes. Archer turns a page in the text book with a cover drive to the rope and Starc rightfully responds with a 145km/h bouncer. Handy over for England with 12 coming off it.

58th over: England 179-8 (Stokes 33, Archer 9) Lyon overpitches and Archer’s eyes light up with a straight drive for three. Stokes takes guard but doesn’t seem to have much left in the tank as he almost crawls between wickets for a single to deep cover. That’ll be drinks. And not before time for the England skipper who has faced 121 balls for his 33.

Chris Brereton tells us he is a former Guardian reporter and in the present day is calling for a Hail Mary.

“It’s pretty clear to me that England need to take the rogue option and recall Jimmy Anderson. His skills are superior to anything else we have seen so far, he’d stick in when the going gets tough and his experience would be priceless. For an added bonus, maybe we could even get him to bowl a few overs as well?”

It has become apparent over the almost-eight days of cricket in this series that there is a gulf in depth as much as class between the two sides. But that would be quite the call for England to draft in a 43-year-old Anderson. I’m all for it …

57th over: England 175-8 (Stokes 32, Archer 6) Mitchell Starc returns and is still searching for his first wicket in the innings. Jofra Archer takes England beyond the follow-on mark with a crunching drive to the rope. That is one of the better shots of the innings, or at least since Brook departed.

56th over: England 170-8 (Stokes 32, Archer 1) Stokes gets the scoreboard ticking over again with a single to square leg before Archer gets off the mark with a less convincing inside edge.

Stephen Herzenberg is beyond seeing the funny side of England’s efforts, while he says he was “born in Manchester, spent 100s of days at Old Trafford with my grandfather from ages 4-11 watching Bumble, Clive Lloyd, Engineer. Family moved to US when I was 11 but never lost my love of cricket.”

“If England is going to use a batting all rounder who’s a part-time spinner, Liam Livingston makes more sense than Will Jacks. Livingston’s bowling figures in all forms of cricket in which he’s bowled a fair amount (first class, 20-20, ODI’s) are comparable or better than Moheen Ali’s and not that far off Rashid’s. And Livingston’s batting and bowling records are better than Jacks’.

“PS: I miss Bumble a lot on commentary. The Aussie commentators on Willow (Sky) are humourless.”

Colum Fordham has been inspired by earlier references to Bob Dylan, if not this England batting performance:

“I read a reference to Dylan’s ‘It’s all over now Baby Blue’, which it probably is, and then saw your ‘advice’ to Stokes and Jacks to ‘wait for the bad balls’. How unBazball-like although it might make sense against this Aussie attack.

“Bob Marley’s ‘Waiting in Vain’ came to mind for some reason. Radiohead’s ‘You Do it to Yourself’ also seems appropriate for England’s Ashes campaign thus far [Pope or Brook for example] without wishing to downplay the masterful bowling of Cummins, Starc and Lyon. But if truth be told, this England pair are in the minority of England players adopting a more sensible approach.”

55th over: England 168-8 (Stokes 31, Archer 0) Two wicket-maidens in succession for Scott Boland as Australia turn the screws. Jofra Archer is at the crease much, much earlier than hoped and at least looking more comfortable defending than Brydon Carse was during his brief stint in the middle.

54th over: England 168-7 (Stokes 31, Carse 0) Nathan Lyon with a maiden to Ben Stokes. The England skipper is running out of partners with his side still short of avoiding the follow-on, as unlikely as Australia are to enforce it.

53rd over: England 168-7 (Stokes 31, Carse 0) Scott Boland gets his first as the Stokes-Jacks partnership falls well short of their stoic effort in the second innings in Brisbane. Brydon Carse is in at No 9 and needing to play the game on its merits rather than hitting out at this stage. Stokes, on the other hand …

52nd over: England 168-6 (Stokes 31, Jacks 6) Lyon to Stokes as the off-spinner gives the six balls plenty of flight but can’t lure England skipper into much more than a clip off his pads. Maiden.

51st over: England 168-6 (Stokes 31, Jacks 6) Stokes nudges a single to point and allows Boland to go to work pitching the ball up and trying to tempt Jacks into a drive. Jacks is happy to see out the over defending.

50th over: England 167-6 (Stokes 30, Jacks 6) Lyon overpitches just a fraction and Jacks punishes the off-spinner with a sublime drive to the boundary. Waiting for the relatively bad balls seems the only sensible way left for England to play through the rest of this session.

49th over: England 162-6 (Stokes 29, Jacks 2) Boland continues to Jacks with neither side overly concerned by any hint that the runs are drying up. Carey ends the over coming up to the stumps to the pacer – in my view one of the most underrated scenes in sport. Brendan Foster did it justice after the second Test.

