Australia’s early dominance in the Ashes has silenced many pre-series predictions. After sealing a 3-0 lead with their win in Adelaide, the hosts put the series beyond England’s reach. The result gave Australia breathing space with two Tests still to play. It also set the stage for a strong response from players who had been written off before the series began.

One player who did not shy away from speaking his mind was Marnus Labuschagne. Known for his energy and honesty, he responded to the talk around the series. Many experts had expected a tight contest. Instead, Australia dominated from the opening Test.

Labuschagne also addressed claims that this was the weakest Australian Ashes side in years. Some commentators had gone as far as calling it the poorest team since the home loss in 2010–11. Sitting on a 3-0 lead, those comments now look wide of the mark. Australia have turned doubt into confidence with strong performances.

‘Job’s Not Done Yet’ – Labuschagne Keeps Australia Focused

Speaking on-field to ABC Sport after the match, Labuschagne said, “All the media hype, we have to say it, being called the worst Australian team in 15 years… it’s nice to be sitting where we are, three-nil.” The comment was calm but sharp. It summed up Australia’s response to all the criticism before the series began.

Did the Aussie team hear all that punditry bluster before the Ashes began, calling them "the worst Australian team since 2010"?

Yes, they did. And now they've answered it.

Catch every ball this summer. Live and ad-free on ABC Radio and ABC listen: https://t.co/WbUr1sULLV
Follow… pic.twitter.com/yOtJ7uxsHY

— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) December 21, 2025

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His words carry extra weight given how the matches have played out. England was outplayed in Perth and at the Gabba. Even in Adelaide, where the contest looked closer, Australia always stayed in control. Expectations of a fierce battle never truly became reality. Despite the strong position, Labuschagne made it clear that Australia are not satisfied yet. He sent a clear message to England, saying, “The job’s not done yet, we want to make sure it’s 5-0 and really take that urn.” The focus now is on finishing the series strongly.

Labuschagne also played a big role in Adelaide with his fielding. In the fourth innings, he pulled off two stunning one-handed catches in the slips. He first dismissed Ollie Pope on Day 4 and later removed Will Jacks on Day 5. As the series heads to the Boxing Day Test, England face the challenge of avoiding a whitewash and restoring some pride.

In a show of complete dominance, Australia retained the Ashes after winning the first three Test matches of the ongoing series against England. In the third Test at the Adelaide Oval, Australia once again outplayed England and won the match by 82 runs.

Australia batted first in the third Test and scored 371 runs in their first innings. Usman Khawaja played a solid knock of 82 runs, while Alex Carey scored an excellent 106 runs to help the team post a strong total.

England struggled with the bat in reply and were bowled out for 286 runs in their first innings. Ben Stokes was the top scorer for England, making 83 runs.

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Australia Continue Dominance Against England

Speaking of the second innings, Australia came out to bat with confidence. Travis Head played a brilliant knock, scoring 170 runs off 219 balls. Alex Carey also contributed well with 72 runs. Australia posted 349 runs in the second innings and set England a challenging target of 435 runs.

In reply, England struggled against Australia’s strong bowling attack. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon picked up three wickets each, while Scott Boland claimed one wicket. Despite some fighting partnerships on Day 4, England were bowled out for 352 runs. Australia won the match by 82 runs.

The dominant win has raised questions about Ben Stokes’ captaincy and Brendon McCullum’s role as head coach, as England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach failed against tough opposition.

“This is very disappointing for us,” Stokes said. “Everyone is hurting and emotional. But we still have two more matches to play, and our focus now has to be on those games.”

The winning moment of Ashes for Australia. They are 3-0 in the series now. 2 matches to go. England have a tough day ahead to avoid clean sweep.#Ashes2025pic.twitter.com/gPfh0gD21a

— VIKASH KUMAR (@vkc1000) December 21, 2025

Australia Seals the Ashes Series

Australia have shown strong dominance in the series despite missing key players. Captain Pat Cummins returned for the third Test after missing the first two due to injury. Josh Hazlewood did not play in the series, while Steve Smith missed the Adelaide Test due to illness after leading the team in Perth and Brisbane.

