As it happened - Australia vs England, 2nd Test, Adelaide, 3rd day

Australia opted to turn the screw on England after taking a huge first-innings lead in the second Test of the series at Adelaide. Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon shared seven wickets as the tourists were unceremoniously bundled out following a century stand between Joe Root and Dawid Malan that had briefly raised English hopes, with Australia extending their lead to 282 after braving a half-session of batting against the pink ball under lights.

Steven Smith’s decision not to enforce the follow-on meant the Test continued to follow the template set in the day-night game at Adelaide in 2017-18 – on that occasion England had been dismissed for 227 in response to 442 for 8 declared. But at that point the course diverged, as England’s seamers were unable to make any inroads with the new ball. Their only success came via a run-out, and that after David Warner and Marcus Harris had put on Australia’s highest Ashes opening stand since the 2017 Boxing Day Test.

With two full days left in the game, the potential to put England’s beleaguered batters through further floodlit examinations and the likelihood that Lyon’s spin will carry even greater threat in the fourth innings, Australia were already in prime position to press for a 2-0 lead in the series.

England make the breakthrough, but it comes via a mix-up between the openers. Harris turned Root's offspin into the leg side and set off, apparently in response to a call from Warner, who then thought better of it... quickly relayed in by Broad and there wasn't a batter in the picture at the keeper's end. Warner is the man to walk off, with Harris making sure he scurried through to make his ground. Michael Neser, a man who's enjoyed his debut so far, walks out as nightwatchman.

Having been bombed for a few overs while batting, Anderson and Broad are back out there and now have their weapon of choice - a new pink ball - in hand for the start of Australia's second innings. Definitely some swing there, but the lengths seem to be a fraction short once again. Warner is looking busy, though, and when he does get a full one from Broad, it's pumped uppishly through the covers for four.

...groans from the media centre, as the openers, David Warner and Marcus Harris, trot off to get padded up! So a stay of execution for England, after they are dismissed for 236 - Broad spooning into the off side to give Starc figures of 4 for 37 (and 50 wickets overall in day-night Tests). Having been 150 for 2, England managed to lose 8 for 86, and in pretty much blameless conditions, too.

Anyway, so far it's all remarkably similar to the 2017-18 Adelaide Test, when England made 227 in response to 442 for 8 dec. On that occasion, Australia finished the day on 4 for 53 after 26 overs under lights; they won't face quite as many tonight - 17 are scheduled - but England have to try and make life uncomfortable after another underwhelming performance with the bat.

Australia have taken the second new ball, with darkness falling and the floodlights beginning to cut through. Perfect conditions for Broad and Anderson, England's venerable Nos. 10 and 11, to get some middle practice in.

Richardson's first ball back into the attack ended up rattling Broad on the grille, via a deflection off the glove, and the batter took a glancing blow to the back of the helmet trying to get out of the way later in the same over. Got a feeling this isn't going to be pretty.

Still, get a few more overs into the legs of the Australia quicks - could be vital come the end of the series. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Steps back and attempts to slap down the ground, ends up dragging an inside edge into his stumps! England's flame-haired hero-in-waiting flickers out. Effective counter-insurgency from Green, and it looks very much like Smith will have a decision to make sometime soon...

England can, of course, still take the follow-on decision out of Smith's hands - and it looks like Stokes has decided that attack is now the best course of defence. He threw the bat at Green, then launched a slog-sweep off Lyon into the crowd, following up with a lofted shot down the ground. Still more than 50 runs required, with only Broad and Anderson for company... but, well, we all know what Stokes can do in these situations.

Should you play a spinner at Adelaide Oval? You certainly should if his name's Nathan Lyon. He breaks the seventh-wicket stand with one that spins a touch and clips the inside edge before clonking off stump. Woakes was hanging back and seemed to make a late decision to play - but that was because the delivery two balls before had absolutely ripped at him from a length to turn and clip him on the trouser pocket. Lyon now has 53 Test wickets in Adelaide, closing in on Shane Warne's mark as the most-prolific bowler on this ground.

