Australia lead England 2-0 with three to play as the teams move on to Adelaide for the third Ashes test which gets underway in the early hours of Wednesday morning
Perth was the venue for the first Ashes test match and it took just 2 days to get a result with Australia coming home by 8 wickets.
Australia then made it 2-0 with an 8 wicket victory in the second test, a day / night match in Brisbane.
England won the toss at The Gabba and opted to bet first. Crawley made 76 and Joe Root was unbeaten on 138 but other than 38 from Archer batting at 11 there was little else as England were all out for 334. Mitch Starc was the chief destroyer with 6 wickets.
Australia took what proved to be a match winning lead in posting 511 in their first innings. Starc was the surprising top run scorer with 77 batting at #9 and other notable contributions came from Weatherald (72), Labuschagne (65), Smith (61) and Carey (63). Carse took 4 wickets and Stokes 3 but England were up against it.
In the second innings England were all out for 241. Crawley (44), Stokes (50) and Will Jacks (41) were the main run scorers, Neser took 5 wickets. Australia knocked off the target, 69/2 in just 10 overs to take a 2-0 lead and Starc was named MoM.
This was how the teams lined up in Brisbane.
Australia: Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Cameron Green,
Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett
Note, Pat Cummins missed the first two tests but has been included in the squad for this one.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer
Note, Mark Wood has been ruled out of the remainder of the series, Matthew Fisher joins the squad as his replacement.
Recent Ashes Series
In England in 2023 the series was drawn 2-2 (1-1)
In Australia in 2021/22 England lost 4-0 (1 draw)
In England in 2019 a 5 match series was drawn 2-2 and Australia retained the urn.
In Australia in 2017/18 England lost 4-0 (1 draw)
The Venue, Adelaide Oval
Over the course of the last decade Australia have played 9 test matches at Adelaide Oval, winning 8 and losing 1 to India back in December 2018.
In the most recent test match here, a day night match against India in December 2024 (India 180 and 75 lost Australia 337 and 19/0) by 10 wickets
In the 2021 Ashes test Australia beat England by 275 runs in a day / night match (Australia 473/9 dec and 230/9, dec, England 236 and 192)
Series Betting Update
Prices quoted from Sportingbet are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
A 5-0 series win for Australia is priced at 15/10 and it's 5/2 for Australia to win 4-1.
3rd Test Betting
Prices quoted from Sportingbet are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Australia are 9/20 to win the third test with a draw at 8.25/1 and England can be backed at 21/10
The Verdict
England are staring down the barrel here and it will take something pretty special to keep the series alive.
On the back of his first innings ton in Brisbane the price boost for a Joe Root 50 in the first knock catches the eye.
In Australia’s 1st innings top run scorer market Labuschagne gets my vote.
Bets: Joe Root to score a 50 in the first innings boosted to 5/2 at Sportingbet
Top Australia 1st Innings Run Scorer Labuschagne at 4/1 with Sportingbet