Australia had already taken a 2-0 lead after winning the first Test in Perth and the second in Brisbane. The win in Adelaide gave them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. As a result, Australia have retained the Ashes trophy.

Score Summary – Australia vs England, Third Ashes Test

Australia – First Innings: 371 all out in 91.2 overs (elected to bat)
Top scorers: Alex Carey (106 off 143 balls), Usman Khawaja (82 off 126 balls), Mitchell Starc (54 off 75 balls)
Best bowler (England): Jofra Archer (5/53)

England – First Innings: 286 all out in 87.2 overs
Top scorers: Ben Stokes (83 off 198 balls), Jofra Archer (51 off 105 balls), Harry Brook (45 off 63 balls)
Best bowlers (Australia): Scott Boland (3/45), Pat Cummins (3/69)

Australia – Second Innings: 349 all out in 84.4 overs
Top scorers: Travis Head (170 off 219 balls), Alex Carey (72 off 128 balls), Usman Khawaja (40 off 51 balls)
Best bowlers (England): Josh Tongue (4/70), Brydon Carse (3/80)

England – Second Innings: 352 all out in 102.5 overs
Top scorers: Zak Crawley (85 off 151 balls), Jamie Smith (60 off 83 balls), Will Jacks (47 off 137 balls)
Best bowlers (Australia): Pat Cummins (3/48), Mitchell Starc (3/62), Nathan Lyon (3/77)

Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, has admitted that he would be unlikely to feature in the fourth Ashes 2025/26 Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the Boxing Day Test. He may not take part in the rest of the series, along with the New Year’s Sydney Test, after securing a pretty amazing victory in Adelaide to retain the urn in just 11 days of playing time.

Pat Cummins, who claimed six wickets in the match, played his first game in 22 weeks as he recovered from the back injury, and he mentioned that even though he came through the game, successive red-ball encounters were always unlikely for him.

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“We'll work it out over the next couple of days. I doubt I'll be playing Melbourne, and then we'll have a chat about Sydney. But certainly before the series it was, while the series was live, let's take on the risk and have a crack at it, now it's done, I think we'll need to have a chat about it.” Cummins expressed in the post-match press conference.

Pat Cummins unlikely to feature in Melbourne Ashes 2025/26 Test

The relentlessness of Australia’s attack stood out throughout the game, while the fielding was superb. Alex Carey produced another masterclass behind the stumps while Marnus Labuschagne was exceptional in the slip corridor.

“I think that's when we're at our best, this cricket team. You can't really rush things here in Australia. I think you kind of 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 talk from all the guys today. It got a little bit closer than I would have liked, but I'm pretty happy.” Cummins revealed in the post-match presentation.

“Over the last few years, this group has shown [it can] just crack on. Even though I missed the first couple of games, Steve stepped right in, and it was smooth and seamless. There are always things that crop up; Nathan Lyon is doing his hammy with a couple of hours left today.” The Australian captain addressed.

With Australia retaining the Ashes 2025/27 with a 3-0 lead in the five-match Test series against England, they have continued their stay at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025/27 points table as they have now gained six victories in as many games at a pct of 100. Meanwhile, England has dropped down to the seventh spot with just two wins in eight games.

South Africa, with three wins in four clashes, finds itself in second position at a pct of 75, while Sri Lanka warms the benches at three, despite getting just one win in their two clashes so far of the competition. New Zealand has a chance to leapfrog them if they win their ongoing third Test against the West Indies at Bay Oval.

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Pakistan is in fifth position while India, after their 0-2 series whitewash at home against the Proteas, stayed at the sixth position with four wins and as many defeats in nine encounters so far. England gave a slim chance of doing the inevitable in Adelaide, but couldn’t stretch the good work for long.