Spare a few thoughts for the confident souls who responded to our poll this morning (the third option was there for a reason, people).

Play has resumed in the middle, Smith opening up with Neser and Lyon after tea. This stand is likely to be the key one in determining whether Australia entertain thoughts of enforcing the follow on or not. Smith opted not to four years ago but then saw his side get in a tangle under lights, bowled out for 138 (although it didn't prevent them winning comfortably in the end).

Here's what Gnasher thinks: "At the moment, I reckon it favours Smith not enforcing the follow-on if the opportunity comes his way, as much as it must be a temptation under lights. He knows he has a trump card in Nathan Lyon who will be a real handful in the final innings and he could also put some more miles in the legs of England’s weary attack."

England 6 for 197 (Woakes 23*, Stokes 12*) trail Australia 9 for 473 dec by 276 runs
Normal service was resumed at Adelaide Oval as Australia trampled through the England middle order, taking 4 for 19 during a clinical evening session. Joe Root again fell short of a century on Australian soil and his dismissal for 62 precipitated another insipid collapse.

Having enjoyed a wicketless afternoon, England lurched back into more familiar territory. Root was dismissed by Cameron Green for the second time in the series, edging to Steven Smith to break a 138-run stand for the third wicket. That was the cue for Australia to ramp up the intensity, as Green and Nathan Lyon tightened the screws with a spell of four consecutive maidens.

Dawid Malan, Root's companion during the first part of the day, slashed at the returning Mitchell Starc to fall in the 80s for the second innings in succession, before Lyon had Ollie Pope taken at short leg twice in three balls (DRS saving his bacon on the first occasion).

When Jos Buttler edged Starc to slip for a duck a few overs later, England were staring down the barrel. It required a steadying stand from Ben Stokes - who had 12 from 71 at tea - and Chris Woakes to prevent Australian thoughts from turning swiftly to the follow on.

After 68 overs of batting, England have a third player in double-figures - Chris Woakes' crisp drive through the covers off Richardson taking him to 12 from 16. At the other end, Stokes has doggedly carved out 9 from 60 deliveries, with wickets tumbling around him. Australia would love to nip out another one here, with the tea break steadily approaching.

The feast of Malan-Root, the famine of everyone else.

Pitched up in the channel, chancy stab of the hands, big fat edge to slip... Third for Starc, as Buttler joins the procession with a 15-ball duck. After a wicketless afternoon, England have now lost four for 19 since the dinner break, during what is supposed to be the most benign session for batting in day-night Test cricket. Australia in complete control.

It. Is. (Follow). On.

Andrew McGlashan writes: "England decided they did not need a spinner for this Test. While that may say as much about the quality they have to select from as anything else, Nathan Lyon has shown the folly of that decision with his immaculate post-dinner spell that, for large periods, has rendered England almost scoreless. There is bounce in this surface for him, which is often when Lyon is at his most dangerous. Although his wicket owed a little to good fortune – the firm clip by Ollie Pope being held by Marnus Labuschagne at short leg – it was reward for the pressure created. Having Lyon able to lock in for long spells and Cameron Green as a fourth seamer gives Steve Smith so many options and means the three frontline quicks do not have to bowled into the ground. That could be a key factor if the follow-on becomes an option under lights tonight."

Lyon strikes, his first wicket in the Test and England are five down. Ollie Pope's struggles against spin continue, caught at short leg for 5 - he was actually given out twice in the over, and although he successfully reviewed the first one, DRS proving the ball came off his forearm, there was no doubt about a hard-handed flick two balls later. Labuschagne took the catch on both occasions, and Australia's celebrations won't be cut short a second time.

