Australia secure thrilling Adelaide victory to take 2-0 Ashes lead

England gloveman Jos Buttler was at the crease for more than 200 deliveries before his gritty knock ended in “heartbreaking” fashion.

Jos Buttler was dismissed in cruel fashion. Photo: Getty Images/Fox Cricket.

Australia has taken a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series, with young seamer Jhye Richardson claiming his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket to help Steve Smith’s side secure a 275-run victory.

The Aussies needed 113.1 overs to claim the 10 wickets required for victory, with England’s lower-order putting together a gritty performance on day five at Adelaide Oval.

England started the final day at 4/82, and the home side snared two early wickets in the first session, with Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope sent back to the sheds cheaply.

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After gloveman Alex Carey missed an opportunity to remove his English counterpart for a duck, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes combined for a crucial 61-run partnership to frustrate the Aussies.

Richardson eventually knocked over Woakes with the second new ball, but Buttler continued his marathon knock at the other end.

However, Buttler’s resistance ended just after the tea break in cruel circumstances, with the wicketkeeper standing on his own stumps.

Richardson put the final nail in the coffin, dismissing tailender James Anderson as the sun started setting over the Adelaide skyline.

“We need to be better,” England captain Joe Root conceded after the loss. “We can’t keep making the same mistakes.”

England legend Ian Bothmam told Channel 7: “At least we saw some character, some guts and some fight back.

“We can bat, we’ve got to out there and do it. The England captain will be very disappointed, as will the supporters. Well, there’s still three games to go.”

Meanwhile, Australia has named an unchanged 15-player squad for the remainder of the Ashes, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood set to reconnect with their teammates in Melbourne.

Jhye Richardson claims his maiden five-wicket haul. Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Extraordinary end to marathon knock

Oh deary me.

Jos Buttler had survived 207 deliveries before his marathon knock at Adelaide Oval ended in cruel circumstances.

The England wicketkeeper looked to push a delivery from Australian seamer Jhye Richardson though point for a quick single, but somehow managed to knock over the stumps with his foot.

“What a way to get out,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket.

It was a heartbreaking end to a gritty knock from Buttler, who received a standing ovation from the Adelaide crowd as he made his way back to the sheds.

“Oh man. Heartbreaking for Jos Buttler. Seriously well played,” New South Wales seamer Trent Copeland tweeted.

Australia now just need one wicket for victory.

Oh that is cruel #ashes

— Jack Blackburn (@HackBlackburn) December 20, 2021

Oh dear.#Ashes

— Sam Tomlin (@SamTomlin539) December 20, 2021

That's actually a real shame after Jos fought so hard #Ashes

— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) December 20, 2021

Aussies need two wickets in final session

The Ashes are well and truly alive.

Australia requires two wickets in the last session of day five for victory, while England need to survive another 30 overs to secure an unlikely draw.

“This is proper Test match cricket,” Fox Cricket commentator Isa Guha said.

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed a crucial scalp just before the tea break, finding the outside edge of Ollie Robinson’s bat and Steve Smith making no mistake at first slip.

But Buttler is still toiling away at the other end, with the England wicketkeeper currently 25 not out off 196 balls.

Good catch by Smith at slip! #Ashespic.twitter.com/QYIaexyexF

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 20, 2021

Richardson gets the breakthrough

Phew.

Australian seamer Jhye Richardson has castled Chris Woakes for 44 with a delivery that nipped back into the right-hander off the deck.

The much-needed breakthrough ends a 31-over partnership between Woakes and Jos Buttler that was worrying Australian cricket fans across the country.

The Aussies now just need three wickets for victory.

Buttler and Woakes rebuild

England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler and all-rounder Chris Woakes are refusing to back down at Adelaide Oval, combining for a gritty fifty-run partnership.

Australia has not snared a wicket in 25 overs, but the hosts have just taken the second new ball, hoping the quicks can unearth a much-needed breakthrough.

This is now Jos Buttler's longest ever innings in an Ashes Test (by balls faced). It's Chris Woakes' second longest. #Ashes

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) December 20, 2021

Lyon removes Stokes after review

What a superb review from the Aussies — another masterstroke from skipper Steve Smith.

