Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Joe Root admits "Australia blew us away" as England lose Ashes series in Melbourne

England captain Joe Root has admitted that Australia "blew us away" after his side collapsed to 68 all out and crumbled to another Ashes defeat in Melbourne.

After fighting back with the ball on day two, the Australian seam attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland bowled brilliantly in the evening session to leave England 31-4.

Australia then finished the job within a session on day three, with Boland taking a remarkable 6-7 from just four overs, Starc picking up 3-29 and all-rounder Cameron Green taking the final wicket.

Cummins somehow ended up wicketless, despite being arguably Australia's best bowler in the thunderous final hour on day two.

In the end, England were all out for 68 in their second innings as Australia completed a dominant victory at the MCG to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

England captain Joe Root cut a forlorn figure after his side collapsed to an innings defeat in the third Ashes Test which ensured that Australia won the series (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Root said: "All you can do is try and front up to it and concentrate of putting in good performances on the field and credit to Australia, they blew us away last night and have outplayed us in this Test and in the series so far.

"We've got a lot of hard work to do to make sure we come back in the last two games.

"Yesterday with the positive Covid tests wasn't ideal, but I actually thought the way we went about our cricket on the field was excellent.

"The bowling group and the way we went about it was as good as we've gone about it all trip.

"We put them under pressure and got ourselves in a position where we were really in the Test match so credit to the guys for fronting up and being able to manage that with everything else going on.

"We need to be more like that throughout the final two games."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.