Live Report - Cummins, Lyon, Boland put Australia in command

A superb team bowling display led by Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon has put Australia one step closer towards retaining the Ashes after dominating a scorching hot second day in Adelaide.

Australia's first-choice bowling cartel, minus only the injured Josh Hazlewood, combined to dismantle England's much-hyped batting line-up on a good batting pitch to leave them 213 for 8 and 158 behind at stumps on the second day.

That came after Mitchell Starc made another invaluable half-century in the morning session to push Australia's total to 371 in spite of Jofra Archer's 5 for 53.

The return of Cummins and Lyon saw England's batters melt under the hot sun and sustained pressure. Cummins' lengths were superb all day as he prized out Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Jamie Smith. Lyon bagged Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett in the same over to move past Glenn McGrath with 564 Test wickets to go to second on Australia's all-time list behind Shane Warne.

Harry Brook and Ben Stokes showed some resistance. Stokes was brave to bat for nearly two sessions after bowling 19 overs. But he barely did any scoreboard damage to Australia in his 45 not out 151 balls. Brook threatened to break free of the shackles but Cummins turned to his fifth bowled Cameron Green who knocked him over with a beauty at 138kph.

Boland nipped through Will Jacks and Brydon Carse before Stokes and Archer dug in with a vital stand to take England past the follow-on and 200. But they remain miles behind and in need of a miracle to keep the series alive.

It's hard to accuse Jofra Archer of not trying for England. After bowling 20.2 overs in oppressive heat over four sessions to take 5 for 53, he only got 52.2 overs to put his feet up before heading back out to bat. Certainly not enough time to have a nap with his infamous pillow. He's not asleep with the bat this series either. He has proven a thorn in Australia's side and currently has England's second best average of the series with the bat. Archer and Stokes have survived more than 10 overs, taken England past the follow-on and the 200 mark. Archer deserves a lot of credit for hanging in.

Alex Carey is having an extraordinary Ashes. He has taken another outstanding catch keeping up to the stumps to Scott Boland to dismiss Will Jacks. Boland nipped one back off the seam to catch the inside edge, it rebounded onto the pad and popped up off side. Carey who was moving in the wrong direction to initially take the delivery at 136.7kph delivery, pushed off his left foot and dove to his right to take the catch smartly.

He joins Adam Gilchrist at SCG in 2003 and Matt Prior also at SCG in 2011 as the only wicketkeepers with a century and five catches in an innings in the same Ashes Test.

Australia's fielding coach Andre Borovec gave some interesting insights into Carey's preparation pre-Test and the work he does on his set-up and his movement to be able to keep as brilliantly as he does.

Matt Roller writes:

They call Adelaide the city of churches, and Ollie Pope needs a miracle. He will be batting for his Test future in England's second innings after his impossibly soft dismissal to Nathan Lyon in their first, and it is increasingly hard to envisage how a player without a half-century in 15 innings against Australia will ever rise to the Ashes stage.

It is a stark reality of English cricket that tours to Australia tend to end players' careers. Four years ago, Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler formed four of England's top seven in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba; since the end of that series, none of them has ever played Test cricket again.

Pope now faces the same fate. He turns 28 before the Sydney Test so is young enough to come again, but looks like a player - and a man - who would benefit from time away from the scrutiny and spotlight of international cricket. He is playing his 64th Test in Adelaide but, to misquote Shane Warne, he might as well have played his first Test 64 times.

There's been two more Snicko controversies after the debacle of day one. The first came when Jamie Smith appeared to glove a ball from Pat Cummins to Usman Khawaja at slip. The Australians appealed. Nitin Menon did not make a decision but Australia did not review. Menon sent it upstairs on his own to check if it carried. It did not appear to. However, before the third umpire Chris Gaffaney double checked that, he went through the process to see if it hit his glove. The deflection was very clear and significant. The glove moved when the ball passed it. But the Snicko did not appear to line up and Gaffaney strangely concluded that it missed the glove and deflected off his helmet. The decision was not out and Menon had to explain to everyone on the field that Jamie Smith needed a concussion check much to everyone's bemusement. It didn't carry anyway, but Starc made his feelings known while standing within earshot of the stump mic.