Here's Shiva Jayaraman on the extent to which Root has carried England's batting this year: "Australia will be happy to see the England captain back in the pavilion, for his wicket means half the job done. Well, that’s not that far from not being hyperbole. Before the start of this Test, Joe Root had made 28.1% of England’s run with the bat in this calendar year. In years when any team has played ten or more matches, no batter has contributed a higher percentage of runs at present. Viv Richards’ 1710 runs out of the 6402 (26.7%) made by West Indies batters in 1976, ranks second. England have had 11 century partnerships this year in Tests. Root has been involved in nine of those 11 stands. In the entire Test history when teams have had at least ten century stands in a calendar year, no batter has figured in a higher percentage of these stands for any team. Big wicket that, for Australia."

Root will be doubly cursing in the dressing room, having now made eight half-centuries without converting to a hundred in Australia. Only Javed Miandad (11 fifties in India) has a worse record in a single country, while Root is level with compatriots Nasser Hussain and Tom Hayward (eight fifties in Australia), as well as Monty Noble and MS Dhoni (eight fifties in England). As a minor consolation, only Graeme Smith, Sir Viv and Mohammad Yousuf have made more runs in a calendar year - with potentially three more innings to come for Root.

And the pressure brings a second! Malan fails to go on, too, slashing leadenly at Starc to send another edge straight to Smith at first slip! Smith had just brought Starc on, ending Green's promising spell, and the decision reaps immediate reward. Decent knock from Malan, but 80s just won't cut it under the southern cross...

That wicket has immediately raised the intensity out in the middle at Adelaide Oval, with Green and Lyon stringing together four consecutive maidens. Ben Stokes, the new batter, is currently scoreless from 15 deliveries, Green testing his resolve from around the wicket.

Andrew McGlashan has the skinny on Australia's tall drink of water: "Exceptional stuff from Cameron Green who is showing why he averaged 20 with the ball early in his first-class career before he was struck by back injuries. After beating Joe Root with a beauty he then found the outside edge for the second time in two innings. To cap off the over his first delivery to Ben Stokes was clocked at 145kph. It was a bit of a surprise he had to wait as long as he did for a bowl. Before Pat Cummins was ruled out of the Test he said he may have used Green more this match in the absence of Josh Hazlewood’s height. With Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser being more pitch-up bowlers at their best, Green operates at a slightly different natural length. All the hard work he put in pre-season – missing Australia’s limited-overs tours has been a blessing – is coming together."

Big wicket. Big breakthrough... and it's the big man, Cameron Green, who dislodges Root for the second time in the series! He had already got a couple to go past the outside edge, then with the fourth ball of his fifth over, one straightened and climbed as Root fended at it, only to steer straight to Smith at slip. Definitely could have been left on length, but something about Green's angles and action gets Root fishing outside off, as he did in the second innings at the Gabba. Huge moment, and Root's wait for a ton down under goes on.

Looks like an afternoon for getting a bead on in Adelaide. Root and Malan will be looking to enjoy the sunshine for as long as they can - and it'll be the turn of Australia's bowlers to toil away in the heat, Green and Lyon resuming in tandem. A couple of boundaries in the first two overs after the break, and England have notched 150. Slap on the sunscreen and enjoy the show.

England 2 for 140 (Malan 68*, Root 57*) trail Australia 9 for 473 dec by 333 runs
England enjoyed a fruitful afternoon as they sought a way back into the series in Adelaide, Joe Root and Dawid Malan both recording half-centuries during an unbroken third-wicket stand to keep Australia's ambitions in check.

The pair had provided England's most-encouraging passage of play in Brisbane, where they added 162 together in the second innings, and they resumed in composed fashion on day three of the second Test, attempting to weather the storm of being reduced to 2 for 12 under the floodlights the night before.

Malan was the more attacking, picking off Mitchell Starc's first two balls for four on the way to his sixth 50-plus score in Ashes Tests - despite occasionally being troubled by the turn and bounce of Nathan Lyon.

Root, England's captain, simply continued the serene form that has seen him score more than 1600 runs in 2021. In excellent batting conditions, he passed 50 for the ninth time in the year shortly before the break, continuing his quest to record a first ton in Australia.

