Australia dominated Day 2 of the Adelaide Test, leaving England 158 runs behind at 213/8. Mitchell Starc scored a vital fifty, Nathan Lyon surpassed McGrath’s wicket tally, triggering England’s collapse, while Snicko DRS controversy added drama.
The second day of the ongoing third Test of the Ashes 2025 series was dominated by Australia over England at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, December 18.
After bundling out Australia for 371 in the first innings, England posted a total of 213/8 in 68 overs, with skipper Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer batting on 45 and 30, respectively, and trailing by 158 runs to Australia’s first-innings total. Earlier in the day, Jofra Archer completed his five-wicket to wrap up Australia’s innings in the first session.
On that note, let’s take a look at key takeaways from Day 2 of the Adelaide Test.
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1. Mitchell Starc’s Back-to-Back Fifty of the Series
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has again displayed his batting brilliance as he scored his second successive century of the ongoing Ashes series against England. Resuming his batting at 33, Starc completed his fifty in 73 balls, with 8 fours, and played an innings of 54 off 75 balls. His innings helped Australia go past the 350-run mark before the hosts were bundled for 371 in the first session.
Starc’s crucial lower-order partnerships with Nathan Lyon (9) and Scott Boland (14) added valuable runs at the tail, giving Australia a commanding first innings lead. The Australian pacer carried on his batting form from the Pink-Ball Test, where he scored a resilient 77 off 141 balls, guiding Australia to a mammoth 511-run total before 8 wicket win over England.
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2. Nathan Lyon Triggers England’s Top Order Collapse
After being excluded from playing XI for the Pink–Ball Test, Nathan Lyon made a brilliant comeback by triggering England’s collapse in the top order. After Australia skipper Pat Cummins gave an early breakthrough by dismissing Zak Crawley, Lyon chipped in to trigger England’s top-order collapse by dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in a single over, reducing the hosts to 42/3 in 10 overs.
With two wickets on Day 2, Nathan Lyon has surpassed Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 wickets to become the second-leading wicket-taker for Australia in Test cricket. Lyon has 564 wickets in 141 matches and is behind the spin bowling legend, late. Shane Warne’s record of 708 wickets for Australia.
3. Ben Stokes and Harry Brook’s Resilient Partnership
England Batters, including Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root, struggled to get going as the hosts were reduced to 71/4, leaving the hosts in early trouble and firmly on the back foot on Day 2. However, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes stepped up when they were needed the most and pulled the team out of a shambolic situation. Skipper Stokes walked in to bat after Root’s dismissal and joined Brook at the crease to carry on England’s innings.
The middle-order pair stitched a crucial yet resilient 56-run partnership to lift England from a situation where they were reeling after the early loss of wickets and in desperate need of stability. Brook and Stokes’ partnership took the hosts to 127/4 before the former’s dismissal for 45 by Cameron Green.
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4. Snicko Controversy
Day 2 of the Adelaide Test witnessed a Snicko controversy that sparked debate over the credibility of the DRS technology. On the opening day, a key review saw Alex Carey survive the caught‑behind appeal despite a Snicko spike, as the sound did not align with the ball passing the bat. The same incident took place on Day 2, when Jamie Smith was controversially given out despite the replays showing no clear contact between bat and ball, reigniting criticism of the edge‑detection system from both teams.
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc was quite disappointed with the snicko, expressing frustration on the stump mic, calling out the technology as ‘worst ever’ after controversial decisions involving edge detection drew criticism from both sides.
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5. England on the Verge of Conceding First-Innings Lead
England found themselves on the verge of conceding the first innings lead on Day 2. Needing 158 runs more to overtake Australia’s first-innings total of 371, England were struggling at 213/8 by the close of play, with Australia’s bowlers maintaining tight lines and applying constant pressure.
Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer kept the hosts’ innings together with a crucial 45-run unbeaten stand, taking England past the 200-run mark. England’s poor batting has been a topic of debate in the ongoing Ashes series as they suffered a collapse in the four innings across two Tests in Perth and Brisbane, leaving them in a precarious position in their first innings at Adelaide.
