41m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:45pm
Live updates: Ashes third Test, day two
1m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:25am
2nd over – Captain Pat is back
A great reception for Captain Pat Cummins, who will bowl his first ball of the series with three slips to the right handed Zak Crawley, who defends solidly.
6m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:20am
1st over – Mitch Starc comes in with the new ball
Starc steams in as is his want, and Crawley clips to midwicket and takes off for a quick single.
Three slips and a gully for Starc to Duckett here, with the diminutive Englishman defending solidly.
EDGED! Starc squares up Duckett, who looked to turn the ball to the leg side and gets a leading edge to point! Great stuff from Starc, right on the money, a good length, a good line, and fast, over 146km/h.
BEATEN! Duckett cannot help himself but drive on the up outside off! A bit of extra bounce and he has gone for it, a stupid shot based on everything that’s happened to him in the last four innings.
BEATEN! Duckett gets his bat straight and the ball leaves him just a smidge and flies through to Carey.
Late swing from Starc, who is on the money immediately.
Duckett defends the last to mid on.
Starc doesn’t take a wicket in the first over – a minor battle victory for England’s openers.
There was a bit of late movement there for Starc, great bowling first up.
7m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:19am
Here come the players
Big hour here before lunch for both teams.
England will want to start quickly – they always do.
This is the best pitch they’ve played on that suits their style on tour so far.
England must be wary about the movement with the new ball – and the accuracy of Australia’ bowlers, back to almost full strength.
11m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:15am
Another quick check in on the scoreboard…
(Getty Images)17m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:08am
Australia all out for 371
(Getty Images)
An impressive 49 runs added this morning by the bottom three of Australia’s batting line up.
Those will be valuable runs for Australia, on a pitch that looks good to bat on.
England’s propensity to gift their wickets with some wild shots will hearten Australia, as well as the truly poor bowling shown this morning by Brydon Carse in particular.
It won’t be so easy for England’s batters against the accuracy of Starc, Boland and the restored Pat Cummins.
18m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:08am
LBW! LYON IS OUT!
Or is he?
Nathan Lyon reviews instantly – looked good live but there might be a question about height.
No, there’s no bat and it’s out hitting the top of middle.
Jofra Archer has five, 5-53.
19m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:07am
92nd over – Archer carries on
Won’t have many more chances to get his five wicket haul, Archer, so he’ll want to make this count.
Lyon defends.
23m agoThu 18 Dec 2025 at 12:03am
91st over – Josh Tongue comes into the attack
Carse has been jettisoned.
Josh Tongue comes into the attack and starts accurately to Lyon, who defends.
Lyon gets off strike with a single.
Tongue bowls outside off, the 34th ball out of 42 that England have bowled this morning that would not have gone on to hit the stumps. Boland thrashes at it, but misses.
Solid defence from Boland to end the over.
28m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:58pm
90th over – Archer carries on
Lyon defends solidly.
FOUR! Lovely from Lyon, riding the bounce and getting up and fending the ball away to backward point to a boundary – not great bowling from Archer, but a lovely shot.
Lyon gets under a bouncer born of pure frustration from Archer.
He defends the next – but then gets a ball hit his pad and he goes for a leg bye.
Solid defence to end the over from Boland.
28m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:57pm
More sound advice from the DRS experts
As a sound engineer who looks at audio wave forms everyday for work I’m amazed that the discussion around the snicko incident hasn’t mentioned that if indeed the stump mic at the other end was selected, it would’ve meant that any sound from the ball hitting the bat would’ve been 1 or 2 frames after the ball went past the bat. Not before like the visual showed.
– Jesse Stack
Snicko debacle Totally agree with the comment by David. If Snicko was calibrated to the stump mic at the bowlers end, the sound spike should have occurred after the visual (because sound waves travel slower than light waves). Might have to get a real scientist onto the case. Hello Dr Karl. The explanation of the stump mic at the bowlers end doesn’t cut it. The calibration error was some other type of problem.
– NeilA
DRS was invented to take away the human factor of error. Yesterday’s incorrect DRS decision was caused by human error. What a quandary.
– Andy V
Morning Simon. Ah ! What’s an Ashes without some controversy ? I agree with David’s questioning of the official explanation. I didn’t think it made sense yesterday for exactly the reasons David has outlined and I don’t buy it. Let’s move on though, insist on Ultraedge being used here in future (post Ashes of course) and enjoy the match. Here, England, sorry, have your review back …. and happy Christmas !
– Old Timer
32m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:54pm
89th over – Carse carries on
Just two slips in place – Mark Waugh is wondering why there is no gully. I am sure he’s not the only one.
Lyon defends solidly.
