A Harry Brook reverse sweep brain explosion and a magnificent spell from recalled spinner Nathan Lyon have put Australia on the cusp of an Ashes series victory after Pat Cummins’ three-wicket haul slowed what was shaping as an unlikely world record run chase from England.
A maiden Test century on Australian soil for opener Zak Crawley went begging when he was out for a patient 85 late on day four of the third Test, while Brook’s awful dismissal summed up the tourists’ woes as hopes of regaining the Ashes faded fast.
Harry Brook is bowled after an ill-advised attempted reverse sweep.Credit: Getty Images
England reached stumps at 6-207, still requiring 228 runs for victory – a fourth-innings target no team has ever successfully chased in Test cricket.
Having already attempted a ramp shot that nearly bowled him – prompting Test great Ricky Ponting to label it the “worst batting I have ever seen” – Brook’s miserable tour continued when he was bowled for 30 trying to reverse sweep Lyon just as England looked to be mounted a remarkable comeback.
While it has been a profitable shot for Brook in the past, this dismissal was horrendous, coming with England wrestling back momentum at 3-177 in pursuit of 435, the visitors’ highly touted No.5 looked back at his stumps in disbelief.
As for the ramp shot, Channel Seven commentator Ponting was less than impressed.
Brook looks on confused as the Australians celebrate.Credit: Getty Images
“That is the worst batting that I have ever seen,” Ponting said. “Imagine walking back into the dressing room in front of your mates in a must-win Ashes Test match having gone out like that.
“Call me old-fashioned, but that doesn’t make much sense to me.”
While Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have offered little return this series, averaging 16 and 21 respectively, Brook has also failed to deliver on the hype, averaging 28.8 to go with some ordinary fielding, including two crucial dropped catches in this Test.
Australia showed the value of playing a frontline spinner on a deteriorating Adelaide pitch when Lyon (3-64 from 18 overs) served up the “perfect” off-break, in the words of Mark Waugh, to bowl Ben Stokes for five.
Nathan Lyon bowled superbly on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images; AP.
There was irony in the moment, with Fox Sports commentator Adam Gilchrist talking up Stokes’ solid fourth-innings average of 37 when Lyon got one to drift in and spin away to crash into off stump. It was a pointed reminder of his worth, after being dropped for Brisbane.
When Crawley danced down the track and was stumped neatly by Alex Carey shortly after, Lyon had picked up three wickets in 20 balls, digging the knife further into a wounded England side.
Set 435 to win, England started in familiar fashion when Duckett (one) edged to Marnus Labuschagne before Cummins jagged a second wicket – this time Pope, courtesy of another superb diving catch from Labuschagne.
The moment of the day arrived in England’s 29th over when Joe Root fished outside off stump and feathered a catch through to Carey off Cummins.
His explosive reaction – punching his bat and yelling as he walked off – was emblematic of his torrid time as a Test cricketer in Australia. While a fine century in Brisbane briefly eased concerns, Root’s overall record in Australia – zero wins from 18 Tests – remains the real talking point.
Earlier, Carey fell short in his bid to become the first Australian wicketkeeper to make two centuries in one Test when he was caught for 72, while Travis Head finished on 170, just five runs shy of his highest Test score, as Australia posted 349.
Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower (2001) and India’s Rishabh Pant (2025) are the only wicketkeepers to achieve the feat, while Ian Healy still holds the record for the most runs in a single Test by an Australian gloveman, with scores of 165 not out and 45 not out against the West Indies in Brisbane in 1996.
Gilchrist plundered 204 not out against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2002 but did not bat in the second innings.
Carey has been a revelation since 2022 and now boasts a Test average of 36.72, second on the all-time Australian wicketkeepers list behind Gilchrist (47.6). His stumping of Crawley was sharp, capping a memorable match for the South Australian.
Meanwhile, Josh Inglis’ immediate Test future is under a cloud after another low second-innings score in Adelaide opened the door for an unlikely MCG match for Usman Khawaja.
Inglis contributed 10 off 20 balls at No.7 before being caught behind off the bowling of Josh Tongue.
From three innings in this series, having come into the XI for the second Test in Brisbane, Inglis has scores of 23, 32 and 10 as a specialist batsman.
Since his century on Test debut earlier this year against Sri Lanka, Inglis has compiled 82 runs in six innings at an average of 13.67.
Inglis was selected ahead of Beau Webster at the Gabba but is now likely to be squeezed out, with Steve Smith expected to return in Melbourne. Khawaja could slot in at No.5, with Head likely to open again.
Smith, who was ruled out on the morning of the Adelaide Test due to vertigo-related issues, including nausea and dizziness, was not sighted on days one or two but warmed up with Australia on day three. On Saturday, Smith took part in a light net session before play.
Team officials say Smith is likely to return for the Boxing Day Test, a venue where he scored 140 last year against India.
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