Jhye Richardson took his first five-wicket haul as England’s strong resistance on the final day of the Adelaide Pink Ball Ashes 2021 Test ended with a 275-run defeat, with the hosts going 2-0 up.
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The final day of the Ashes Pink Ball Test in Adelaide was gripping. Jos Buttler, who holds the record for the fastest tons for England in limited-overs cricket, was batting doggedly and had consumed over 200 deliveries. It seemed that another Ashes heroic rearguard was in the making. Memories of Paul Collingwood, Monty Panesar, and James Anderson frustrating Australia in Cardiff 2009 were being evoked. Buttler was the only factor in Australia going 2-0 up in the series. Australia had been on that road before. In 2012, when AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis batted out the entire final day, South Africa staged the great escape.
But then, the moment of the match took place. Jhye Richardson, who had not taken a single wicket in the first innings, impressed everyone with his control and pace. In the 110th over of the innings, Richardson bowled a short ball on the stumps. Buttler, standing well back, nudged it to the leg side but to his horror, he trod back onto the stumps. The hit-wicket was the last act in England’s misery. Richardson ended up with five wickets. Australia won the Adelaide Pink Ball Test by 275 runs to go 2-0 up and one step closer to retaining the Ashes. This win also continued their magnificent, unbeaten run in the Pink Ball format of Tests.
It was only a matter of time that England would get rolled over. Skipper Joe Root had perished on the last over of the fourth day and that had dealt a body blow to their chances. The day did not get any better for the English batsmen. Mitchell Starc struck in his second over of the day when Ollie Pope poked at a full ball wide outside off to depart for 4.
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Ben Stokes and Buttler defied the Australian bowlers who had to work very hard to extract any sort of life out of the Adelaide deck. Pink Ball or night conditions, taking 20 wickets on this Adelaide wicket was a challenge. England managed only 18 and with the bat, their collapse in the first innings gave Australia an upper hand.
For over 12 overs, Stokes and Buttler defied Australia. But, Nathan Lyon, who has an excellent record in Adelaide, got the massive wicket of Stokes. It needed a great review from Steve Smith to change the original not-out decision. Lyon trapped Stokes with the slider and got it to straighten just a touch. This saw the ball hitting the stumps as Australia closed in. Then came the partnership that gave Australia plenty of nervous moments.
Woakes survived a caught-behind appeal first ball from Lyon, with UltraEdge detecting no spike. From that point on, Buttler and Woakes combined in tandem to frustrate Australia. While Buttler stonewalled, Woakes was more than happy to go for his shots. Woakes got going with a couple of fours off Michael Neser. As he spent more time, his confidence grew.
Woakes had been tentative against Lyon but when he hit a four through covers before the Dinner break, it seemed that Australia would not have it easy. Australia tried everything, including getting Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Travis Head to disrupt the rhythm but nothing happened. Woakes only grew in confidence as he hit two boundaries off Labuschagne.
Australia took the second new ball but they lacked penetration. Starc and Richardson got movement but Buttler and Woakes negotiated it comfortably. The pair stitched a partnership of over 50 and they had crucially, consumed over 30 overs. But, Richardson dealt the first blow. He dismissed Woakes for 44 with a delivery that cut back in and breached his defenses.
Ollie Robinson, who has shown glimpses of his batting pedigree in the series against India, then continued to stonewall the Australian bowlers. At the other end, Buttler held firm. Despite a dropped caught and bowled chance and a stifled LBW appeal, Robinson did not panic. But, just before the Tea break, Lyon sent back Robinson for eight with the batsman edging a straight delivery from round the wicket to slip.
England managed to get into the last session as the sunset over Adelaide. But, the end was imminent. Richardson got one delivery to lift and Buttler trod on his stumps. The dismissal summed up England’s tour that had gone wrong right from the first day in Brisbane. Broad and James Anderson delayed the inevitable for a couple of overs.
The winning moment came in the 114th over of the innings. Richardson got a back of length delivery to zip across. James Anderson poked at the ball and Cameron Green at gully dived to his left to seal the deal.
With Australia now leading the series 2-0, it seems that the Urn will stay Down Under for another couple of years. The major question now is, can England avoid going down 5-0 yet again? With not much time for recovery and with England running out of options both with the bat and ball, the chances of England avoiding ignominy is very low after Adelaide.
