Scott Boland claims five-for as Australia retain the Ashes

Scott Boland claimed remarkable figures of 6-7 on debut as Australia bowled an incompetent England out for 68 to take an unassailable 3-0 Ashes lead and retain the urn in the process.

Having already made history by becoming only the second Indigenous male to play Test cricket for Australia, Boland tore through England’s helpless batting lineup within 16 overs of day three to ensure the hosts retained the Ashes.

In truth, England needed their two best batsmen, Joe Root and Ben Stokes, to post a mammoth partnership for the fifth wicket, and therefore, when Stokes saw his stumps rearranged by Mitchell Starc on 11, hopes of a positive outcome to the day had been seriously eradicated.

Five wickets down and needing 82 runs to make the Aussies bat again, it would not get any better for the tourists as Jonny Bairstow (5) and Mark Wood (0) both fell to Boland.

It was effectively game over when, on 28, Root threw his hands at Boland’s wider delivery in an attempt to develop a lead of some sorts and edged through to David Warner leaving England 61-7.

The 32-year-old, who had not played international cricket since 2016, claimed his sixth wicket to dismiss Ollie Robinson (0).

Cameron Green took the final wicket of James Anderson (2) to spark wild scenes among the home players and crowd whilst also putting England out of their misery.

You could argue that without any match preparation, this England side was always destined for defeat. Regardless, performances with the bat have been nothing short of shambolic and littered with fundamental basic errors.

Yet, under-pressure head coach, Chris Silverwood questionably refrained from criticising his side, in spite of another embarrassing performance.

“I have to give credit to the Australia attack [especially] Scott Boland for bowling as well as he did in that second innings.”

“We have some world-class players and some youngsters who are learning on the job constantly.”

“I think the way the guys applied themselves, the way the bowling attack rallied and got us in a position to get back in the game was a credit to them.”

“There are positives coming out of this.”

Off the back of a complete humbling, that final line will certainly send shockwaves around English cricket.

Whilst Root condemned his side’s performance in a slightly more explicit nature, he would not be drawn into answering questions about his future as skipper.

“It is bitterly disappointing and gut-wrenching. We have been thoroughly outplayed.”

“We know we have underperformed and have to be mentally resilient and very strong.”

“We know we have to be better. We can’t hide behind any excuses, there are clear areas we need to work on and we’ve got two opportunities with the last two Test matches.”

“My energy has to be all about trying to win the next game. I can’t be selfish and start thinking about myself (and captaincy).”

The fourth Test is scheduled to be played in Sydney with play starting on January 4th though there have been rumours of a possible venue change.

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