Australia went 2-0 up in the five-match Ashes series after beating England by 275 runs in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval. England lower-order batters, led by Jos Buttler, fought hard in the final day to salvage an unlikely draw, but in the end, it was not enough.
England resumed the day on 82/4, with Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope at the crease. Pope went first, off Mitchell Starc. Stokes (12 in 77 balls) did not last long enough either, falling to Nathan Lyon after Australia reviewed a leg-before decision, initially given as not out.
Chris Woakes and Buttler then managed to take England to dinner without further loss. They batted 31.2 overs together (adding 61) before Woakes was cleaned up by Jhye Richardson. Ollie Robinson hung around for a while, but was undone by Lyon just before tea.
Buttler (26 in 207 balls) fell shortly after tea in a bizarre fashion. He tried to take a single off the final ball of the 110th over, bowled by Richardson, but went so deep in the crease that his right heel pushed the stumps and, in the process, nudged the off bail. The last Englishman to be out hit wicket was Andrew Strauss, in 2008, and, while Denis Compton was the last Englishman in Australia, back in 1947.
Interestingly, Don Bradman was the last player who was out hit wicket after facing over 205 balls in a Test match in Australia. It was against India in Brisbane, in 1947.
A brave fight on the final day but Australia win the second Test to take a 2-0 series lead.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 20, 2021
Scorecard: https://t.co/h01YZOpP82#Ashes | 🇦🇺 #AUSvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/U9VH9Z1MLS
After Buttler’s departure, England’s two senior men – James Anderson and Stuart Broad – had to see out 23 overs to save the Test match. But Richardson (5-42) did not take much time, and completed a five-wicket haul by dismissing Anderson three overs after, bowling out England for 192 in 113.1 overs.
Brief scores: Australia 473/9 decl. (Marnus Labuschagne 103, Ben Stokes 3-113) and 230/9 (Travis Head 51; Joe Root 2-27) beat England 236 (Dawid Malan 80; Mitchell Starc 4-37) and 192 (Chris Woakes 44; Jhye Richardson 5-42) by 385 runs. Player of the Match: Marnus Labuschagne.