Live Report - Australia vs England, 5th Test, Hobart, 3rd day

Australia 303 (Head 101, Green 74) and 155 (Carey 48, Wood 6-37) beat England 188 (Cummins 4-45) and 124 (Boland 3-18, Green 3-21, Cummins 3-42) by 146 runs
Australia's seamers ran through England to win the fifth and final Test in Hobart by 146 runs inside three days and seal the Ashes 4-0.

Despite Mark Wood's best efforts to keep his side in the contest with a stunning six-wicket haul to bowl Australia out in their second innings for 155 and contain England's target to 271, the tourist were found sorely wanting as they lost 10 wickets for 56 runs in 22.5 overs.

Rory Burns and Zak Crawley started the chase brightly enough, but once Cameron Green dismissed Burns on the stroke of tea, they collapsed to be all out for 124. Green, who also removed Crawley and Dawid Malan, finished with 3 for 21, while Scott Boland and Pat Cummins also took three wickets apiece.

Another fast-forward collapse and it’s all over. Two in three balls for Cummins and Australia have sealed 4-0. England lose all ten wickets for 56, following their best opening stand of the series - which sort of sums up the tour for them.

Make that 8 for 47! Alex Carey comes to the party with a flying grab as Chris Woakes, in desperation, looks to tee off and is caught behind.

Australia get their sixth and seventh, and there’s a real possibility they could wrap this up tonight! Boland struck again, Sam Billings chipping tamely to mid-on, and then Pat Cummins bowled Ollie Pope with one that snuck behind his legs. From 0 for 68 a few minutes before tea, England have lost 7 for 39.

Scott Boland bowls Joe Root with an unplayable delivery that kept low and pinged into the middle of off stump to remove the England captain for 11 and make it 5-101 for England. Root's series ends with a century in Australia unticked on his to-do list.

Mitchell Starc removes Ben Stokes, hooking a short ball to deep square leg where Nathan Lyon takes a good diving catch running in from the boundary rope. Stokes falls for five as England slump to 4-92 with Joe Root and Ollie Pope at the crease. The tourists still need 179 runs and their cause has taken a hefty knock with that wicket and a devastating spell from Cameron Green which delivered the other three.

Cameron Green claims his third wicket in a wonderful spell that has England reeling at 3-83. Having dismissed Rory Burns on the last ball before tea, Green then bowled Dawid Malan, chopping onto his stumps, and has just had Zak Crawley caught behind, attempting a drive and edging to a diving Alex Carey. Joe Root and Ben Stokes have it all to do as England chase 271.

Cameron Green dismisses Dawid Malan, edging onto his stumps to depart for 20 as England fall to 2-82. Malan had been struck a sharp blow to the helmet from Green and he faced 13 more balls before he was bundled out. England are still 189 runs short of their target with Zak Crawley not out 36 and Joe Root yet to score.

Dawid Malan resumes after taking a nasty blow to the helmet from Cameron Green. Malan had just cracked Green through point for four when he tried to sway out of the way of the next ball and was hit flush on the side of the head. After under going the required concussion tests and changing his helmet, Malan has been cleared to carry on as England chase 271.

Cameron Green bowls Rory Burns on the stroke of tea, breaking up England's opening stand at 1 for 68. Burns had just survived an Australian review for caught behind in Green's previous over then played onto his stumps to fall for 26.

It was England's highest first-wicket partnership of the series, surpassing the 46 between Zak Crawley and Haseeb Hameed in their second innings at the SCG as Crawley and Burns pressed England towards the target of 271 at an impressive clip. It was also the highest opening partnership of the series, ahead of the 57 between Marcus Harris and David Warner in Melbourne. Crawley remains unbeaten on 32 at tea with England still 202 runs in arrears.

Rory Burns survives an Australian review for caught behind off Cameron Green and is unbeaten on 26 with Zak Crawley not out 28 and England 64 without loss, chasing 271 to win.

