The Ashes: Jos Buttler's battling knock cannot save England as Australia take 2-0 series lead

Jos Buttler's dogged resistance ended in bizarre fashion as England slid to a 275-run defeat to Australia on the final day in Adelaide to leave them 2-0 down in The Ashes and the home side on the cusp of keeping the urn.

Buttler (26 off 207 balls) was ninth out, treading on his stumps while facing Jhye Richardson (5-42), as his longest Ashes innings, and second-longest of his Test career, came to an agonising halt early in the final session.

The England batter - who had flashed an edge between slip fielder David Warner and wicketkeeper Alex Carey while still on nought as the Australia duo left the catch for each other - revived his side's flickering chances of a draw after they had been reduced to 105-6 an hour into the day following the exits of Ollie Pope (4) and Ben Stokes (12 off 77).

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Buttler rallied from his first-innings duck and a trio of dropped catches while keeping wicket as he added 61 from 190 balls with the more free-flowing Chris Woakes (44 off 97) for the seventh wicket to keep England dreaming of a great escape.

But those hopes faded once Woakes was bowled by Richardson midway through the second session, dipped further when Ollie Robinson (8 off 39) fell to Nathan Lyon (2-55) shortly before tea and were all-but eliminated when Buttler knocked off his bails while deep in his crease.

James Anderson (2) was the last man to fall, spooning Richardson to Cameron Green at gully, as England were all out for 192 in 113.1 overs and suffered an 11th defeat in their last 12 away Ashes Test matches.

Joe Root's dismissal to the final ball bowled on day four looked to have killed off England but there was still slender belief Stokes - Australia's conqueror at Headingley in 2019 - could lead a recovery from 82-4.

That was not to be for Stokes, who fell lbw to Lyon on review, nor Pope, who snicked Mitchell Starc behind from the seventh ball he faced - but Buttler tried his darnedest to deny Australia before his unfortunate dismissal.

Australia will retain the urn if they avoid defeat in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with England now needing to win at the MCG and then in Sydney and Hobart to take back the trophy they lost following a 4-0 shellacking Down Under in 2017/18.

Only one side has ever come back from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series - Australia, under the great Sir Donald Bradman in 1936/37 - and three victories on the trot seems a fairytale scenario for Root's men, who have been comprehensively outplayed in Brisbane and Adelaide and had questions raised about their team selection and tactics,

The tourists omitted Anderson and Stuart Broad at a green-pitched Gabba for a game they went on to lose by nine wickets, while they then opted against the express pace of Mark Wood as well as a frontline spinner on a dry Adelaide surface, preferring five right-arm English-type seamers.

The Adelaide defeat will be particularly galling with Australia shorn of first-choice seamers Pat Cummins (Covid isolation) and Josh Hazlewood (side strain) - that pair's absence was not overly felt by the home side as they made it nine wins out of nine in day-night Test matches.

Captain Cummins should, and fellow quick Hazlewood could, return at the MCG, while, for England, there may be a raft of changes as they look to keep alive what has been a one-sided series so far.

Rory Burns, Haseeb Hameed and Pope seem at risk after a run of low scores - Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow the prime candidates to come into the batting line-up - while Woakes was pretty ineffective with the ball in Adelaide despite standing up with the bat on day five.

Pope strolled out with Stokes on Monday afternoon following Root's late dismissal the night before, with the Surrey batter looking to significantly improve on scores of 35, four and five in his first three knocks.

He didn't manage that - poking at the first delivery Starc bowled from the over the wicket and edging a ball he could have left through to Carey.

Stokes' vigil then ended once Australia called for DRS, with it shown that a Lyon delivery which straightened after pitching and trapped the left-hander on the back foot would have gone on to hit leg stump.

Buttler and Woakes had their scares - Buttler edged through the cordon while still on a pair and Woakes would have been run out with a direct hit after advancing down the pitch to Lyon.

But the pair went on to frustrate Australia - Woakes the more aggressive as Buttler dropped anchor - before Woakes was castled through the gate by Richardson's nip-backer in the eighth over with the new ball.

Michael Neser dropped Robinson off his own bowling on nought but the England tailender, whose stand with Buttler spanned 87 balls, eventually perished to Lyon, snicking a delivery from around the wicket to slip.

Broad somehow survived against Lyon before tea - nearly bowled, nearly caught at gully, coming through one lbw review and then successfully overturning a decision of leg before by dint of an inside edge.

Broad was then left stranded as Buttler hit his wicket and Anderson fenced to Green, both off the bowling of Richardson - England dismissed with 20.5 overs left in the day.

Australia will be sensing a repeat of the 5-0 sweep they inflicted on England in the 2013/14 series with the tourists needing a response and fast to prevent another Ashes campaign spiralling out of control, albeit that the grit shown on the final day in Adelaide offers crumbs of comfort.