Australia edge closer to retaining Ashes as England survive Day 4 after Zak Crawley's resistance

Australia have taken a giant step towards retaining the Ashes after a dominating Day 4 of the ongoing Adelaide Test on Saturday (Dec 20). Playing at the Adelaide Oval, Australia need four more wickets on Day 5 of the Test to win the Ashes 3-0 with two matches to go. At Stumps on Day 4, England closed at 207/6, needing 228 more runs to win. This comes after Australia were bowled out for 349 runs in their second innings in the opening session of Day 4.

Australia on Ashes brink

England lost Zak Crawley (85), Joe Root (39), Harry Brook (30), and Ben Stokes (5) in the final session, with Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins doing the damage. England must win to keep the five-match series alive after being crushed by eight wickets at Perth and Brisbane. Australia, as holders, only need a draw to retain the urn. With attendance over the first four days swelling to more than 200,000 -- a record for the Adelaide Oval, which has been hosting Tests since 1884 -- they faced a daunting task.

No team has ever chased down more than 316 at the venue, while the biggest successful run chase in Test history was 418 by the West Indies against Australia at St. Johns in 2003. England took six wickets before lunch to wrap up Australia's second innings for 349, with Travis Head slamming 170 and Alex Carey 72.

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It left them with 10 minutes to bat before the break, but disaster struck in the second over when Ben Duckett, on four, edged Cummins to Marnus Labuschagne at second slip. Number three, Ollie Pope has struggled all series and was widely seen as on his last chance with Jacob Bethell waiting in the wings.

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He failed to deliver again, gone for 17 with Labuschagne taking a stunning one-handed catch at full stretch in the slips, again off Cummins. Watchful opener Crawley built a 78-run stand with Root, who needed a big score to save his side but had no answer to Cummins again. The Australian skipper removed him for a 13th time in Tests, more than any other bowler, with a furious Root berating himself after prodding at a full delivery and feathering to Carey.