Know latest WTC 2025/27 points table updates

Australia posted a massive score of 371 in the first innings thanks to a 106-run knock of Alex Carey, while Usman Khawaja, turning up at number four, nailed a fine knock of 82 runs before Mitchell Starc, amassing 54 runs in 75 balls at a strike rate of 72, with the help of nine boundaries, as they posted 371 in the first innings.

England had the chance to bat long and deep and rule the hosts out of the contest, but their first innings score of 286 was never going to be enough. Still, they showed fight in the fourth innings. The only issue was their schoolboy errors from the batters, including Harry Brook, who aimed at reverse sweeping Nathan Lyon, only to lose his leg stump.

On the fifth morning, Jamie Smith and Will Jacks showed grit and patience, but all was too late and little to save the game as Australia retained the Ashes 3-0 with an 82-run victory.

World Test Championship (WTC) 2025/27 points table

Travis Head started the Ashes 2025/26 on fire with a fine century against England in the opening clash at the Optus Stadium in Perth, which saw the hosts claim the victory inside two days. Back at the Adelaide Oval for the third contest of the series, Head hoped to impress with another such feat, but he failed in the first innings.

The beauty of the Test matches is about getting a chance in the second innings, and Travis Head didn’t waste it this time around. The southpaw creamed his way to near the century and found himself on 99. He played seven dot balls against Joe Root and Jofra Archer before flashing hard to the fifth stump delivery, where Harry Brook dropped him to offer the second life.

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That was enough for the South Australian, who used his feet and cracked a nice straight boundary against Root to complete his 11th century in the red-ball format. The crowd erupted in joy to see their home boy rising to the occasion as Head put his name among the greatest of the country.

Travis Head notches up his fourth successive Test century in Adelaide

Head has now joined four other players to celebrate four successive centuries at a single venue. The list starts with Don Bradman smashing four successive centuries in Melbourne between 1928 and 1932. England’s Wally Hammond got four consecutive centuries in Sydney between 1928 and 1936.

Watch the video here: 

Dropped on 99, kissing the deck for 100!

What a rollercoaster for Travis Head 😱#Ashes | #MilestoneMoment | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/p3RtaE5cNE

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 19, 2025

On the other hand, Michael Clarke also celebrated the same feat in Adelaide between 2012 and 2014, while Steve Smith got the name in the record book between 2014 and 2017 at the MCG. Head has now scored four successive centuries in Adelaide Tests against West Indies in 2022, another one against them in 2024, India in 2024, and in this Ashes clash.

Australia, having bundled out England for 286 in the first innings, has already stretched its lead over 300 runs in the third innings, and may look to take the score over 500 to put the opposition totally out of the clash.

Heading into the third Test of the Ashes 2025/26, there was anticipation of veteran off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, breaking the record of the former pacer, Glenn McGrath, to become Australia’s second leading wicket-taker in Tests. And he took just six balls on the second afternoon session of the third contest at the Adelaide Oval to make the feat in his name.

Nathan Lyon now remains only behind the late great Shane Warner. He had been stuck on the 562 wickets for five months, having missed two of Australia’s last three Tests, owing to two of them being the pink-ball day-night Test in Jamaica and Brisbane when the selected opted for all-pace attacks. He had bowled only two overs in the opening Test of the series at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

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The first was a gift one when the right-handed batter, Ollie Pope, gave catching practice to the mid-wicket region to draw Lyon level with McGrath. His second was a peach as it drifted into off from around the wicket on a good length. Ben Duckettt played forward in defense, and the ball spun past the edge to hit the top of the off stump.

Nathan Lyon becomes Australia’s 2nd leading Test wicket-taker

At the point, Lyon had 564 wickets while Warne finished with 708 from 145 games. On the global all-time list, the off-spinner has now found himself in sixth position, with his next target being 600 wickets.

