Head’s hometown century crushes England as Australia tighten grip on Ashes

Adelaide: Travis Head’s love affair with Adelaide Oval continued in emphatic fashion on day three of the Ashes Test, as his commanding century on home soil all but extinguished England’s hopes of a fightback and pushed Australia towards an inevitable 3–0 series lead.

England briefly threatened to stay in the contest during the first half of the third day, but Head’s second century of the series — his first since being promoted to open the batting — carried Australia to a commanding lead of 356 runs by stumps. With two days remaining, Australia are firmly on course to retain the Ashes over the weekend.

Head, dropped on 99 by Harry Brook at gully, made the most of the reprieve to continue a remarkable run at Adelaide Oval. Four of his 11 Test centuries have now come at the ground, all in his last six innings there. The innings further strengthened his case as an opener following his rapid promotion in Perth, where he also struck a blistering hundred. By the close, his career-best score of 175, also made in Adelaide, was well within sight.

England began the day with renewed resolve after closing on 168 for 8 overnight, and their resistance was underlined by a gritty 106-run partnership between captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. Stokes once again threatened one of his trademark match-altering innings before falling to Mitchell Starc, the 12th time he has been dismissed by the left-armer in Tests. England’s stand limited Australia’s first-innings lead to just 85 and kept the contest alive for a time.

Australia were forced to take the second new ball to finish off England’s innings before lunch and then suffered an early setback in their second dig when Jake Weatherald was dismissed lbw by Brydon Carse. Carse produced his most effective spell of the match either side of the interval, though Weatherald might have survived with a review as the ball appeared to be pitching outside leg stump.

Josh Tongue then removed an out-of-sorts Marnus Labuschagne, offering England a brief opening. However, Head and Usman Khawaja soon seized control, adding 86 runs in just 113 balls to blunt any pressure. Although Khawaja and Cameron Green fell in quick succession, Australia’s dominance was quickly reasserted.

Head found an ideal partner in fellow South Australian Alex Carey, with the pair putting on an unbroken 122-run stand during a ruthless final session. Australia scored 152 runs in just 35 overs as England’s bowlers toiled in vain. Carey capped another outstanding performance in the match by registering a half-century to follow his first-innings century.

By stumps, Australia had turned a competitive contest into a one-sided affair, with Head’s hometown heroics leaving England staring at yet another heavy defeat and Australia firmly in control of the Ashes.