The Ashes 2025 LIVE updates: Scott Boland sends Ben Duckett packing as England chase massive deficit under lights

The third and final session of the day is upon us. Australia with a chance to recalibrate after those first six overs went for plenty and didn’t find much swing. Maybe a touch shorter this time round. Zak Crawley looking good.

Brendan Doggett into the attack accordingly. Duckett on strike. Two slips and a gully, men in the deep at point and backward square leg.

First ball: Back of a length and across the left hander. Defended to cover.

Second ball: Tad shorter again and a bit of movement away. Duckett plays and misses. That was promising.

Third ball: A touch fuller and looking for the same movement. Duckett rides the angle with a single through the big gap wide of gully.

Fourth ball: Full on sixth stump. Crawley leaves, that dies on the way through to Carey despite air speed of 136.8km/hr.

Fifth ball: A touch tighter, good length and Crawley is cautiously defending. Beats the bat.

Sixth ball: Straight and coming back. Hits Crawley on the front pad. Good shout but turned down. Height was the issue there, hit him above the knee roll and would’ve bounced over leg stump.

Good start from Doggett. Scott Boland from the other end.

England 0-46: Crawley 26*, Duckett 14* trail Australia by 131 runs

England make it through the six twilight overs unscathed. Zak Crawley suddenly looks in great touch. Ben Duckett less, Michael Neser caused him a few issues when he pitched up.

Mitch Starc understandably looking a bit knackered in his three overs - taken for 24 with Crawley cracking a couple of lovely front-foot boundaries.

Not a hell of a lot of a swing so far, we go again in 20 minutes well and truly under lights.

England 0-45: Crawley 26*, Duckett 13* trail Australia by 132 runs

Dropped. As tough as it gets for Michael Neser, though he did well to get two hands to a full-blooded swipe from Ben Duckett that sent the pink ball hurtling straight back at him.

Neser was dirty on missing that, Fox Cricket calculates that was going back at him at 91km/hr. Zak Crawley has made a bright start with 12 off as many balls at the other end. Eight minutes until the second 20-minute break.

England 0-26: Crawley 12*, Duckett 10* trail Australia by 151 runs

Oh to be an English batsman. Australia have raced out to the middle well ahead of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett - can’t imagine why.

England have 25 minutes to bat before the break in twilight, Mitchell Starc happy to take the new ball - can’t keep him out of the match.

First things first for Ben Duckett. He’s dropped two catches and faced one ball so far this Test. Crawley on strike.

First ball: Starc is right on the money. Good length, a bit of shape back toward Crawley’s off stump and he defends well on the front foot.

Second ball: A little shorter, angled across. Crawley handles it well. Bunts into the off-side and pinches a single. Duckett faces up on a king pair.

Third ball: Starc right at Duckett, squares him up at 141.6km/hr. Good length and forced to play, defends awkwardly with little footwork.

Fourth ball: Tossed up for Duckett, swinging away from him and Duckett threw the bat at it. Squeezes to point, dangerous shot to be playing.

Fifth ball: That’s better from Duckett, picks three off his pads as Starc strays full to the leg-side. Wobble seam ball, well-played.

Sixth ball: Crawley clips a straight ball - 141.5km/hr - to square leg for a single.

The first time in four innings Starc hasn’t taken a wicket in the first over. Everyone has an off day now and then.

England 0-5: Crawley 2*, Duckett 3* trail Australia by 172 runs

Brendan Doggett edges Will Jacks to slip. That’s it for Australia after 511 runs and 117 overs, Harry Brook snaffles it.

Partnerships of 54, 33, 75 and 20 from Australia’s tail could have effectively batted England out of this match, and possibly the Ashes. Incredible given the way the game started this afternoon, let alone how things were poised last night when Steve Smith and Cameron Green were knocked over in quick succession.

Australia pass 500 as Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett continue to drag England around the field. Doggett - batting at No.11 - has cracked double-figures, making this just the third time every batsman in an Australian line-up has done so.

The last time? Shane Warne’s third Test back in 1992 in Sri Lanka, when he first put himself on the map as a spinner. Australia turned a first-innings deficit of almost 300 runs into a famous 16-run win that day.

No Australian hit a hundred in Colombo either, before the locals crumbled for 164 (from 2-127) when a famous first-ever win over Australia loomed. Warne took three late wickets when Allan Border threw him the ball in hope.

Australia 9-509: Boland 20* Doggett 12* lead England by 175 runs