Watch the video here:

And with that absolute beauty, Nathan Lyon has passed Glenn McGrath for Test wickets! 564 😱#Ashes | #MilestoneMoment | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/wTofukUsYD

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 18, 2025

Lyon, in the past, has spoken about wanting to play on until at least the 2027 Ashes in the UK, and Australia will also have a bumper period of red-ball cricket at home next year onwards. Earlier in the week, Lyon was added to the Adelaide Oval’s Avenue of Honour for his 12 wickets against India in 2014.

Australia posted 371 runs in the first innings with Alex Carey smashing a fine century, followed by a half-century from Mitchell Starc. England have already lost half of their side for 132 runs, with Harry Brook being the leading run-getter of the innings with 45 runs.

The opening day of the third Test of the Ashes 2025-26 at Adelaide experienced a great battle, where the English bowlers controlled the Aussie batters, while Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey were the stand-out performers for the hosts with the bat. While Carey's century rescued the Aussies in the first innings of the Test match, the English team is fuming over the controversial not-out decision on Carey due to a snicko gaffe.

Watch: Alex Carey dedicates maiden Ashes 2025/26 century to his late father in Adelaide

Was Alex Carey out on 72 runs?

When Alex Carey was batting on 72 runs, there was a caught behind appeal from the English side in Josh Tongue's over. As the bowling end umpire gave it a not out, the visitors went for a DRS. There was a clear light sound when the ball was exactly passing the bat, but the snicko reading was producing a significant spike well before the ball hit the bat, while there was no spike when the ball may actually have touched the bat.

Observing the situation, the third umpire stood by the original decision, while many were shocked by the incident. Later, Alex Carey accepted that he also felt a bit of feather or some sort of noise when the ball passed his bat. He further added that he would possibly review with a doubt if the on-field umpire gave him out. 

Ultimately, Carey completed his century, as he scored a crucial 106 runs, as Australia scored 326/8 at the stumps of the opening day. 

Must have selected the incorrect stump mic for audio processing

As Carey indirectly admitted ball hit his bat, the snicko is under pressure now. The owners of Real-Time Snickometer have accepted the mistake and explained the reason why the shocking error happened that hurt the English team.

England were considering raising their disappointment around the Snicko technology used in Australia with the match referee, which cost them the wicket of Alex Carey during the third Test of the Ashes 2025/26 in Adelaide, with the wicket-keeper batter later on going on to celebrate a fine century to bail Australia out of trouble.

It was the first ball of the 63rd over by Josh Tongue, when Carey flashed hard only to Jamie Smith, and the England players appealed. They took it upstairs before the TV umpire ruled it not out, seeing a clear gap with no spike when the ball passes the bat.

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“I thought there was a bit of a feather or some sort of noise when it passed the bat. It looked a bit funny on the replay, didn't it, with the noise coming early? If I were given out, I think I would have reviewed it - probably not confidently though. It was a nice sound as it passed the bat, yeah.” Carey expressed in the post-day press conference.  

Alex Carey reflects on controversy around Snicko technology

Carey was on 72 by then and added another 34 runs after his reprieve. The former umpire performance manager at the ICC, Simon Taufel, claimed that Snicko perhaps had malfunctioned, while England’s bowling coach, David Saker, showed concern about the quality of the technology throughout the series.

Watch the video here: 

Controversy in #TheAshes as human error with Snicko saves Alex Carey… and his century 👀 pic.twitter.com/VXxqmNPb6N

— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 17, 2025

“I have never seen a spike like this occur without the bat hitting something like a pad, or the ground, or the ball hitting the pad. My gut tells me, from all of my experience on-field, and also as a TV umpire, that I think Alex Carey has actually hit that ball and the technology calibration hasn't been quite right to game the outcome that it was looking for.” Teufel addressed.

“The boys were pretty confident he hit it. I think the calibration of the Snicko is out quite a bit, and that has probably been the case for the series. There have been some things that don't really measure up. At that stage, it was a pretty important decision. Those things hurt, but you get through it.” Sake was highlighted in the press conference.

