Ashes 2017-18: England crumble as Australia reclaim urn and eye humiliating whitewash
Joe Root's tourists needed a miracle to keep series alive in Perth but could not mount a rearguard as they went 3-0 down
JOE ROOT'S team surrendered the Ashes with another crushing defeat on a bizarre day in Perth.
They lost the Third Test by the huge margin of an innings and 41 runs and the little urn has passed to Aussie hands.
Three Tests and three defeats - it is turning into a nightmare tour for England.
If there was something entirely predictable about the outcome, the final day was nothing short of bizarre.
The teams arrived at the ground to discover water had seeped under the covers during torrential overnight storms and the start was delayed by three hours.
For a time, it looked like there might be no play at all and England would escape with a freakish draw.
Latest cricket news
But five members of the groundstaff used leaf blowers to dry the pitch and then three bigger blowers turned up.
All sorts of people - players, backroom staff, umpires, media - were trampling on a length as the situation became more and more farcical.
AS IT HAPPENED Ashes 2017: How the day five wickets fell as Australia regained the urn with a stunning innings victory at the WACA
Eventually, however, after several hours of men crouching with their blowers and directing air onto the strip, the umpires decided conditions were playable.
England captain Root looked less-than-pleased, arguing the pitch was in a different state from when play ended on day four.
His side, with six second innings wickets standing, needed to survive for a further 70 overs.
But from the first ball batting at the damp end, Jonny Bairstow was bowled by Josh Hazlewood. The ball kept a touch low but was not unplayable.
Batting was tough, however, because several balls were misbehaving when hitting the cracks snaking along the pitch. The damp patch must have played on the batsmen's minds, too.
Moeen Ali helped the impressive Dawid Malan put on 41 for the sixth wicket and, once more, England started dreaming of a draw.
But Moeen missed a straight ball from off-spinner Nathan Lyon and was lbw. It was the fifth time in six innings in this series that Moeen has succumbed to Lyon.
Malan, who followed his first innings century with 54, was finally out when he aimed a pull shot at a ball down the leg side and gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
The end came quickly after Malan's exit. Craig Overton, batting with a hairline crack of the rib, squirted a catch into the gully and Stuart Broad was caught behind from a short ball.
My View - John Etheridge
FROM the moment Ben Stokes got into a scuffle outside the Mbargo nightclub in Bristol back in September, this tour has looked doomed to failure.
Stokes' absence affected England massively on the field because he is three players in one - batsman, bowler and super fielder - who balances the side.
More than that, he is the heartbeat of the team and a man behind whom the other players line up when the going gets tough or verbals are thrown around.
With Stokes, England would probably not have lost the first three Tests.
And there would have been much less attention on the team when pursuing late-night activities.
The Jonny Bairstow headbutt and the Ben Duckett drink-throwing would have been regarded as trivialities.
Stokes' absence put added responsibility on other senior players and they failed to deliver.
Alastair Cook and Joe Root have been short of runs and the former captain’s future after this series is under a cloud.
Stuart Broad is short of wickets and stand-in vice-captain James Anderson was at the centre of the Duckett incident.
Moeen Ali has endured a miserable tour. His off-spin has been impotent - maybe undermined by side and finger injuries - and his batting unable to deal with Nathan Lyon, who has dismissed him five times out of six.
It has been the less heralded, less experienced players such as Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Dawid Malan and Craig Overton who have caught the eye.
Australia have been superior in all departments. Their trio of fast bowlers - Mitchell Starc, John Hazlewood and Pat Cummins - have been outstanding and applied plenty of intimidation to England's batting. Lyon is the perfect foil.
The Aussies' batting has been much better, too, with skipper Steve Smith plundering a century in Brisbane and a double century in Perth.
All England can hope for now is to avoid a 5-0 whitewash with better performances in the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
No11 James Anderson was struck on the head by his first ball from Pat Cummins and it was all over when Woakes edge a catch behind.
After the defeat, England skipper Root said: "We've got to make sure we to Melbourne and put in really good performances there.
"It is very difficult to take. Fair play to Australia - they have outplayed us in all three games. We've got to be better.
"It's bitterly disappointing. You take a lot of responsibility as captain.
"I am proud of the way we battled, but we were outskilled. We have been in every game but not managed to drive it forwards.
"We haven't been completely outplayed we just haven't performed at that level for long periods of time.
"It's hard to take but it's part of cricket."
Opposite number Smith said: "I've had a fine bowling attack, and I include Nathan Lyon in that.
"The boys have done a fantastic job. We haven't won a toss and had the hardest of the conditions but we've taken 20 wickets in every match."