Well, we should feel partly responsible – Tom Latham has just been dismissed for 137 to leave New Zealand reeling at 323 for 1. But that’s the equal 12th-highest opening stand in Test history, and Conway is still going.

Will Jacks takes guard with Scott Boland at the top of his mark. Meanwhile, Ben Bernards has pointed out that there is a rather large partnership forming across the Tasman: “NZ with an unbeaten 312-run opening partnership vs West Indies happening right now. Top 15 in history and climbing fast! #realcricket”

Devon Conway is beyond 170 while Tom Latham has pushed past 130 to put New Zealand in command.

48th over: England 162-6 (Stokes 29, Jacks 2) A double change as Lyon replaces Cummins and almost makes an immediate impact – the off-spinner lures Jacks into overreaching with a defensive prod and the ball flies towards short leg. Head dives hard to his left and gets a hand to the ball but is unable to hang onto it. That would have been a cracker, but Australia are due to hold onto one or two of those. That’s drinks.

47th over: England 160-6 (Stokes 28, Jacks 1) Scott Boland comes back into the attack as the heat rises at a steaming Adelaide Oval. Will Jacks is not in a hurry with England still trailing by 211 runs, and he sees off a maiden over.

46th over: England 160-6 (Stokes 28, Jacks 1) England must once again turn to Ben Stokes and Will Jacks to get them out of a bind, as yet more Ashes controversy brews at Adelaide Oval. The tourists have already made a complaint about Snicko’s part in a non-decision in Alex Carey’s favour when the Australian was batting yesterday, now a similar scenario – and perhaps a correction – has worked against them while it is their turn to bat. Stokes looked to be taking deep breaths as Smith’s dismissal was confirmed, but the England captain will need to compose himself and use that as inspiration if he is to guide his side to safety or even more.

45th over: England 159-5 (Stokes 28, Smith 22) England have found it difficult to deal with Green’s bounce from back of a length since tea but Smith finds an answer as he gets on the front foot to slog over midwicket for four. Stokes adds another boundary with a stylish square drive.

44th over: England 150-5 (Stokes 24, Smith 17) SIX! Smith lifts Cummins over the boundary as he finally begins to settle into his innings. But, next delivery, Smith is almost gone as he lifts his hands to fend away a shorter ball that takes a deflection and pops up towards Khawaja at slip. Khawaja isn’t sure whether the ball carried – and replays suggest that it didn’t. The third umpire is relieved from making a decision over whether the ball struck bat, helmet, or both on its way through. That’s the second very close call behind the stumps that has left the Australians frustrated after Joe Root survived an earlier, similar appeal.

43rd over: England 143-5 (Stokes 24, Smith 10) Green to Stokes and the all-rounder is forcing the England captain to play even when he’d prefer not to off an awkward length. Stokes resists anything short until the last delivery when he gets into position to hook but pulls out of the shot at the last second – another sign of his intentions with 24 runs coming from 90 balls, and only two boundaries, so far. Maiden.

42nd over: England 143-5 (Stokes 24, Smith 10) Smith swings hard at a fuller delivery pitched outside off-stump, and a thick edge takes the ball well wide of Labuschagne at second slip on its way to the rope. Stokes adds a much more controlled boundary with a crunching drive through cover – opening up for his first runs after being tied down for 27 deliveries.

Ben Barclay gets the creative juices flowing with a loose reference to Bob Dylan: “I tuned into the Guardian ‘over by over’ report, to read Brook c Carey b Green 45 England 127 -5, and suggest: ‘Its all over now, by over’ report, or perhaps ‘its all over now, baby blue, by over’.

“It would be a lot more entertaining to see these two very good teams battle it out, but England often spoil the fun by beating themselves before the Aussies even can.”

As ever with this England outfit, the risk is that by focusing on their failings it is all too easy to undersell the opposition’s performance. The Australia bowlers have mostly impressed today, and made the most of understanding the conditions.

41st over: England 132-5 (Stokes 19, Smith 5) Cameron Green might be causing concern with the bat, and been underutilised with the ball, but he practically demands to continue after tea after a couple of threatening overs before the break. Stokes plays only when required in another maiden.

40th over: England 132-5 (Stokes 19, Smith 5) Jamie Smith is happy to duck and weave around anything short but is forced to press forward at the final delivery of the over. An outside edge falls short of Labuschagne at second slip to end a maiden over.

Pat Cummins has been one Australia player to spend time off the field during the previous session, but is back now and at the top of his mark with Jamie Smith on strike.

