Ashes 2025: Dates, Squads & How England Plans to Reclaim the Urn

Australia seal Ashes 2025 at Adelaide: Pat Cummins’ men overpower England to clinch series 3-0 A ruthless Australia retained the Ashes urn with an 82-run victory in the third Test at Adelaide Oval, completing the job inside 11 playing days and opening a potentially historic 5-match series lead. England, set a record 435, were bowled out for 352 despite a spirited 60 from debutant Jamie Smith and a late surge from Brydon Carse. Mitchell Starc’s second-innings burst of 4-62 – highlighted by the priceless wickets of Smith, Will Jacks (47) and Jofra Archer – broke English resistance after lunch, while Scott Boland applied the final blow in fading light. Key moments • Starc’s double strike removed Jacks and Archer in consecutive overs, shrinking the target from an improbable 84 to mission-impossible 1 wicket. • Marnus Labuschagne’s second acrobatic slip catch of the match – a one-handed grab to dismiss Jacks – swung momentum irreversibly. • Veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon limped off with a hamstring injury early on day five, forcing Travis Head to supply 12 overs of part-time spin and deepening Australia’s bowling crisis, yet the pacers delivered under pressure. Series context The win hands Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead with Melbourne’s Boxing Day Test looming, matching the hosts’ fastest retention of the urn since 2006-07. England’s Bazball blueprint now faces its sternest examination: avoid a whitewash without Ben Stokes (knee surgery) and find quick answers for batting collapses that have produced totals of 234, 251 and 286 across three first innings. Player of the match Starc’s nine-wicket haul across both innings edges out Labuschagne’s aggregate 201 runs. The left-armer found conventional swing under overcast skies on days one and five, dismissing Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook cheaply before ripping out England’s tail in session three. What England must fix 1. Top-order temperament: Crawley, Pope and Brook collectively average 21 this series. 2. Middle-overs scoring: only Jamie Smith struck at above 60 in Adelaide’s second dig. 3. Spin-depth: Tom Hartley’s 1-170 match figures reinforced the need for a specialist tweaker on Melbourne’s wearing surface. What’s next • Fourth Test: 26-30 Dec, MCG – Australia eye first 5-0 sweep since 2013-14; England chase pride and World Test Championship points. • Selection watch: Australia may draft leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson if Lyon is ruled out; England consider recalling Ben Foakes for wicket-keeping stability and promoting Brook to No 3. SEO takeaway Ashes 2025 results, Australia vs England third Test highlights, Mitchell Starc wickets, Labuschagne catch, Nathan Lyon injury update, Boxing Day Test preview, series score 3-0.