England's Ashes hopes are hanging by a thread after a demoralizing day three at the Gabba, where Australia dominated with both bat and ball, leaving the visitors reeling and facing a potential defeat inside three days. The Brisbane crowd roared with delight as England's batting lineup crumbled under immense pressure, ending the day at 134-6, still trailing by 43 runs.
Australia's dominance began with their performance with the bat, highlighted by Mitchell Starc's impressive 77. Starc's contribution helped Australia amass a total of 511, extending their lead over England to a significant 177 runs. England's bowlers toiled in the Brisbane heat for nearly two sessions as the Australian tail frustrated their efforts.
England's second innings started promisingly, reaching 45-0 in six overs during the twilight session with the pink ball. However, familiar mistakes soon crept in, triggering a collapse. Ben Duckett was unlucky to be dismissed by Scott Boland, while Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley fell victim to poor shot selection, both caught and bowled by Michael Neser. Even Joe Root was not immune, edging Mitchell Starc to the keeper, and Harry Brook and Jamie Smith also succumbed to Starc's bowling. Ben Stokes remains unbeaten, but the team is crumbling around him.
The story of the day was Australia's relentless pressure and England's inability to withstand it. Australia's bowlers maintained a consistent line and length, exploiting any weakness in the English batsmen's techniques and capitalizing on their errors. England's batting has been wasteful, their bowling wayward, and their catching sub-par.
Adding to England's woes, Josh Hazlewood is likely to miss the remainder of the Ashes series due to an Achilles problem.
Earlier in the match, Australia's batting performance was a team effort, with contributions from several players. Opener Weatherald scored 72, while Marnus Labuschagne made 93. Cameron Green added 45 before being bowled by Carse. England's Carse took 3-113, being the pick of the bowlers.
Australia's slow over-rate on day one almost resulted in a penalty. Only 74 overs were bowled, falling short of the required 90, which former Australian opener Simon Katich described as "ridiculous". The slow over-rate meant Australia couldn't take the new ball under the lights.
Despite the gloom, England will need a miracle to turn the Test around. They will need to regroup, show resilience, and produce a batting performance of immense character to salvage their Ashes hopes. However, with Australia in such a commanding position, the odds are heavily stacked against them.