Peter seems to be searching for small wins: “Did I hear correctly, are there 3 subs on at the moment? Is this due to the conditions, if you’re not sure perhaps you could ask Ricky Ponting on his views.”

The temperatures have been above 40C in Adelaide, so perhaps the bowlers and fielders are looking for any excuse to take a break, while the batters are of course left to sweat it out in the middle. Certainly one to keep an eye on over the next two-and-a-bit hours of play.

Prateek is up at the crack of dawn in India to “watch Bazball finally dog it out on perhaps the best batting conditions of the series (at least the pundits seem to think so).”

“Ever since Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket, I’ve been a Ben Stokes advocate. He … just finds himself all alone, and it’s sad to say, that perhaps among all the English bats in this series, he’s been perhaps the most clear in his approach, even though the scores don’t signal that way. I fear that the last two Tests might be just the last rites of the fun ride that was Bazball.”

Australia take two wickets in the second session at Adelaide Oval and they could hardly have been bigger with Joe Root dismissed not long after lunch and Harry Brook sent on his way in sight of tea. England put on 73 runs in between the two breaks but will have their work cut out trying just to bat through the last session. Nathan Lyon is bowling with his tail up – and surely with a point to prove – while an under-fire Cameron Green looked as threatening as anyone during his brief cameo that ended Harry Brook’s knock.

England captain Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith will be back on the field shortly but in the meantime here are what some of our readers are thinking …

38th over: England 127-5 (Stokes 19, Smith 0) Lyon to Stokes with Australian fielders crowding the bat on the offside on the brink of the teabreak. The England captain is hobbling around, likely with cramp, but is too quick to take his guard and Australia will get another over at Smith.

37th over: England 127-5 (Stokes 19, Smith 0) Green gets the breakthrough as the Brook-Stokes partnership ends at 56 runs. Jamie Smith comes to the crease after scoring only 52 runs in four innings across the opening two Tests, and is very nearly gone without adding to that tally. Much the same delivery that sent Brook packing almost lures Smith into a nick to Alex Carey, but the right-hander fails to even make fleeting contact. A hugely impressive first over of the day from the Australian all-rounder, just a no-ball and wicket coming from it.

36th over: England 126-4 (Brook 45, Stokes 19) Snicko is called into action and this time does its thing! Lyon pushes the ball behind Brook as the right-hander can’t help but chase it and Australia rise as one to appeal for caught behind. The finger is raised before Brook reviews immediately – and replays show any sound came after the ball was well past the bat and on the way to clipping the thigh pad. Brook – and perhaps Snicko – survive, but Lyon looks threatening.

35th over: England 125-4 (Brook 44, Stokes 19) Australia set a field for Brook suited to short-pitched bowling. The right-hander controls a pull shot through square leg where Cummins – he’s back on the field – limits England to a single. Starc ends the over getting the ball to nip back into Stokes – perhaps a first sign of reverse swing.

34th over: England 124-4 (Brook 43, Stokes 19) Stokes clips Lyon off his pads through midwicket for a couple before the off-spinner finds a testing line targeting the left-hander’s off-stump. The rise in volume and frequency of Marnus Labuschagne’s chatter might be a sign of Australia recognising that this partnership is threatening to get out of hand.

33rd over: England 122-4 (Brook 43, Stokes 17) Mitchell Starc takes over from Scott Boland and unusually, for this series at least, is still without a wicket to his name even as England push into three figures. Harry Brook looks increasingly comfortable and brings up the 50-run partnership with Stokes with a slashing cut shot to the boundary.

32nd over: England 116-4 (Brook 38, Stokes 16) Nathan Lyon takes the ball with Pat Cummins taking a breather off the field. Brook angles the face of his bat to pick up a pair of singles behind square leg, while in between Stokes drives for one. The England captain could do with turning over the strike more and getting Brook on strike as much as possible at the moment.

The drinks break in Adelaide has given Brian Withington time to let his mind wander far and wide towards a hopeful query: “Call me an optimistic cynically naive old git, but I’m sensing some signs of recovery here. Brook looking very determined, Stokes obdurate, the wicket flat and the sun bleedin’ hot. What can go wrong?”

31st over: England 113-4 (Brook 36, Stokes 15) Boland leaked 24 runs from his previous three overs as Brook in particular set out to target the Australia quick. A tighter line ties down the England right-hander this time, until he ends the over easing a single to deep point. That’ll be drinks – the second of the session with the mercury rising beyond 40C in Adelaide.

30th over: England 112-4 (Brook 35, Stokes 15) Brook punches Cummins down the ground for a single to leave Stokes with four deliveries to face. The England captain has no interest in playing at anything short or outside off before Cummins finishes his over and immediately leaves the field.