Now there’s only one slip, and a short leg. This is an 8-overs-old new ball, it’s a tail ender in. Bizarre.
Lyon takes a single to backward point.
Boland holds the bat out in front of the stumps and Carse hits that bat.
Bouncer, gets the crowd going but Boland is well able for it and gets under it.
Solid defence there from Boland to end the over.
32m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:53pm
I would not poke the bear
Not sure why Stokes is in Archer’s grill, he’s the only bowler delivering for England ATM.
– Doc
36m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:50pm
88th over – Archer continues
He gets one to rise into the ribs of Boland – just a rib-tickler from Archer.
FOUR! Outside off, edged behind over and wide of second slip for a boundary. Archer looks frustrated. Boland looks relieved.
BEATEN! What a ball from Archer, missing Boland’s outside edge by a whisker. Oh my, that’s missed the off stump by barely a whisker too. He hangs his head in anguish.
Solid defence from Boland.
Every ball so far his over has been over 141km/h.
Good defence from Boland, untidy-looking as he backs away and holds the bat out, but effective none the less.
FOUR! Scotty Boland! What a shot! A delicate, deft cut to a wide ball and he’s carved that beautifully to the deep point boundary.
39m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:46pm
87th over – Carse continues
And lets Lyon off strike with another ball aimed at the off spinner’s hip. There is a bit of movement off the seam, just a bit, which makes Carse’s line and length all the more baffling.
Carse targets the stumps and Boland defends.
And then he clips off his pads to midwicket for a single.
Australia reaches 350 – a good score.
FOUR! Boland drives on the up through cover for a gorgeous four! That’s a lovely, well-timed shot. The ball looks like it’s coming onto the bat very nicely this morning.
Boland is back defending and, off the outside edge, gets a single to point.
41m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:45pm
86th over – Archer continues
Scott Boland comes in to face the attack.
Archer is up at over 140km/h.
Boland defends and sees out the over neatly, almost playing the ball to short leg but he does well.
44m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:42pm
BOWLED HIM!
Jofra Archer bowls at the stumps and, shock horror, hits them!
Just off the inside edge, a good length, a brilliant line around the wicket, Starc looking to be aggressive and can’t keep it out.
Archer does not celebrate much, if at all.
In fact, Archer and Stokes are engaged in a solid conversation after that wicket. Robust, some might say.
Interesting.
Archer wanted a third man and didn’t get one.
Starc is out for 54.
46m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:40pm
86th over – Archer continues
FOUR! Starc cuts to a wide ball, gets a top edge and the ball flies to a vacant third man for another boundary – Starc’s fifth of the day so far.
48m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:38pm
85th over – Starc gets another 50
He has two wickets in his 13 overs so far in this Test, 2-70 his figures.
But he’s really been very poor for mine.
Two slips in place as Lyon defends the first.
That’s nice from Lyon, clipping off his pads for a single. I hate to jump on Brydon Carse this early in the day, but that was a trash delivery – Mark Waugh called it a “nothing ball” on Fox’s commentary and he’s absolutely right. Too short, not targeting the stumps and so easy to hit.
FOUR! Starc punches with a late cut backward of point, another rubbish ball from Carse wide, outside off and too short.
FOUR! And again – Carse was a bit fuller that time but it’s not targeting the stumps and it’s just too easy for a man in Starc’s form to hit.
Another poor ball outside off and Starc will be kicking himself that he doesn’t connect with that one, the ball squirting to mid on off the inside edge.
FIFTY FOR MITCH STARC!
(Getty Images)
Back-to-back 50s for Mitch Starc, clipping off his pads there to square leg. He’s got there off 73 balls. Lovely from a genuine all rounder.
53m agoWed 17 Dec 2025 at 11:33pm
84th over – Jofra Archer with the new-ish ball
(Getty Images)
Jofra Archer is going to start things off for England this morning.
Mitchell Starc is on strike.
Crowd is in, players are ready, umpires are not quite ready…
Now they are, in comes Archer and Starc defends solidly.
Archer was excellent yesterday, 3-29 off 16 overs.
FOUR! Wide, full, Mitch Starc swings hard, edges past the cordon and down towards third man, where Cornwall’s St Piran’s cross is prominent on a St George’s flag. Lovely.
Full from Archer, into the pads of Starc as the Barmy Army complete their morning rendition of Jerusalem.
Solid defence from Starc.
Archer is already up at 137km/h, by the way. Must be thinking of his pillow and all the napping he’s going to do.
FOUR! What a shot from Starc! A lovely drive through the covers and Mitch Starc just punched that with gorgeous timing.
Lovely timing again from Starc to end the over.
Lovely stuff from Starc to start, and Archer’s head just dropped a bit at the end of that over.
