England are 0-3 down in the five-match series after just 11 days of cricket, outplayed by a hungry Australian team. McCullum had branded the tour as “the biggest series of all our lives” but defeats in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide have ended the tourists’ hopes of wresting back the Ashes from their fierce rivals

Just as England were starting to gain confidence on Saturday chasing what needed to be a world-record 435 to keep the Ashes series alive, Lyon returned to the Australian attack.