29th over: England 111-4 (Brook 34, Stokes 15) SIX! Harry Brook can only deny his natural instincts for so long as he charges Scott Boland and carves a drive beyond deep cover and over the rope. The right-hander comfortably picks up a pair of twos on either side of the wicket. A promising over for England, 13 runs from it, as they seem to be going after Boland.

28th over: England 98-4 (Brook 23, Stokes 13) Pat Cummins returns with Ben Stokes on strike. That tale of course comes with plenty of history, often with the Australian captain in the ascendancy. But there is no way through Stokes’ determined defence this time. A maiden over.

Thanks Rob, for steering us through a session-and-a-half that often felt like a snapshot of the series so far. Stop me if it feels like you’ve heard this one before ... Australia’s tail lifted the hosts closer to – but still short of – what past players and pundits have insisted would be a reasonable first-innings total at Adelaide Oval. Then, even after their own predictably fast start, England soon gave up any perceived advantage as they suffered a top-order collapse with three wickets falling for a mere five runs. For all the talk about how much this surface might favour the batters, and the old adage not to judge a pitch until both sides have taken their turn to swing the willow, half of the dismissals have come through catches in front of the wicket. Quality bowling? At times. Poor shot selection? Absolutely.

England now have little choice but to dig in and can at least cling to some hope of reaching Australia’s 371 with Ben Stokes still at the crease, while dreaming of Harry Brook partnering his captain well into the afternoon. I’ll be with you until stumps – please do get involved with an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X.

27th over: England 98-4 (Brook 22, Stokes 13) Boland drifts onto the pads of Stokes, who tucks him through midwicket for three, and then Brook squirts wide of gully for a couple.

It’s time for me to hand over to Martin Pegan for the rest of the day. Thanks for your company and emails; see you tomorrow.

26th over: England 92-4 (Brook 20, Stokes 10) Lyon gets a bit of turn to Brook, who inside-edges into the leg side. One from the over.

“Let’s take a minute to celebrate this Australian team as a team and as a collection of individuals,” write Felix Wood. “They’ve gone about their business this series - ignored the noise and trusting each other that one or other of their mates will always stick their hand up.

“For England, I’m not really sure where they go from here, but I think the situation they’ve got themselves in over the No3 slot, where the incumbent is clearly not up for it but they’ve pre-crowned his successor when he’s clearly not ready and possibly will never be suitable sort of sums it up.

“I hope though how it’s ending doesn’t make people forget how fun Bazball was for a while - nor that before it England were just as frustrating to watch, equally prone to collapse and frozen in fear to boot.”

25th over: England 91-4 (Brook 19, Stokes 10) Boland comes on for Starc and puts a long-off in place for Brook, who works a simple single into the leg side. Brook promised to rein it in and so far he’s done exactly that, with just one boundary and lots of singles. And he’s still scoring at a strike rate of 76.

Stokes gets his first boundary with a beautiful off-drive, a shot he played so often during his memorable maiden Test hundred at Perth 12 years ago.

24th over: England 86-4 (Brook 18, Stokes 6) “Awwww that’s close to pad first!” shouts Labuschagne when Stokes defends a ball from Lyon on leg stump. Stokes is almost strokeless, particularly against Lyon, and has 6 from 33 balls. That scoring rate would be a concern for most England players, but we’ve seen Stokes do this many times before, most notably at Headingley in 2019.

23rd over: England 85-4 (Brook 17, Stokes 6) Starc is consistently bowling around 90-92 mph, which is some going for a 35-year-old in 39-degree heat.

22.2 overs: England 83-4 (Brook 16, Stokes 5) Stokes turns his back on a perfectly pitched short ball from Starc that hits him on the back of the helmet. Starc asks Stokes if he’s okay, Stokes nods and the physio comes on to check for concussion. He’s OK to continue.

Drinks With temperatures approaching 40 degrees, the umpires call for an early drinks break. England trail by 289 runs and are in abundant bother.

22nd over: England 82-4 (Brook 15, Stokes 5) I thought the ball from Lyon to dismiss Duckett was a jaffa. In fact, replays show that it was a good rather than great delivery, one that maybe shouldn’t have been getting through a Test opener.

Five dot balls in a row from Lyon to Stokes, although it was hard to concentrate with Marnus Labuschagne chatting away constantly between deliveries. Stokes has 5 from 24 balls, Brook 15 from 19.

21st over: England 81-4 (Brook 14, Stokes 5) Starc probes outside the off stump of Stokes, who isn’t interested in playing out there. When Starc tightens his line Stokes defends solidly.