"Snicko needs to be sacked. It's the worst technology ever," Starc said.

In Cummins' next over, Smith tried to pull a short ball and Australia appealed for a caught behind. Menon again sent it upstairs without making a decision or asking either team to review. This catch clearly carried. Snicko showed a spike a frame after the ball had passed the bat and that was enough Gaffaney to give it out. Bizarre scenes. A lot of it is distracting from England's capitulation.

Vithushan Ehantharajah writes:

A necessary rebuilding effort between Harry Brook and Ben Stokes has been broken on 56, the latter nicking behind. England needed a lot more from their captain and vice-captain.

That’s not to say Cameron Green’s delivery was unworthy of splitting them. But the situation from 71 for 4 required a bumper, probably record-busting fifth-wicket stand.

With Brook the man out, the runs will begin to dry up for England. He was responsible for 35 out of that 56, while Stokes played no shots in anger with his contribution of 19 from 67.

While Jamie Smith on paper could mimic Brook’s approach, the keeper-batter has lost his verve with the bat. Stokes even went as far as to openly state the scrutiny of this series has surprised Smith.

As such, Stokes would do well to take on the more positive role in this partnership, though it is unlikely he will. Since the start of his captaincy, he has erred towards batting in a way that encourages others. That first summer in 2022, he was cavalier. Ever since, he has tried to operate as a defacto Winston Wolf, tidying up the mess of those above him.

It speaks to this situation - and plenty before it - that Stokes went into tea (19* off 76) with the second-lowest score of any batter to have faced 50 or more balls in his tenure. He features three times in that top four, by the way, and five of the top eight.

The problem now is England are still plenty behind and cannot waste these pristine batting conditions in the evening session. And while Smith takes time to rediscover himself, Stokes needs to shift up a gear (or two) to ease the pressure on his partner and the team.

England 132 for 5 (Brook 45, Duckett 29, Cummins 2-28, Lyon 2-33) trail Australia 371 (Carey 106, Khawaja 82, Starc 54, Archer 5-53) by 239 runs

Australia win another session despite a half-century stand between Harry Brook and Ben Stokes. The temperature topped 40 degrees and everything was in the batters favour, but Australia's bowlers were absolutely relentless. Pat Cummins picked up Joe Root shortly after lunch. Brook and Stokes dug in, playing against their natural instincts. Brook only took one risk off Scott Boland, charging him to slap on the up over cover-point for six. Otherwise he was forced to defend and rotate were he could. Just as Australia's bowlers looked to be flagging a touch, Cummins called upon a fresh Cameron Green to bowl his first over of the match. He hit 138kph in his first over and his length and line was perfect to remove Brook. He nearly had Jamie Smith too. Australia get 20 minutes to freshen up and come again as they try and open up England's tail and potentially bat again today.

Cameron Green has a lot of heat on him at the moment. None of it has come from the harsh Adelaide sun. A very soft dismissal on day one for a second ball duck, 24 hours after a huge IPL pay day, further raised questions among home fans about his true value given his home average had slipped under 30 with the bat. But just as a half-century partnership was building between Harry Brook and Ben Stokes, Green showed why Australia persist with him in his first over. Hitting a speed of 138.5kph, he delivered on a perfect length, fourth stump, nipping away 8cm off the seam, forcing Brook to jab at it from the crease and the thin edge was gleefully taken by Alex Carey. He blew another past Jamie Smith's edge at 138.5kph to finish the over. He nearly had him caught in the gully after squaring him up in his second over. But he needed a clone in the gully rather than the diminutive Josh Inglis to reach the edge that flew fine of him. Australia back on top. Green's critics becalmed for the moment at least.