Nathan Lyon has removed dangerous all-rounder Ben Stokes for 12, trapping the left-hander LBW after a review.

Stokes fended on the back foot and missed a delivery that turned sharply, with Hawkeye replays suggested the Kookaburra would have crashed into off stump.

Australia needs four more wickets for victory at Adelaide Oval.

Aussie skipper’s masterstroke

Mitchell Starc’s love affair with the pink ball continues.

The left-armer has struck with his seventh delivery of the day at Adelaide Oval, removing England’s Ollie Pope for 4.

Pope prodded at the Kookaburra outside off stump, and the outside edge flew to Australian captain Steve Smith at second slip, who claims his fifth catch of the Test.

Starc had just changed to over the wicket for that delivery, and the 31-year-old pointed to Smith following the dismissal — suggesting the skipper had advised him to change his angle.

England gloveman Jos Buttler, who scored a duck in the first innings, is the new batter in the middle — Australia need five wickets for victory.

Starc gets Pope, leaving five more wickets for the win.#Ashespic.twitter.com/OAFjPQ0iId

— News Cricket (@NewsCorpCricket) December 20, 2021

Soon after, wicketkeeper Alex Carey made his first blunder in Australian whites.

Starc found the outside edge of Buttler’s bat, and the opportunity flew at a comfortable height towards the right of Carey.

But bizarrely, the gloveman simply watched the ball fly between himself and first slip for a boundary.

“It’s strange why he let that go to first slip,” Australia great Shane Warne said on Fox Cricket.

“He doesn’t have to go that far. It’s the first mistake he’s made. He’s been terrific, especially to Nathan Lyon, but that’s the first mistake I reckon.”

Buttler avoids the dreaded pair.

BOYS?? 🤷🏻
Alex Carey SHOULD'VE had Australia's sixth wicket here.#Ashespic.twitter.com/iOnOUAJ8Cy

— News Cricket (@NewsCorpCricket) December 20, 2021

Ugly Ashes sight exposes England’s failure

Jack Leach was smacked around so badly in Brisbane England didn’t trust him to perform in Adelaide, meaning the visitors went into the second Test without a specialist spinner.

Ignoring advice from Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough that a frontline tweaker was necessary, the Poms picked four quicks and have been left badly exposed.

Nathan Lyon has generated serious turn and bounce for Australia and Joe Root’s part-time off-spinners were gripping in the surface. England was so desperate for spin options, arguably its most effective fast bowler Ollie Robinson changed things up and rolled out some offies on Sunday.

England bowling coach Jon Lewis admitted on Sunday night that wasn’t a pre-prepared move — exposing just how badly England’s planning and team selection has fallen short.

“It wasn’t in the plan,” Lewis said. “However he has done it before, he has done it at Sussex.

“It is something he did as a kid.

“He started as a batter and an off-spinner, so it’s not an alien skill to him.

“It’s something he can do. It’s something he practises not often in the nets but he does practice it.”

Ollie Robinson bowling off spin lmao pic.twitter.com/x6dMIXjGMS

— TSG (@hooosier__daddy) December 19, 2021

Unsurprisingly, England was roasted for Robinson’s cameo as the pink ball failed to move under lights like the team hierarchy thought it would, rendering veteran seamers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad — rested at the Gabba — largely ineffective.

English journalist George Dobell wrote: “If there has been a single moment when all the talk of England’s preparation and planning for this series rang particularly hollow, it was surely the sight of Ollie Robinson bowling off-spin.”

Writing for The Guardian, Jonathan Liew said: “And so England ended up bowling 35 overs of spin in the Test, a curious move for a team who went into the Test insisting that they didn’t need a spin bowler.

“Indeed one of the more memorable television images from day four was the expression of Jack Leach – England’s main spinner – sitting just over the boundary rope in a yellow bib, watching Robinson bowl and Root about to relieve him. ‘Unimpressed’ barely hints at it.”

English reporter Ismail Mulla tweeted: “(Coach) Chris Silverwood needs to step down after this series. It’s clear that England are unprepared when Ollie Robinson has to resort to bowling spin. Didn’t pick a spinner all summer (Moeen only made it in as a batting all rounder), car crash selection in India on turning tracks.”

Ollie Robinson kept the shades on while bowling spin. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)