“As I sit here at the boundary at Adelaide Oval, I can’t help but cast my mind to some of the comments below the line in the match report last night: 450 apparently constituted ‘par’ on this wicket,” writes Angus Chisholm. “Par works as a concept for golf, where performance is strictly a question of physical and mental ability, and where your main obstacle is the utterly dispassionate topography of wherever you happen to be playing. It doesn’t work when your abilities are being tested, in a five-match series in a foreign country under the baking sun, by 11 other blokes who want to put you away with maximum severity.”

20th over: England 80-4 (Brook 14, Stokes 5) Brook has started sensibly and looks happy to milk Lyon for singles, at least for the time being. Australia were in similar trouble yesterday, 90-odd for 4, but right now it’s hard to see England mounting a similar fightback.

19th over: England 77-4 (Brook 12, Stokes 4) Yep, no messing around from Australia: Cummins off after a two-over spell, Starc on to bowl at Stokes. His first ball is too straight and worked through midwicket for three by Stokes.

18th over: England 73-4 (Brook 11, Stokes 1) Lyon has a slip and silly point for Stokes, who plays a series of forward defensive strokes before waving his first run to deep point.

Given Stokes’ struggles agianst Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins may bring himself off despite taking the wicket of Root.

17th over: England 71-4 (Brook 10, Stokes 0) Cummins has dismissed Root more than any other bowler in Tests.

16th over: England 64-3 (Root 13, Brook 9) Nathan Lyon continues after lunch and is milked for five relatively low-risk singles. Good batting.

15th over: England 59-3 (Root 11, Brook 6) Pat Cummins, who has a magnificent record against Joe Root, replaces Scott Boland after lunch. A huge LBW appeal against Root is turned down, with replays showing an inside edge onto the pad. It’s an excellent start from Cummins though, an accurate and challenging maiden.

The players are back on the field. Australia are probably one good session away from retaining the Ashes.

“I really thought this was England’s chance, Rob,” says Luke Regan. “More fool me; the Aussies are too good as usual. How we nearly beat them in England I’ll never know.

”We’ll also never know what would have happened if Pope hadn’t gifted his wicket so meekly. Never a good sign when everyone knows what you’re going to do before you do.

”Even if we now scrape a score approaching parity, we aren’t knocking them over cheaply without a frontline spinner to support Archer. This tour has truly become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

That’s an important point – parity is no good to England, they need a lead of at least 100. I should probably have written that in the past tense.

Lunchtime reading

13th over: England 53-3 (Root 10, Brook 1) Boland’s first poor delivery is clipped to the midwicket boundary by Root. No pressure, Joe, all England need from you in an unbeaten double hundred.

That delivery aside, Boland’s control has been immaculate, and later in the over he forces Root to inside-edge one onto the thigh.

“I think the right decision was made on the Root review, but I wonder whether it was fair that Australia lose a review,” writes Tom. “The umpire made a howler - Root smashed it - and the usual protocol is to check if it carried after it is given out, so Australia shouldn’t have had to use a review. In any case, it wasn’t definitive that it didn’t carry, so it begs the question why there isn’t an umpire’s call decision on instances like these so that it doesn’t cost a review.”

12th over: England 48-3 (Root 6, Brook 1) Root negates an LBW appeal from Lyon by getting outside the line. Lyon is all over Root for the first part of the over, but Root puts some pressure back on the bowler with a crisp reverse sweep for four.

“We need to talk about Pope,” says Will Ellen. “There’s vast billowing smoke swirling all around - but not because we’re getting a new pontiff. You cannot have a No3 who at times looks like a No11. Skittish, erratic, nervous, desperate to hit the ball somewhere, anywhere, rather than build an innings. And averaging less than 15 against Australia. This was inevitable. Surely for his own good he needs to be taken out of the firing line?”

The odd thing is that he looked a different player, a lot more composed, in the first innings at Perth. But this feels like the end, certainly as a No3.

11th over: England 42-3 (Root 1, Brook 0) Boland slips a cracking delivery past Root. Another maiden, his second in a row. In the last four overs Australia have taken thre wickets for five runs, on what was supposed to be a road.

Root is not out! Australia aren’t happy, with Marnus Labuschagne and then Pat Cummins having a chat with the umpires.

It’s still being checked. I think it bounced but the more they look at it, the more you fear for Joe Root.

Root clearly inside-edged the ball onto the pad and through to the keeper – but it may not be a clean catch by Alex Carey. Sheesh, this is huge.

Australia review for caught behind against Root!

