The Ashes 2025 second Test day three as it happened: Australia close in on crushing victory after critical DRS reviews and English collapse

England make it to intermission. Only just mind you. Australia absolutely all over them.

Four wickets left in the shed, still trailing by 43 runs, the tourists will be down 2-0 in the series soon enough. Australia has thoroughly dominated day three, even more emphatically than the previous, and reaped the rewards late with six wickets in the evening session.

Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland had England on the ropes all by themselves, batting for more than two hours and then finishing brilliantly with the ball under lights.

What more can you say for the tourists? Weighed, measured and found wanting. History says you can start the Ashes post-mortems now. Shame really.

We’ll be back tomorrow at 3pm AEDT as Australia inevitably finish England off. Until then.

Mitchell Starc, somebody stop him. He’s got Jamie Smith pushing forward and edging through to Alex Carey again. It’s a thin edge and given. Smith reviews. But it’s futile. He’s gone.

Ten minutes of play left in day three and honestly, England will do well to spare make Australia bat at this rate. If the umpires believe a win is in the offing tonight, we can go for an extra 30 minutes. Two more wickets probably needed for that scenario.

England 6-128: Stokes 2* Jacks 0* trail Australia by 49 runs

A ball after overturning a caught behind off Scott Boland, Harry Brook is given out DRS caught behind off Boland. He’s gone for 15.

He won’t be pleased, but I reckon the umpire Sharfuddoula will be feeling worse.

He’s made the wrong call two balls in a row. The first one was an absolute howler - there was a huge gap between bat and ball.

The second one was marginally better, but still wrong. It’s worth pointing out Sharfuddoula, as at before the Ashes, had the worst DRS number of any member of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires.

Oh boy. Superb review from Australia - thought Root was definitely getting to stumps there. Ben Stokes has played some unbelievable innings in his career. But none of note in a winning Test in Australia. Time to make a name for yourself on these shores, Ben.

A few balls later it’s Joe Root in the crosshairs. Again though, the on-field decision is not-out as Australia appeal for caught behind. This time though, the review pays off.

A big edge shows from Root’s drive at a wide-ish one. Bat hit the pitch at the same time but Carey was adamant and you can see why. Root on his way, Starc knocks him off for the third time in four innings. Fair play, Root did clock an unbeaten hundred when Starc took six wickets in the first dig. But he’s out for 15 and Ben Stokes comes to the crease.

England 4-121: Root 15, Brook 14* trail Australia by 56 runs

Harry Brook is the No.2 ranked Test batsman in the world. Joe Root - No.1 - is at the other end.

But England don’t really need the Brook bazooka right at this minute, even if his rapid scoring rate would bring that deficit down in quick time.

There’s an hour of play left tonight. If Root and Brook are walking out to bat tomorrow, England have a hope in this game once more. Australia have Alex Carey up to the stumps to keep Brook in his crease, clever stuff, coming down the wicket is how he releases the pressure valve. Can he play the innings England need from him?

And per Michael Hussey’s tip, Mitchell Starc has come straight back into the attack with Brook at the crease.

England 3-110: Root 11*, Brook 7* trail Australia by 67 runs

Bugger the eye blacks Smudge, just let Michael Neser do the hard yards. He’s got another caught and bowled. Zak Crawley hitting on the up, that seemed to hold up on him a bit.

He drives uppishly and Neser takes a sharp grab reaching down to his right in his follow-through. The home town hero, proving exactly that with two quick wickets. Crawley gone for 44.

Neser has 2-6 in this spell and Alex Carey is up to the stumps with Harry Brook to the wicket. First ball, it jags back at Brook and flicks the top of his front pad. Carey thinks there’s bat in it and is appealing for what would have been a cracking catch - he was basically unsighted there, but it missed the bat.

This is must-watch.

England 3-97: Crawley 44, Root 5* trail Australia by 80 runs