ENGLAND’S lingering hopes of regaining the Ashes urn ended this morning – and Australia rubbed their noses in it by donning matching shirts slamming Bazball.
Despite resistance from the lower order, an 82-run defeat was suffered at the Adelaide Oval.
Travis Head was among the Aussies sporting the Ronball shirtCredit: Instagram / @patcummins30
Steve Smith joined in the celebrationsCredit: Getty
It resulted in – thanks to being beaten in the joint-shortest time in an away Ashes series.
To make matters worse for captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, the jubilant Australian team trolled them after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead.
In the dressing room, the players handed out white T-shirts with a picture of coach Andrew McDonald wearing a cricket helmet and holding a bat alongside the word Ronball.
Travis Head, who spearheaded Australia to victory by , Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja were among the big-names who quickly put on the custom-made outfit.
The hosts jokingly adopted the term Ronball in the early days of McCullum’s England tenure.
It is in reference to McDonald, who is affectionately nicknamed Ronald after the fictional clown mascot of McDonald’s.
Australia also revelled in their battering of England by downing a few jugs of Headliner Spritz – an apple and watermelon cocktail – while still wearing their Ronball shirts.
, who prolonged his stay at the crease in the first innings thanks to Snicko technology problems, also led the team in a rendition of their song Under the Southern Cross.
A devastated Stokes said: “The dream is now over, which is incredibly disappointing. Everyone is hurting and quite emotional about it.
“It hurts, it sucks, but we’re not going to stop. Australia have been able to execute things more consistently than us.
“We’ve played good in passages and I thought we were on for another heist when Jamie (Smith) and Will (Jacks) were batting so well.
“We were confident of chasing down 435 for victory because it was still a good pitch. But losing those three late wickets to Nathan Lyon on day four really set us back.
“I think we can take a lot from this game. We still have so much to play for in the series.”
, who have not won a Test match in Australia for 14 years, still have to head to Melbourne and Sydney for the final two showdowns of the series.
Australia wasted no time trolling EnglandCredit: Getty
The hosts wrapped up the series with two Tests to spareCredit: Getty
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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