The Ashes: England beat in Adelaide to lose another series in Australia

England’s baseball system is in tatters as Australia loses another Ash in three Tests.

The tourists were beaten by 82 runs on day five of the third Test in Adelaide to go down 3-0 and extend their winless run in this country to 18 matches.

Australia were delayed by a 40-minute rain outing, England duo Jimmy Smith and Will Jacks, and a hamstring injury to runner Nathan Lyon.

Smith had 60 when Mitchell Starc fouled out. Jack battled back after lunch to reach 47, then beat the same bowler to slip for the first time, as Marnus Labuschagne again took a stunning catch.

When Josh Tong edged Scott Boland to Labuschagne, England were out with 352 seats and their misery in this country extended to 14 years and counting.

This was supposed to be England’s chance to finally compete in Australia, the most anticipated Ashes tournament in recent memory.

Instead it turned into the worst tour in recent times, leaving the futures of captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key in doubt.

England have given up the chance of winning the Ashes in just 11 days of cricket and must now find a result in either Melbourne or Sydney to avoid the ultimate humiliation of a 5-0 clean sweep.

This is the fourth consecutive Ashes tour in which England have lost the first three Tests. By the time Australia visits the UK in 2027, it will have been 12 years since England’s previous Ashes victory.

Who will take charge of England by then will be embroiled in heated debate. Stokes and McCollum have contracts until the end of that series. In theory, Ki has the most influence over the fates of both men, but he is probably under more pressure than either of them.

This is a stunning win for the Australians, who started the series with questions about selection and the age of their team.

Captain Pat Cummins missed the first two Tests, Josh Hazlewood was out for the entire series, Lyon was omitted from the second Test and Steve Smith was absent in Adelaide.

Australia is still too good for England, having been at home since 2011.