There may be trouble ahead…

10th over: England 42-3 (Root 1, Brook 0) Well that escalated quickly.

If Pope gave his wicket away, then Duckett was undone by a gorgeous delivery. It curved onto middle stump from around the wicket, then spat past the edge to hit off stump. Majestic bowling from Lyon, who has moved past Glenn McGrath into second place on the list of Australian Test wickettakers: Warne 708, Lyon 564, McGrath 563. He’s not filthy any more.

9th over: England 40-1 (Duckett 28, Pope 3) Scott Boland replaces Mitchell Starc (4-0-20-0) and hits Pope on the glove with a short ball that follows him. Pope was caught in two minds and ended up just taking the blow. Boland ends an accurate first over by nipping one back to beat Pope on the inside. Not a great shot from Pope, who could easily have inside-edged that onto the stumps.

In other news, Josh Inglis is off the field with what could be a shoulder problem.

8th over: England 40-1 (Duckett 28, Pope 3) Ollie Pope flicks his first ball to fine leg for a couple.

7th over: England 37-0 (Crawley 9, Duckett 28) After Crawley knocks Starc down the ground for three, Duckett clips expertly through midwicket for his fifth boundary. It wouldn’t surprise me if Australia have a look at Nathan Lyon before lunch, which is around 35 minutes away.

“In a bar in NYC,” writes Rachel Clifton, “but watching on my phone (shout to Willow TV - $79 a year for all cricket!) and sharing the anxiety with the West Country bartender. Can Duckett make it past 30?!”

I’ll let you know in the next five minutes.

6th over: England 28-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 22) Both the openers have decent head-to-head records against Cummins in Tests: Crawley averages 54, Duckett 45. Duckett is hit in the stomach by a short one, the last ball of a largely uneventful over.

“I’m just home from work flicking through the channels,” writes Niall Mullen. “On ITV1 right now is Live Free or Die Hard which I assumed was the cricket. But it turns out the rugged alpha is Bruce Willis and not Baz.”

At least it’s not the Bonfire of the Vanities.

5th over: England 26-0 (Crawley 5, Duckett 21) Crawley is beaten by an immaculate delivery from Starc, angled across from over the wicket. Starc has bowled excellently with the new ball and could easily have made an early breakthrough.

“Another quiet (anonymous) hello from the floe,” writes Mr Anonymous. “If you have a spare moment (maniacal laughter) please thank Gary Naylor, both for his regular contributions and specifically for tonight’s reference to Soap, watching of which helped keep me sane during midnight feeds with the sonchick a mere 35 years ago…”

And thank you both for – I’ve no idea when this last happened – making me feel young.

4th over: England 21-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 19) Cummins, bowling around the wicket, is slightly too straight to Duckett, who picks him off behind square for four.

Cummins adjusts his line and slips a good delivery past the outside edge. Duckett lashes a boundary through extra cover and then inside edges past the stumps. It’s been a mixed start from Duckett, with four emphatic boundaries and a number of false strokes.

In case you missed it, Tanya Aldred’s piece on the 1936-37 Ashes is as good as you’d expect.

3rd over: England 12-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 10) Duckett chases a short, very wide delivery from Starc and is beaten. Careful now. He plays a much better stroke next ball, thumping a length ball to the cover boundary. A single off the pads takes Duckett into double figures for the fourth time in five innings this series; the problem for England is that he hasn’t reached 30. Yet.

2nd over: England 7-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 5) Pat Cummins will take the new ball on his return to the side. He last bowled competitively in Jamaica five months ago, though by all accounts he has looked frighteningly good in the nets.

Duckett edges an excellent delivery just short of the slips, then forces a boundary through extra cover to get off the mark. Nicely played.

“Obviously, in order to make it to the very top of any sport, you have to have a pretty well-developed sense of self-confidence,” writes Matt Dony. “Even the ‘nicest’ elite sportspeople have a steely determination that the rest of us can only imagine. But, even in that world, Ben Stokes’ strength of personality seems incredible. To the point where I simply can’t imagine trying to argue with him on the cricket pitch. Jofra Archer is an astonishing bowler, but does he really think that engaging in a dialectic discussion with his captain will lead to him getting his own way?”

I quite like that Jofra gave as good as he got, even if it was an exercise in futility.

1st over: England 1-0 (Crawley 1, Duckett 0) Zak Crawley pats the first ball of the innings into the leg side for a single. The rest of Starc’s over is majestic, with Duckett beaten twice outside off stump – first by a bit of extra bounce, then by some late movement. Fabulous start.