Alex Carey perhaps didn’t expect to arrive at the Adelaide Oval just five minutes into the second session of the third Ashes 2025/26 Test. He sprinted into the middle after Australia found themselves in a hole, losing both Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in the opening over after the lunch break against Jofra Archer. That was the time for Carey and Usman Khawaja to put up a decent stand.

And it did that exactly with Usman Khawaja and Head putting a 91-run stand for the fifth wicket before the latter got dismissed for his 82-run knock with the help of 10 boundaries at a strike rate of 65. However, Carey, who was the aggressive batter of the partnership, made sure that the hosts never got behind the eighth ball in the first innings.

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Carey finally celebrated his century off 135 deliveries and marked the occasion with a deeply emotional gesture. He removed his helmet and looked towards the sky in tribute to his late father, Gordon, who passed away on September 25 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Alex Carey celebrates emotional maiden Ashes 2025/26 century

Carey’s wife, Eloise, whom he has been married to since 2016, was also present in the stands at the Adelaide Oval and broke down once he reaches his hundred. The wicket-keeper batter finally got dismissed for 106 runs in 143 balls at a strike rate of 74.13 with the help of eight boundaries and one six.

Watch the video here: 

"That one is for you dad!"

A wonderful moment as the hometown hero Alex Carey brings up 100.#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/aEdfwRedz5

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 17, 2025

“To be able to play a role in the innings today was great. I would have loved to score more runs and stay out there a bit longer, but being able to take the helmet off and look up to the heavens was a really nice moment.” An emotional Carey expressed in the press conference at the end of the opening day’s play.

Josh Inglis contributed with 32 runs in just 39 balls while Mitchell Starc remained unbeaten with 33 runs in 63 balls as Australia finished the first day’s play with 326/8 in 83 overs. Archer was the peak of the bowlers with 3/29 in 16 overs.

England captain Ben Stokes has urged his side to “show a bit of dog” as they prepare for a must-win third Ashes Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval, with the five-match series hanging delicately in the balance. Trailing 0-2 after heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane, England face a familiar yet daunting challenge, one that Stokes believes his team is mentally equipped to handle.

Drawing parallels with the 2023 Ashes in England, where his side bounced back from a similar deficit, Stokes insisted that the clarity of the task remains unchanged. “We’ve been in this position before,” he said on the eve of the Test. “Everyone knows what needs to happen. If anything, it makes things simpler and clearer.”

Rather than viewing the situation as pressure-filled, Stokes believes the deficit has sharpened England’s focus. He dismissed any suggestion that the players now owe him or the management a response for their backing, stressing trust over obligation. “These are the moments where the players you back are trusted to deliver,” he said. “I would never say you owe me. Go out, back yourself, and do what needs to be done.”

Watch the video:

If any team can do it, this team can.

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 16, 2025

Backing you to have a BIG week, JT! 👊🔥

Hear from Ben Stokes on our preparation, fight, belief, the Oval pitch and much more ahead of the 3rd Test 👇

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 16, 2025

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Show a bit of dog Stokes challenges England ahead of Adelaide Test

Stokes pointed to England’s Lord’s Test win against India earlier this year as an example of how intensity and confrontation can spark a response. “That’s fight to me,” he explained. “Looking your opposition in the eye and showing a bit of dog gives you the best chance.”

England have made just one change for Adelaide, recalling Josh Tongue in place of Gus Atkinson, while sticking with Will Jacks as the spinning all-round option ahead of Shoaib Bashir. Despite questions around selection, Stokes made it clear that mindset matters more than personnel. 

“We’ve had proper, meaningful conversations,” he said. “All the talking is done now. What matters is what gets shown on the field.” With England winless in Australia for 15 years and the series on the line, Stokes’ message is clear: resilience, fight, and belief must now translate into performance.