On Tuesday, a tenacious Australia, led by rookie Scott Boland, skittled England for 68 runs to win the third Test by an innings and 14 runs and retain the Ashes with two matches remaining.
After a catastrophic final hour on Monday against some exceptional fast bowling that left their Ashes aspirations in shreds, the tourists started in Melbourne on 31 for four, still 51 runs behind.
Their last hope of surviving was skipper Joe Root, but when he was bowled for 28, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the team followed suit.
Boland, who was called up as injury cover, was unstoppable at the MCG, taking 6-7 off four overs and setting a new record for the fastest five-wicket haul in 19 deliveries.
As England’s woes came to an end, Mitchell Starc finished with 3-29.
“It’s completely absurd. It’s been an incredible few weeks, with everything falling into place and working out perfectly “Pat Cummins, Australia’s skipper, said as much.
“I’m happy for Scott Boland. We’ve been tireless in our efforts.” Ben Stokes returned to the crease on two, but his dismal tour continued as he was clean bowled for 11 by Starc. Jonny Bairstow hit five, and after Root was gone, it was game over, with the tailenders following suit.
“It’s just the way it is. We’ve been coping with this type of climate for quite some time now “Root, disheartened, stated.
“Australia deserves credit for blowing us away. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and we’ll need to be at our best in the next two games.” After four members of the England team — two support personnel and two family members — tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, the game’s fate was in doubt.
However, after stumps, all players from both sides were given PCR tests, which came back negative on Tuesday morning, with the first ball bowled on time.
After devastating defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide, England knew they needed to win in Melbourne to keep the five-Test series alive, with Australia just requiring a draw to retain the urn as holders.
And they were briefly in contention thanks to veteran seamer James Anderson’s classic bowling effort, which restricted Australia to 267 in their first innings in response to the tourists’ 185.
But it was only an 82-run lead, and whatever hopes England had of staying in the Test, or perhaps winning it, were dashed by Starc, Cummins, and Boland’s fast bowling onslaught on Monday.
