England avoided the ignominy of losing the Ashes in 10 days of cricket but Australia put one hand on the urn as they closed in on an impregnable 3-0 lead in Adelaide.After folding in two days at Perth and four in Brisbane, Ben Stokes' embattled side came dangerously close to setting a fresh low - surrendering the series a day sooner than the 11 Nasser Hussain's class of 2002-03 managed a generation ago.

England avoided the ignominy of losing the Ashes in 10 days of cricket but Australia put one hand on the urn as they closed in on an impregnable 3-0 lead in Adelaide.After folding in two days at Perth and four in Brisbane, Ben Stokes' embattled side came dangerously close to setting a fresh low - surrendering the series a day sooner than the 11 Nasser Hussain's class of 2002-03 managed a generation ago.