It took Ben Stokes until his 36th delivery to score a boundary, with a controlled off drive from Scott Boland. Australia's bowling has been outstanding. They have given nothing away. Mitchell Starc hit him in the back of the helmet with a brutal bouncer. But Stokes stands firm. Trying to hold his team together. Australia were 94 for 4 on day one. England find themselves in the same position. But there will be no free runs today from Australia's experienced bowling cartel.

Joe Root was lucky to survive before lunch against Scott Boland but his luck ran out after as Pat Cummins delivered again. The injection of Australia's skipper into the series as the freshest man on either side has England staring a 3-0 Ashes defeat square in the face. Cummins has hardly bowled a bad ball on return. His lengths have been probing. He has continued to ask questions of England's top order that Australia's batters did not have to answer by contrast. Root had already been pinned on the crease after lunch, getting an inside edge to one that nipped back and threatened his pads. The threat of lbw brought about his eventual dismissal. He was caught on the crease, not forward far enough, pushing at a delivery he possibly could have left, and got a thin edge through to Alex Carey. England's task to climb out of this hole appears monumental now.

A double strike from Nathan Lyon, a superb delivery from Pat Cummins and a wonderful half-century from Mitchell Starc has put Australia firmly on top at lunch on day two.

There were fears Australia may well have gifted England a chance to get back into the series with a total of 371 on a good batting surface. Starc's second successive half-century proved conditions were very good for batting and although Jofra Archer took 5 for 53 for England, he was gifted at least two of those wickets through very poor shot selection and execution. Six of Australia's first eight were caught infront of the wicket, but none could really blame the surface for it.

England looked set to make them pay moving to 37 without loss in reply. But Cummins extracted something from the surface that England's bowlers couldn't. A superb legcutter scratched Zak Crawley's outside edge. The struggling opening can hardly be blamed for the dismissal.

The same can't be said for Ollie Pope. His position at No.3 looks untenable after he chipped Lyon innocuously to midwicket in the same manner that Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green had on day one. Ben Duckett had played nicely for 29 but, like Crawley, copped a beauty from Lyon to be cleaned bowled trying to defend.

England are lucky not to be four down. Joe Root edged behind but the third umpire deemed the ball didn't carry to Alex Carey in a 50-50 decision. Australia also strangely lost a review despite a clear edge, having reviewed the initial not out decision which was made by umpire Ahsan Raza on the basis that Root hadn't hit it.

Vithushan Ehantharajah writes:

Move aside Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green, Ollie Pope has taken the spoils for worst shot of the match. It might be the worst shot… ever?

Context required of course. But given the state of the series and match, with England trailing by 2-0 but having fought valiantly with the ball to dismiss Australia for 371, it required a sensible display from England’s batters. Australia were about a hundred short of par on a belting batting track.

Think of the number of English batters, both great in the technical sense but also as cult heroes - the ones that gave it their all but came up short. Especially the ones that suffered so much here in Australia. This England team, in conditions very few people get to truly exploit over here, had the opportunity to cash in. They owe it to previous generations to make Australia pay.

But here was their locked-in No.3, in his 64th Test, scuffing an immature flick towards Josh Inglis at midwicket from a full ball from Nathan Lyon. Pope now been dismissed 4 times by the returning off spinner, with just 37 runs from 91 deliveries.

It was a torturous 10-ball stay, all told, wearing one from Scott Boland and then playing a loose, leaden-footed drive that almost took his inside edge.

You could probably regard the dismissal as selfish. Despite arriving after Pat Cummins’ pearler to remove Zak Crawley, he wanted to feel bat on ball on his terms rather than the bowler’s. Not long after his dismissal, Lyon, pumped up, ripped one past Duckett’s outside edge and into his off stump.

Well Ollie - was it worth it?