Rory Burns has dispensed with his man bun, letting his locks free as he and Zak Crawley set about England's pursuit of 271. Burns' new look isn't to everyone's taste if Twitter is anything to go by (Alyssa Healy particularly strong on the sledge) but we'll let you make up your own mind.

Meanwhile, if he's the superstitious type, Burns could stick with it. He's 18 not out, having caught a lucky break when he fended a Mitchell Starc delivery into the pitch and it bounced over the stumps, narrowly missing the woodwork on its way back down.

Mark Wood has claimed his sixth wicket of the innings to hold Australia to a 270-run lead. Wood has been immense through the first half of this third day, taking a career-best 6-37 as the hosts were bowled out in their second innings for 155. Pat Cummins was the last man out, bowled by a length ball that was right on target as the Australia captain played and missed. Stuart Broad finished with 3-51 while the fortuitous Alex Carey top-scored for Australia with 49.

England have finally prised out Alex Carey at the third time of asking, one run shy of his half-century. Stuart Broad had Carey out reaching for one outside off which found an inside edge and went through to Sam Billings behind the stumps. Having survived being bowled by a Chris Woakes no-ball and overturned an lbw decision off Broad, Carey departs for 49 with Australia 9-151, a lead of 266 runs.

James Anderson, who is sitting out this match with a hamstring issue, has weighed in on the no-ball decision against fellow England seamer Chris Woakes which saved Alex Carey. Carey, who also overturned a close lbw decision off the bowling of Stuart Broad, is now within sight of a half-century, moving to 47 not out with a lovely cut for four over point off Mark Wood.

"I think it was one of those it could have gone either way," Anderson told Channel Seven. "Sometimes the bowler does get the benefit of the doubt. But at the same time, I was watching it in the dressing room, and to be honest, I couldn't see much behind the line, if anything, so I could see why he called it a no-ball. But it's one of those, it's so tight. The stump cam looks a bit more in favour of the no-ball but side on I thought it could have gone either way."

Following a maiden from Mark Wood, Stuart Broad continues after the dinner break, watched by his new best mate.

By Alex Malcolm

As good as Australia’s batters usually are in home conditions they have shown a vulnerability at times against both express pace and short ball barrages in recent years on more bowler-friendly pitches. Mark Wood’s bombardment in both innings has exposed the decision-making and technical play off the back foot in this Test match, albeit the pitch and the pink-ball has made it harder to trust the bounce and seam.

But Jasprit Bumrah dominated in Australia in his two recent trips down under, taking 32 wickets at 21.25. Neil Wagner, not as quick as Wood or Bumrah but equally awkward, took 17 wickets at 22.76 in three Tests in Australia in 2019-20.

Nothing exemplifies Australia’s struggles against good short-pitched bowling recently more than Steven Smith’s decline. Since the 2019 Ashes, where he was better than Bradman, he has averaged 36.86 in 14 Tests at home, and his Test average has dipped under 60 for the first time since 2017. Wood has knocked over Smith twice in the series and Marnus Labuschagne three times. One wonders what Jofra Archer might have done had he been fit for this tour.

Well, that session had it all... five wickets fell, Australia added 104 runs, Alex Carey survives on 40 after he was bowled off a no-ball and overturned a close lbw decision (to Stuart Broad's astonishment) and Mark Wood has kept England in the fight with his five-wicket haul, including four today. Australia lead by 256. They wanted to make it around 300 at the start of the day. They're now eight wickets down with Pat Cummins joining Carey in the middle after the dinner break on 12 not out.

Here's how close that no-ball decision was that saved Alex Carey, who is still out in the middle unbeaten on 33.

Mark Wood is on a rampage here, claiming his five-wicket haul with the scalp of Mitchell Starc, caught by Ollie Pope at short leg for 1. Wood's back-of-a-length delivery had Starc hopping back to work it behind square and he got an inside edge onto his hip and in the air for Pope to gobble up.

Wood almost had two in two when his next ball - a swift yorker - struck Pat Cummins on the boot and the Australia skipper was given out lbw. But Cummins had the decision overturned on review with replays showing the ball was missing off stump. Australia are 8-121 to lead by 236 runs so far.