“Chat GPT has a 120-run win by the 2010-11 team over the 2005 team,” says Chris Paraskevas. “I agree with that: they won in our backyard and without the huge amounts of luck of the 2005 team, though the former will always be more... iconic.”

The 2005 team beat a much better Australia side though. I find it really hard to compare those two England teams, partly because they were so different in style. I suppose a more important question is: WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED TO COMPARE THEM, SMYTH, YOU JOYLESS, ANAL, BACKWARDS-FACING, LIST-OBSESSED f$%&!$.

Right, here we go. Mitchell Starc. First over. You know the drill.

“In the days of old TV, when there was no competitive cricket (because of rain), they used to show replays of old matches,” writes Alisdair Gould. “I was wondering if you could do OBOs for previous matches, once England have ended all competitive cricket for this series by the end of today?”

Why wait till the end of the day?

WICKET! Voges c Stokes b Broad 1 (Australia 21-5)

What. A. Catch. Voges goes, driving squarely to Stokes’ right, but it’s miles away from him so he can’t possibly grab it can h...OH HOLY MOTHER HE CAN! Sensational grab, and Broad’s figures currently read 2.1-1-6-4. Decent.

91st over: Australia 371-9 (Lyon 9, Boland 14) Ben Stokes turns to his hoover, Josh Tongue. Boland is beaten by a good ball outside off stump but the rest of the over is survived without alarm.

“Without commenting on the score, I’m fascinated by how optimistic Graeme Swann is when commentating,” writes James Walsh. “I know he had a personality that wasn’t for everyone, but I wonder if even in elite sport you need enough of those glass-half-full characters, especially if combined with Swann’s singular talent.”

That’s a very good point, especially as he played in a relatively grizzled and cynical team. I wonder who’d win a match between the 2005 and 2010-11 Ashes winners.

90th over: Australia 370-9 (Lyon 8, Boland 14) Lyon has plenty of time to stand tall and back cut Archer for four. This pitch is flat, certainly for the seamers.

“While it’s good to see Stokes getting a bit animated,” says James Brough, “I’m not sure why he’s having a go at the bloke who’s taken 4 for 40-odd when the rest of the team’s taken 5 for 300.”

It’s not the first time they’ve argued about the field since Jofra returned to the Test team. It looked like Stokes was saying he didn’t want to set a field (in this case by putting in a deep point) for bad bowling. I can see both sides!

89th over: Australia 365-9 (Lyon 4, Boland 14) Carse rams in a bouncer that forces Boland to take evasive action. Just one run from the over.

88th over: Australia 364-9 (Lyon 3, Boland 14) Boland edges Archer over the slips for four to move into double figures. Archer is chasing his fourth Test five-for: he took two against Australia in 2019 and a slightly weird 5 for 102 from 17 overs at Centurion in 2019.

Boland ends the over with a sweetly timed back cut for four. These runs are a mixed blessing for both teams because they suggest a beautiful surface for batting.

87th over: Australia 356-9 (Lyon 3, Boland 6) Boland drives Carse sweetly through mid-off for four, more evidence that this is a very good pitch.

“Pouring petrol on the fire, but it’s worth remembering the on-field umpire gave Alex Carey not out,” says Rowan Sweeney. “Yes, there was a technological cock-up, but the correct decision was made by the third umpire based on the evidence available.”

Agreed. While it’s far from ideal, the potential impact hardly compares to John Dyson’s run-out that wasn’t at Sydney in 1982-83 or even some of the dodgy LBWs against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2005.

86th over: Australia 348-9 (Lyon 1, Boland 0) Archer and Ben Stokes had a very animated chat while celebrating the wicket. I think it was about the field setting: Archer wanted a deep point for Starc, Stokes didn’t agree.

The No11 Boland is beaten by a beauty first up.

84th over: Australia 334-8 (Starc 41, Lyon 0) Jofra Archer opens the bowling to Mitchell Starc, who is averaging 63 with the bat and 14 with the ball in this series.

Starc’s batting average rises to 67 when he hits Archer for two boundaries, a slash over the slips and a beautifully timed push through the covers.

Here come the Australian batters, Mitchell Starc (33*) and Nathan Lyon (0*). England need to get rid of them quicksmart.

“Dear Rob, writing from Tokyo where it’s a crisp sunny morning and 7°,” begins David. “I note it could reach 39 in Adelaide? Cue the wisdom of Pvte Hudson in Aliens: ‘Yeah man, but it’s a dry heat.’ We’re gonna be OK, right. Snaffle the last two wickets. Lyon and Starc are tailenders, right? Then score 600. Easy.”

Have you been watching the Old Trafford 2023 highlights again?

