Australia have the urn in their sights as England self-destruct again

Australia have not yet officially retained the Ashes, but it already seems a matter of "when" not "if" after England's challenge wilted in the heat on day two in Adelaide.

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Pat Cummins celebrates the wicket of Joe Root - for the 12th time

Ben Stokes battled defiantly, facing 151 balls and batting for more than four hours for his unbeaten 45, but the captain found few allies on the burning deck as England were left staring at a hefty first-innings deficit amid ever-diminishing hopes of keeping the series alive until Christmas.Stokes had asked for his players to 'show a bit of dog' in their bid to make an improbable comeback from 2-0 down, but England were all too easily brought to heel by an Australia side with more than enough pedigree, despite the absence of Steven Smith and Josh Hazlewood. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon both made an immediate impact on their return to the XI - Cummins taking 3 for 54 in his first competitive outing since July's tour of the Caribbean as England were rounded up without much fuss on what looked like the perfect day for batting.

Their one minor victory came in keeping Mitchell Starc wicketless for the first time in the series; though, as he had started off proceedings by thumping a flurry of fours to bring up his second half-century in as many games, with Australia merrily adding 45 runs to their overnight 326 for 8, that could only be claimed as a partial success.