‘Australia, you’re too good’ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 18: Joe Root of England is dismissed by Australia Pat Cummins during day two of the Third Test Match in the 2025-26 Ashes Series between Australia and England at Adelaide Oval on December 18, 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

An update from cricket correspondent Lawrence Booth in Adelaide…

The wicket of Joe Root feels like the moment England finally have to say: Australia, you’re too good for us. While he and Harry Brook were together, England fans could cling to the possibility, however faint, that they could make the Australian bowlers work for it in temperatures not far off 40 degrees. But Pat Cummins plugged away outside off stump, and now has Root 12 times in Test cricket, more than any other bowler. That’s what champions do: they seize the moment, win the big battles. And England haven’t been at the races.