Alex Carey is on the third of his nine lives now, overturning an lbw decision against him off the bowling of Stuart Broad. Carey, on 30, was struck on the top of the front knee roll as he came forward to England's joy, but when Carey called for the DRS, replays showed the ball had pitched outside leg stump - just. Carey had earlier been reprieved when he was bowled by a Chris Woakes no-ball in another close call.

Stuart Broad returns to the attack with immediate effect, removing Cameron Green for 23 to make it 7-112 for Australia. It was a round-about way of getting there with Broad appealing heartily for lbw and then there was an overthrow as the umpire remained unmoved. After some debate, Joe Root signalled for a review and replays showed the ball striking Green's back pad in line with the ball hitting off stump to overturn the not-out decision.

As you'd expect, Pat Cummins, the Australia captain, had very clear ideas about what he wanted his side to achieve today. He told Channel Seven before play: "I think we’ve got a lead of 150-odd. I’d love to at least double that. It’s still a long way away. It’s the pink-ball. Things happen. The ball seams around so just try and bat really well. In a perfect world, we’ve probably got a new ball bowling under lights tonight."

The hosts are still 78 runs shy of extending their lead to the 300-mark and are six wickets down following that short-ball barrage from Mark Wood that snared three wickets early in the first session. Cameron Green can bat and is finding some good touch, as he showed with his back-to-back fifties in Australia's second innings in Sydney and their first here. Alex Carey, given another life when Chris Woakes was ruled to have overstepped on a delivery that Carey dragged on, could do with a big score, his half-century in Adelaide his only innings of note this series.

High drama in Hobart. Alex Carey gets a huge reprieve, bowled off a no ball by Chris Woakes for 19. It was the closest of calls, with Carey dragging on and beginning to make his way back to the dressing room but when Woakes' front foot was checked, there was no definitive vision to show any part of his foot behind the line and Carey, in need of a good innings, survives.

Mark Wood has his third wicket for the day - and fourth for the innings - after removing Steve Smith to put Australia at 6-63. Wood's short-ball tactics have had Australia's batters all at sea on the third morning, accounting for nightwatchman Scott Boland and Travis Head, who were both caught behind, and then tempting Smith to try and hook one which sailed off the top edge to Dawid Malan at long leg. Smith falls for 27 and the hosts' lead has been contained to 178 so far.

Mark Wood strikes again to remove dangerous Australia batter Travis Head. After he had nightwatchman Scott Boland caught behind early in the first session, Wood removed first-innings century-maker Head, caught down the leg side attempting to tuck away a short ball which feathered the glove as it went through to keeper Sam Billings.

Mark Wood removes nightwatchman Scott Boland, who came in with plenty of time left on the second evening and managed his task well. But Wood's extra pace and bounce does for him early on day three, feathering a catch behind to Sam Billings for 8 off 33 balls. Boland's dismissal brings in Travis Head, who scored an excellent century in the first innings. Australia are 4-47 with Steve Smith not out 22.

One of the three Aussie wickets to go down yesterday was that of Usman Khawaja,the twin centurion in Sydney who was promoted up the order to replace Marcus Harris on the strength of that performance in his comeback Test. Khawaja made 6 and 11 in this match and told Fox about the move: "To be honest the pink ball has made it pretty tough. It's alright, the wicket is doing a little bit, the last couple of days it has. The pink ball is just so inconsistent. Some balls swing, some balls seam a load, some don't, it's a bit harder to line up than the red ball.

"It's certainly more challenging opening the batting and I've said it before, but it's not a bad thing. If you can get in opening the batting you can make some really big scores. That's the positive side of it. And obviously coming out at four or five is probably a little bit better in Australia, but it changes everywhere.

"I haven't got too much preference. I think any batter would say, even Marnus jokes around about batting five, it is probably the best spot to bat because you sort of hide from the new ball a little bit. But in all honesty the last wicket we played on was pretty good. The ball really didn't do too much for the majority of the game. This game, this ball has been very different."