Australia vs England Live Score Updates, 3rd Ashes Test Day 1

'Australia isn’t the place for weak men, and we are definitely not weak, but we need to find something…' Ben Stokes didn’t hide his frustration after the Brisbane defeat. The 'weak men' remark felt like a pointed message to some of his teammates who have struggled to withstand pressure and have wilted at key moments. At 2-0 down with three Tests still to play, it is not going to get any easier. If England are going to mount a comeback, it has to begin at Adelaide. History isn’t on their side either. Only one team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit to win an Ashes series, and that was Don Bradman’s Australia in 1936-37. That tells you everything about the scale of the challenge facing Stokes and his side. The issue hasn’t really been talent. England have enough of that. What has been missing is the ability to read the game and respond to moments as they unfold. Their attacking mindset does not need to be abandoned, but it does need to be tempered. In that sense, Harry Brook’s honesty has been refreshing. For someone as naturally aggressive as him to admit that adjustments are needed suggests the message might finally be getting through. Whether the visiting side can now turn that into action remains to be seen. On the selection front, Ollie Pope’s place has long been under scrutiny, and his lack of impact has not helped, but Brendon McCullum has continued to back the batting group and resisted chopping and changing. England have, however, been dealt a major blow on the bowling front, with Mark Wood ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes due to a left knee injury. He reported soreness after the Perth Test and subsequently missed the Brisbane game. Matthew Fisher has been added to the squad as cover, but Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts were ahead in the pecking order, with Tongue coming into the XI for Adelaide in place of Gus Atkinson. That is the only change, with Will Jacks continuing to be preferred ahead of Shoaib Bashir. No Josh Hazlewood, no Pat Cummins, and still 2-0. It says plenty about just how well Australia have gone so far. Usman Khawaja missed the pink-ball Test after back spasms that flared up in Perth, which meant he was unable to open in either innings. He has since been declared fit for this game and has made it clear that he is willing to bat in the middle order if that is what it takes to return, especially with Jake Weatherald and Travis Head doing well at the top of the order. The hosts will also be strengthened by the return of their talismanic captain, Pat Cummins. Recovering from a lumbar bone stress ruled him out of the series opener, and while he was close to featuring in Brisbane, the management opted for caution. His return is a huge boost and immediately raises the question of who makes way. Leaving Nathan Lyon out of the pink-ball Test split opinion, but Michael Neser justified his selection with a five-for in the second innings that broke the game wide open for the home side. With the red ball back in play and Adelaide’s heat likely to come into the equation, spin should have a say as the match wears on. That puts Lyon right back in the frame and could see the Aussies move away from the all-pace attack used in Brisbane. All of which points to a tough call for Australia, with two of Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett or Michael Neser potentially having to sit out to accommodate both Cummins and Lyon. England have lost on each of their last three Ashes visits to Adelaide, and all of them were heavy defeats. It was also here that Bangladesh knocked them out of the 2015 ODI World Cup, so in general, England do not have particularly happy memories of the Adelaide Oval over the past couple of decades. That said, Adelaide could offer the best batting conditions seen so far in the series, with pace and bounce not as pronounced as they were in Perth and Brisbane. Can England produce a strong response and pull one back? Or will Australia continue their dominance and seal the series? We shall find out.