5 crucial moments where England lost the Ashes

#3 Loss of early wickets on the final day in Adelaide

Joe Root erred by bowling first at Adelaide and then fell early on the fifth morning after giving England hopes of a win

The second Test began with a surprising decision by Joe Root to bowl first at Adelaide – he succumbed to the lure of overcast skies and rain. Shaun Marsh then showed why Root should have batted. Marsh finished on 126*, and half-centuries from Usman Khawaja and Tim Paine pushed Australia to 442/8. England were bowled out for 227, conceding a massive lead of 215.

In response, James Anderson swung the pink ball viciously under lights to claim 5/43 and finish off the Australian innings for 138. Requiring a challenging 354 to level the series, England ended Day 4 on 176/4 with Joe Root still at the crease. But come the next morning, Josh Hazlewood got rid of overnight batsmen Chris Woakes and Root early to start a procession of wickets.

Neither Jonny Bairstow nor Moeen Ali could withstand the pace of Mitchell Starc and the spin of Nathan Lyon as England, after raising hopes of an unlikely win, ended up losing by 120 runs.