The consensus is that today and tomorrow will be the best days to bat. England need to go huge, because they won’t fancy chasing too many against Nathan Lyon on day five.

“As the cliche has it, it’s a crucial first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh hour,” writes Gary Naylor. “Are Australia bringing 871 Test wickets into an already winning team or imbalancing their attack with a couple of rusty bowlers? Are England Bazball zealots or pragmatic pros? Did 2006 happen at all? Feels like the opening credits of an episode of Soap.”

England have had a review reinstated after yesterday’s Snicko cock-up. That means they have two left for the remainder of this innings.

It’s already 33 degrees in Adelaide, with temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees. In short, England’s seamers will be utterly filthy if the batters don’t give them the day off (once they’ve taken the last two Australian wickets).

Neville Cardus was covering the tour for the Manchester Guardian, his beautifully written reports later gathered together within the pages of Australian Summer. In his own cracking book The Great Romantic, Duncan Hamilton reports that Cardus told England captain Allen the night before the third Test: “For heaven’s sake clinch the rubber at once. Bradman cannot go on like this much longer.”

Cardus’s premonition was right. The third Test was at Melbourne, where, similar to the recent pink-ball Test at Brisbane, playing the conditions was as important as playing the ball. Thick, fat rain started to fall late on the first day and into the second, and the players were presented with a classic sticky dog. Bradman declared at 200 for nine and England were soon all in a tangle.

With wickets falling quickly, and desperate not to have to bat again that afternoon, Bradman instructed his bowlers to send the ball wide of the wicket and dispatched his prowling close catchers away into the outfield. The next day was to be a rest day and the weather forecast was for hot sunshine. But Allen refused to gamble on bowling Australia out for a second time. He pressed on, and on, till England had lurched to 76 for nine, batting out precious overs as he did so.

There is no doubt some parts of the Australian cricket mind have struggled to understand England’s best bowler. “This is where Jofra Archer NEEDS TO STEP UP for his team,” the interchangeable Channel 7 punditry voice rasped just after lunch. At that exact moment Archer had two for seven, everyone else 87 for one. Reality: everyone else needs to step up and support the only person currently doing it.

Tell me, what was it that first convinced you the only black Caribbean-born player on either team was somehow not to be trusted? But then the idea is always out there that Archer somehow isn’t trying, has the incorrect body language, or is uniquely guilty of not bowling his absolute fastest all the time.

It takes a degree of willed ignorance to maintain that a man who has worked his way back from serious injury, who came up as a self-made cricketer, no pathways, no academy, just hard work, is flighty and weak. And yes, it comes back to the chain, which Australia has been a little bit obsessed with on this tour in an oh-no-dad’s-making-an-unfortunate-remark kind of way.

Chalk it up to fates or fortune or a quirk of probability, whatever your inclination. If Australia’s first day of the Adelaide Test was a jigsaw puzzle hurled into the air, most of the pieces landed face up in the right place. It has been a pattern for Australia in this Ashes series: monstered by England’s bowlers in Perth, only to create an even greater collapse; sliding in Brisbane, rescued by the lower order.

England, meanwhile, brought a gameplan built on the surety that they couldn’t win in Australia with medium-fast seamers and a keeper up to the stumps, then lost to medium-fast seamers with a keeper up to the stumps. They were given the gift of no Pat Cummins, no Josh Hazlewood, no Nathan Lyon (in Brisbane) and still managed to lose twice in six days. Their third encounter brought the next gift: Steve Smith missing with an inner-ear problem, their own personal Ghost of Ashes Past replaced in the middle order by a creaking, squinting opener whom Australia had already tried to drop.

After the pandemonium of Perth and Brisbane’s pink-ball palooza came a more familiar opening day at Adelaide Oval. It was also roasting hot out in the middle – 35C on the mercury – and when the toss went against Ben Stokes and his embattled England players, they could easily have melted.

Instead, despite some sloppiness and Alex Carey’s magical century on the ground he calls home, the tourists kept plugging away with the fight that Stokes called for at 2-0 down. At stumps Australia were 326 for eight from 83 sapping overs – runs on the heritage-listed scoreboard, granted, but short of ambitions when the returning Pat Cummins got the choice first thing.

England are considering a formal complaint over the Snicko ­technology being used in this Ashes series after Alex Carey received a lifeline en route to a telling century on the opening day of the third Test.

Carey, who made 106 in Australia’s 326 for eight by stumps, was on 72 when Josh Tongue believed the left-hander had edged behind. He was given not out on the field and the third umpire, Chris Gaffaney, felt he did not have enough evidence to overturn the decision despite a spike showing up on the review.