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England’s Ashes hopes are vanishing after they were overwhelmed by Australia amid more Snicko controversy on the second day of the third Test.<\/b><\/p>\n
In temperatures that touched 41 degrees at the Adelaide Oval, England crumbled to 213-8 in blameless batting conditions. They are 158 runs adrift of Australia.<\/p>\n
This was not a collapse caused by Bazballing batting, rather a fold in the face of relentless Australia bowling.<\/p>\n
Only Ollie Pope, whose Test career is now hanging by a thread, and Jamie Smith were dismissed playing attacking shots \u2013 and Smith was at the centre of the Snicko confusion.<\/p>\n
A day after Australia’s Alex Carey was reprieved by a Snicko error, Smith first survived then was given out on the evidence of the technology, with players on both sides apparently losing faith in the decision review system (DRS).<\/p>\n
But the debate surrounding DRS cannot mask the truth that England have wilted in the Ashes cauldron and could lose this series in as few as 10 days of cricket.<\/p>\n
After Australia pushed on to 371 all out \u2013 the outstanding Jofra Archer with 5-53 \u2013 England’s reply was in tatters at 42-3 when the tourists lost three wickets for five runs in 15 balls.<\/p>\n
Harry Brook reined in his attacking instincts with 45 from 63 balls, while captain Ben Stokes dug a trench with a painstaking 45 not out from 151 deliveries. He found some late support in a stand of 45 with Archer, who is 30 not out.<\/p>\n
But England were powerless to withstand the Australian excellence. The returning Pat Cummins claimed 3-54, while Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon took two wickets apiece.<\/p>\n
At some point over the weekend, Cummins looks likely to once again become an Ashes-winning captain and the bloodletting of this England regime will begin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n