The England captain flicks Richardson off his pads for four to bring up a half-century. Root, as we know, has had a fabulous year, converting six of his eight 50-plus scores to three figures... but, as we know, he has never scored a Test hundred in Australia. England fans waking up on a frosty December morning a week out for Christmas will be praying today's the day.

Gnasher tweets, Steve Smith listens. Cam Green into the attack to bowl the 38th over, around 15 minutes to go until lunch.

Smith promised that his quicks would pitch the ball up and seek to challenge the stumps more than England did - and the data bears out that approach. In the first 25 overs of the England innings, according to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball logs Australia's seamers landed 68.2% of their deliveries on a length or fuller, compared to 52.1% for the England attack.

But, here's where it gets interesting. Of the 27 full deliveries sent down by the Australia fast bowlers, one took a wicket - Hameed chipping Neser to mid-on - and the others leaked 32 runs. England, by contrast, prioritised control by hammering away back of a length: they bowled 69 deliveries that were either short or short of a good length, and conceded 10 runs from them. With the bat, Australia were of course tied down for much of the first day, and managed 1 for 45 from the first 25 overs of their innings.

(England's breakthrough came from a short ball, Harris caught down the leg side, while Australia's was courtesy of some shape and bounce from back of a length as Burns fended to slip.)

Would England have had taken more early wickets if they had pitched it up more? It's hard to say their containment strategy worked in the long run - particularly as they failed to make inroads under lights, either. But at 2 for 84 after 25 - which became 2 for 100 in the 31st - Malan and Root seem to be making good use of the scoring opportunities provided by Australia.

And just like that, Dawid Malan has a half-century - his second of the series, and the sixth time he has passed 50 in his seven Tests in Australia. A whip off the hip against Neser, small raise of the bat. Once again showing he's one of the best Englishmen for the job in these conditions.

Andrew McGlashan writes: "It doesn’t look like things are going to come as easily for Australia today with Joe Root and Dawid Malan showing good intent. However, Nathan Lyon has already caused a few nervy moments – Root top-edged a sweep not a million miles from deep square leg and Malan saw a delivery rip from middle stump and beat the outside edge. There’s no surprise to know that Shane Warne believes he will be the key man today, and he’s not alone in that view. The early evidence would suggest that is correct. Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson have been tidy while it appears Mitchell Starc may play an enforcer role to try and make something happen on a surface that still looks full of runs, despite Marnus Labuschagne’s view that it has done plenty all match."

Been a fairly quiet start out in the middle, which is what England will have been hoping for after the sturm and drang of the previous evening. Dawid Malan started with an inside edge off Jhye Richardson that flashed past his stumps for four, but was in more authoritative mood when Mitchell Starc came into the attack, flaying his first ball over backward point.

Root has been fairly watchful so far, punching the odd drive and playing with soft hands. His 2021 run-scoring odyssey has now seen him pass Ricky Ponting (2005), Sunil Gavaskar (1979) and Sachin Tendulkar (2010) and move into the top five most-prolific calendar years on record. Well worth a read through of Geoff Lemon's long-running thread documenting Root's rise through the ranks of the immortals.

And Nathan Lyon is into the attack inside the first hour. He knows what it's like to put in a shift on at Adelaide Oval (he worked on the ground staff, of course) and he will doubtless have an important role to play today.

Bish speaks. England, you've been told...

The intervention of the storm before the close on day two means we'll be getting under way 19 minutes early today, with two balls of Michael Neser's over remaining. Steven Smith said before the start this afternoon that Australia felt there was "still plenty in the wicket" - and that they wouldn't be following England's lead in search of inspiration by banging it in halfway down.

"The message this morning was just for the bowlers to try and hit the top of the stumps as much as possible," he said. "I think we can learn a little bit from the way England bowled. I thought they bowled a little bit too short and didn't hit the stumps enough. So for us it's about trying to hit the top of the stumps as much as possible, not being afraid to get hit down the ground and try and just challenge the top of the stumps and their defence."