The Ashes 2025/26 | Australia vs England | Third Test Preview and Predictions

Beaten. Battered. Bruised. That’s what England have been in the opening two Tests of the ongoing Ashes series, with the hosts having hammered them all the way to go 2–0 up.

Coming to Adelaide, England have their backs up against the wall and know that they need to not just keep the series alive, but also maintain their sense of belief in their style of play.

For the third Test of the 2025/26 Ashes series, here we present our preview and predictions. 

The Ashes 2025/26 | 3rd Test | 05:00 IST, December 17–21, 2025

After a nightmare in Perth, the batters in both camps had some respite in Brisbane, although England still had to face the wrath of Mitchell Starc, who continued his red-hot form and is now sitting on 18 wickets in the series after two games.

After a shaky opening Test with the bat, the Australian batting line-up fired in unison in Brisbane, with even Starc down at No. 9 getting some runs. For the hosts, the biggest positive with the bat was the fact that Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne both got runs.

Australia have revealed their playing XI for the third game, with Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon coming in for Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett. They will bolster a bowling attack that already has England on the ropes, with Lyon expected to get good purchase from a wicket that has assisted spinners.

England have also announced their XI for the third Test, with Josh Tongue getting a chance in place of Gus Atkinson, while the remaining squad remains the same.

The top order of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, and Ollie Pope is in severe need of runs; Crawley did get a substantial start in Brisbane but was unable to build on it. Joe Root got the monkey off his back and scored his first-ever century in Australia, which would’ve been a happy sight for captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. That said, Root hardly had any support on the other end, with a fighting fifty from Stokes being the only valuable contribution from England’s middle and lower orders in the series yet.

The Adelaide strip is known to be a spin-friendly wicket, so the fact that England are going ahead without a front-line spinner does raise a few eyebrows. England have Will Jacks and Root as their spinners, but pacers Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue will take the bulk of responsibility. Carse and Stokes both have been among the wickets, but the lack of wickets for star pacer Archer has been worrying.

The Adelaide ground has always been assistive to spinners, which is why Nathan Lyon has been brought in by Australia. That said, it is also a ground where batters can dig in and score big.

The English openers are currently under a lot of scrutiny, but given the number of games they’ve played together, they should be scoring some runs on this strip. While this game may turn out to not be as one-sided as the first two, Australia remain our favourites to win it and seal the series.

Fantasy XI: Ben Duckett, Travis Head, Steve Smith (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc (vc), Jofra Archer, Nathan Lyon

Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Winners Prediction: Australia