The third Ashes Test starts on Tuesday, with England needing to win in order to keep the five-match series alive.
Only one team in Test history, Donald Bradman’s class of 1936-37, has come from two down to win a five-match series and the odds stacked against England are enormous. Since retaining the urn Down Under in 2010-11, England have now played 17 Tests in Australia, losing 15 and drawing two.
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England’s batsmen have been heavily criticised during this series for their irresponsible shot-selection. In the build-up to the third Test, Harry Brook, the England vice-captain, said that he would rein it in for Adelaide.
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When are the Ashes? Dates and schedule
When is the third Ashes Test?
December 17-21, in Adelaide. In the UK, play starts on Tuesday (December 16) at 11.30pm.
Test match start times
How to watch on TV and streaming
TNT Sports has exclusive live coverage in the UK, and their broadcast teams is split between these shores and Australia. A sport-only subscription will cost you £30.99 per month. You can watch TNT Sports channels on EE TV, Sky and Virgin Media.
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The first day of the series proved disappointingly that TNT have spared every expense, says Alan Tyers.
Cricket Australia sold the UK radio rights for Tests and the Big Bash from 2023-27 to BBC Sport who are covering the series with ball-by-ball commentary on Test Match Special.
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Harry Brook, the England vice-captain, admits that he has not enjoyed an “ideal series” to date, but vowed to “rein it in” after some ugly dismissals in the second innings at Perth and the first at Brisbane.
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“Sometimes I’ve got to rein it in a little bit,” he said. “Learn when to absorb the pressure a little bit more and realise when the opportunity arises to put the pressure back on them. I feel like I haven’t done that as well as I usually do. There’s no reason behind that, I just haven’t identified those situations well enough.
“They were shocking shots. I’ll admit that every day of the week, especially that one in Perth . It was nearly a bouncer and I tried to drive it. It was just bad batting.
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“The one in Brisbane , I’ve tried to hit for six. That’s what I mean when I try to say that I need to rein it in a little bit. I can almost just take that and hit it for one and get down the other end. Whoever else is in with me at the other end can just get on strike and just keep trying to rotate. But I’ll be the first person to stand up and say that they were bad shots. I don’t regret them, but if I was there again, I would try and play it slightly differently.”
Brook described England’s position in the series as “crunch time”, adding that he wanted to be the man to step up in the pressure moments.
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“Hopefully, I’ve obviously been thinking of that over the last few days,” he said. “Other lads will have been as well. These are the moments you want to turn up in, you want to be the man who turns up and puts them in a tough position.”
Brook admitted England have been getting greedy when making decisions under pressure.
“We’re such a good side when we’re sticking to one thing at a time and that’s something we haven’t done so far,” he said. “We’ve been looking too far ahead. We had a clear message yesterday to stay in the moment and stay present as much as possible.”
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Australia’s Ashes squad
England’s Ashes squad
Who is commentating on the TV coverage?
“TNT Sports’s coverage of the Ashes has begun and it is as bad as fans had feared,” Telegraph Sport’s Alan Tyers wrote after day one of the first Test in Perth.
TNT Sports lead commentators are Alastair Eykyn, best known as a key plank of the channel’s rugby coverage, and Rob Hatch, an award-winning cycling commentator.
The pair are calling the games “off tube” (commentating on the television pictures) through the night from a studio in London. Former England player Ebony Rainford-Brent is also doing commentary stints in the UK.
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In Australia, Becky Ives, who works for TNT on football and boxing, leads the on-the-ground team where she is joined by former Ashes winners Sir Alastair Cook, Graeme Swann and Steven Finn.
Steve Smith, Australia’s stand-in captain, joins TNT Sports for the post-mortem on England’s humiliating defeat in Perth – Getty Images/Gareth Copley
Were there any tour matches?
England’s preparation for the Ashes attracted criticism, notably from former captain and coach Graham Gooch in an interview with Telegraph Sport.
Prior to the series, England beat New Zealand 1-0 in the three-match Twenty20 international series after two of the white-ball meetings were washed out. However, Brendon McCullum’s side lost all three of their one-day internationals against the Black Caps.
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Their only red-ball cricket before the first ball was bowled in Perth came in the form of an intra-squad practice match.
What are the odds?
Odds to win the series (after second Test):
Past Ashes winners
The first Ashes series was played in 1882-83. Since then, there have been 73 series with Australia winning 34 and England 32. Seven series have finished as a draw.
Australia have enjoyed the upper hand in recent times, with England not winning a series since the summer of 2015 on home soil.
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England have won away series just twice since 1980, with those victories coming in 1986-87 and 2010-11. Those teams have passed into greatness, such is the difficulty of winning in Australia.
Should this series finish as a draw, Australia would retain the urn.
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