England on the brink of Ashes defeat after Travis Head hits ton in Adelaide
Australia moved closer to retaining the Urn despite valiant efforts from England's Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer
Travis Head's century put England on the brink of Ashes defeat in what was another miserable day for the tourists.
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Travis Head's second century of the series piled more misery on Ben Stokes' side who were forced to toil in the heat.
Head, 31, produced a match-winning knock during the first test in Perth last month and reached three figures on day three at the Adelaide Oval put his side in sight of an unassailable 3-0 lead.
By the close of play on Friday, he had reached 142 not out in a score of 271 for four, leaving England 356 runs behind.
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A battling stand of 106 from England's warrior-like captain Ben Stokes and tail-ender Jofra Archer had kept the first-innings deficit down to 85, giving the slightest hint that a remarkable comeback might be possible.
And when Brydon Carse removed Jake Weatherald lbw with his third ball, those slim chances ticked up another few percentage points.
But Head took the game away with another excellent counter-punching knock at his home ground, where he now has four hundreds in as many appearances.
He was dropped on 99 by Harry Brook in the gully and ended the day dominant with 13 fours and two sixes.
England are now fighting to avoid the ignominy of losing their biggest series in just ten days of competitive cricket, an unwanted record that would beat the 11 days Nasser Hussain’s 2002-03 team managed.
Captain Stokes batted for five hours and 12 minutes for his dogged 83, which occupied 198 deliveries and included the slowest half-century of his career, which led to cramp and dehydration on Thursday evening.T
Tellingly, he did not bowl a single over in Australia’s second innings despite the desperation to remove Head. Archer was also used sparingly as the scoreboard ran away from England, putting their bowling resources under serious strain.
England started the day by adding 73 runs for their last two wickets, nudging their total up to 286 all out. Stokes, rendered strokeless by fatigue in the 40 degree heat of day two, was moving better in gentler temperatures on Friday morning and found good tempo with Archer.
Both men passed 50, Archer for the first time in Test cricket, as the tourists for once enjoyed some positivity, but things changed when the second new ball arrived.
Stokes sensed an opportunity to attack, but was bowled by Mitchell Starc between bat and pad with a belligerent century unclaimed.
Archer followed when he nicked Scott Boland to slip, leaving England five overs to land a blow before lunch. He could not do so, but Carse forced one past Weatherald’s defences and picked him up for one, a decision that would have been overturned on DRS.
Josh Tongue removed the out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green, while Usman Khawaja nicked Jacks behind, but Head continued tucking in.
There were a couple of nerves on 99, culminating in the tough chance he slashed to Brook, but Head soon launched Root over the top before kissing the turf.
The last hour was easy pickings as he and Alex Carey milked a partnership of 122 against a flat attack.
England will now be hoping for a rain miracle to save defeat.