England face Ashes reckoning in Adelaide furnace

The Ashes could be decided within days at an Adelaide Oval furnace where England’s hopes of wresting back the urn will fire anew or flame out entirely against a strengthened Australia.

Trailing 2-0 after eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane, Ben Stokes’ team must win the match starting on Wednesday or become the fourth touring England squad in succession to crash out after three tests.

Only one team has ever pulled off a series win from a 2-0 deficit in nearly 150 years of test cricket – Don Bradman’s Australia in the 1936/37 Ashes.

Outplayed with bat, ball and in the field this series, England will need the grit of Bradman’s battlers to create their own history.

Stokes is adamant his team can rally, having led them from 2-0 down in the 2023 Ashes to draw the series 2-2. Australia, as holders, kept the urn anyway.

“We’re able to draw on experience, being in the situation before,” Stokes said on Tuesday.

“Everyone knows what needs to happen in the coming week and after that as well. So if anything, it actually makes everything more simple, a little bit more clear for us.”

Though the series remains alive, some cricket pundits have already written off England’s “Bazball” game after seeing it fail twice.

Head coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum is under genuine pressure for the first time since ushering in England’s attacking revolution in the wake of their 4-0 loss in the 2021/22 Ashes.

Former England players have been aghast at the squad’s lack of match practice.

The sight of England players necking beers in the holiday hotspot of Noosa Heads last week, straight after their Brisbane thrashing, may have been hard for fans to take, even if the trip was long planned.

While pace bowler Josh Tongue has dislodged Gus Atkinson in the England XI, selectors have otherwise backed the players to come good with the red ball in Adelaide following trouble with the pink one during the Gabba’s day-night match.

The toss could prove crucial, with the opening days in Adelaide set for scorching weather.

Day two on Thursday could hit 39 degrees Celsius (102F), raising the prospect of an exhausting slog for the fielding side on a pitch often regarded as Australia’s best for batting.

With young spinner Shoaib Bashir spurned again, England will stick with three quicks and spin-bowling all-rounder Will Jacks.

Australia have gone back to basics in their attack with the return of captain Pat Cummins from a back injury.

The funky, four-pronged pace setup that dominated at the Gabba has been shelved, allowing veteran spinner Nathan Lyon to return and share what could be punishing workloads for the bowlers in Adelaide.

Michael Neser, the five-wicket hero in the fourth innings in Brisbane, has made way along with fellow pacer Brendan Doggett.

Cummins and Lyon add more than 800 test wickets of experience for the hosts, compared to 130 combined for England’s pace trio of Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Tongue.

The return of Australia’s big guns will be welcomed by home fans but some purists may miss the elegant, patient batting of Usman Khawaja.

Selectors have stuck with the new opening combination of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald, while declining to find a place in the middle order for the 85-test opener.

While the hosts would prefer another win to seal the series, they need only draw the match to retain the urn they have held since 2017/18. Pragmatism should ultimately trump risk if the contest is tight.

Adelaide tests are usually festive affairs with big crowds revelling in the lead-up to Christmas.

But this one will start on a sombre note and with a heavy security presence following the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.