Nathan Lyon had been stuck on 562 wickets for five months having missed two of Australia's last three Tests, owing to two of them being pink-ball day-night Tests. Lyon also only bowled two overs in the first Test of the series in Perth. In six balls in Adelaide, on recall, he has overtaken Glenn McGrath's tally of 563 by taking two wickets in his first over to move second all-time for Australia behind Shane Warne and leave England in all sorts of trouble. The first was a gift. Ollie Pope spooning one to midwicket to draw Lyon level with McGrath. His second was a peach. Drifting into off from around the wicket on a good length, Duckett played forward in defence but the ball spun past the edge and hit the top of off. A classic offspinner's dismissal of a left-hander. One could be ultra-critical of Duckett and suggested he may have covered the line better with either a bigger stride or playing for more turn and accepting possibly getting beaten on the inside. But it was a superb piece of bowling. Earlier in the week he was added to Adelaide Oval's Avenue of Honour for his 12 wickets against India at the ground in 2014. He might get a second entry if he rips through England to seal the Ashes.

It's like he never left. Australia's captain Pat Cummins has not bowled a ball in a game since July due to his back injury. But on a very batter-friendly pitch he has produced the best ball of the Test match to remove Zak Crawley. There has been very little in the surface. Most batters in the game have got themselves out so far. But Cummins extracted something from nothing as he so often does. Angled in on a hard 7 metre length, he got one to straighten a touch past a forward defence from Crawley that can't really be critiqued. It scratched the edge and Alex Carey's glue-like gloves accepted the simple chance. Crawley did very little wrong. Cummins was simple too good.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have played nicely through the first five overs. They have been controlled by their standards. There have still been some loose strokes including a few play and misses. But they have rotated nicely without trying too many outlandish strokes. There's very little there for Australia's quicks. If England's batters keep making good decisions there are a lot of runs to be made.

Jofra Archer takes a well deserved five-wicket haul, pinning Nathan Lyon plumb lbw to end Australia's innings on 371. Archer was magnificent on a flat pitch taking 5 for 53 from 20.2 overs. He bowled more overs than any other England bowler, at a better economy rate and with more maidens. The criticism he received in Brisbane seemed unfair at the time and he answered them resoundingly here. No hint of picking and choosing his moments in Adelaide. He toiled harder than any other England bowler in conditions that did not suit him. The ease of batting for Australia's tail in the first 40 minutes of the day should give England plenty of confidence. To bowl Australia out for well under 400 looks a big win. It's over the batters now.

Mitchell Starc's stunning Ashes continue. He has turned into Sir Garfield Sobers posting his second half-century of the series, in consecutive innings off 73 balls. He now has the fifth most runs in the series to go with the most wickets. Matt Roller notes he has reached 50 more times in three innings this series than any of England's batters have in four. The Adelaide crowd were joyful as he crashed Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse on the up in the first two overs of the morning before Archer cleaned him up with an excellent delivery through the gate. But while the fans gave Starc a great ovation, Australia's dressing room might not be that excited to see their No.9 driving on the up with ease. Australia will be bowling soon when they probably should still be piling up runs.

England will have a review reinstated after the supplier of Snicko technology admitted an operator error may have cost them the wicket of Alex Carey on the opening day of the Adelaide Test.

ESPNcricinfo understands that Brendon McCullum and Wayne Bentley, England's head coach and team manager respectively, held talks with Jeff Crowe, the match referee, after the close of play to air their grievances. The ECB will also encourage the ICC to review their systems to improve their decision-making processes in future.

TV umpire Chris Gaffaney upheld Ahsan Raza's on-field "not out" decision after Carey, on 72, flashed at a ball from Josh Tongue outside off stump. There was a clear spike shown on the Real-Time Snickometer (RTS) several frames before the ball had passed the bat. "There's a clear gap, no spike," Gaffaney said.

But Carey, who went on to score 106, admitted after play that he thought he had hit the ball, saying he had "a bit of luck" and was "clearly not" a walker. BBG Sports, the supplier of RTS, later suggested that an operator had "selected the incorrect stump mic for audio processing" and took "full responsibility for the error".

Matt Roller's full news report is here.