4-0 for Australia as England collapse to 124 in chase of 271 on Day 3 in Hobart

Australia thumped England by 146 runs on Day 3 of the Hobart Test to end the Ashes with a dominant 4-0 scoreline.

Set 271 for a consolation win, England provided a flicker of hope as their openers added a resolute 68. However, once the partnership was broken, they folded rather quickly, succumbing to 124 all out in 38.5 overs. Pat Cummins, Scott Boland and Cameron Green claimed three wickets each as the Aussies embarrassed England once more.

Green broke the opening stand in the 17th over of the innings, just before the second break. Rory Burns (26) chopped on for 26, unsure of whether to play or leave a delivery angling in from around the wicket.

Dawid Malan (10) was also bowled by the pacer as he was late on one and deflected the ball onto the stumps. Green had three when he forced Zak Crawley (36) to nick a full delivery to the keeper. After an impressive start, it was back to the same old woes for England.

Ben Stokes (5) hit a short ball from Mitchell Starc to deep square leg, while Joe Root (11) was cleaned up by Boland with one that kept low. The lower order offered no resistance as Sam Billings (1) chipped Boland to mid-on and Ollie Pope (5) was bowled around his legs by Cummins.

Chris Woakes (5) fell to a blinder of a catch from Alex Carey off Boland. Fittingly, Cummins added the finishing touches to the Ashes. He bowled Mark Wood (11), who bottom-edged a short ball back onto the stumps. The winning moment came when Ollie Robinson (0) was cleaned up by the Australian captain. The 4-0 triumph was a fair reflection of the gulf between Australia and England.

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Mark Wood claims six to give England hope

Earlier, Wood claimed career-best figures of 6 for 37 as England bowled Australia out for 155 in their second innings. At one stage, the hosts were in dire straits at 63 for 6. However, Carey’s 49 lifted the Aussies to a respectable total as they set England a highly challenging target of 271.

Resuming the Day at 37 for 3, Australia lost nightwatchman Boland (8) as he nicked one from Wood. First-innings centurion Travis Head (8) also perished cheaply, tickling the fast bowler down the leg side. Wood also dismissed Steven Smith for 27 as the experienced Aussie batter top-edged a bouncer to long leg.

Green (23) and Carey added some crucial runs before Stuart Broad trapped the former lbw. Wood then completed a much-deserved five-fer when he had Starc (1) caught at short leg. Carey missed out on a fifty as he nicked Broad behind the wickets. Wood had six for the innings when he cleaned up Cummins for 13.

It was a commendable bowling effort from England, led by Wood. However, a target of 271 was always going to be a bridge too far for the brittle batting order.