England chasing 67-year-old record

England are looking to become just the second team in Test history to pull off a successful run chase having conceded a lead of 200 or more on the first innings.

Australia's batting collapse in Adelaide has left the tourists needing an unlikely 354 for a series-levelling win, a daunting victory target but one that is far smaller than they would have expected when they conceded a 215-run deficit after their first innings.

Steve Smith's contentious decision to not enforce the follow-on on Monday evening, and Australia's subsequent collapse that saw them bowled out for just 138 on Tuesday, has left the door slightly ajar for an England victory.

And if their misfiring batting line-up can reverse their form and pull off the record chase, Smith will join South African Dudley Nurse 67 years ago as the only Test captain to lose a match having declined to enforce the follow-on.

Three previous Australian sides have lost a Test after they'd taken a lead of 200 or more runs on the first innings; Jack Blackham (against England in 1894), Kim Hughes (against England in 1981) and Steve Waugh (against India in 2001) are the only three captains in history to have enforced the follow-on and ended up on the losing side.

But Nurse's South African side, who failed to defend a target of 336 against Australia in Durban in 1950, is the only team to have given up a 200-run lead and lost when bowling in the fourth innings.

While England are in a much stronger position than they were midway through this match, history is still well and truly against them.

Only nine sides in Test history has successfully chased down a victory target of more than 354 and no one has done so at Adelaide Oval. And only three teams have scored more than 350 in the fourth innings in a Test match at the historic venue; India scored 445 in 1978, England posted 370 in 1921 and then 363 four years later, with all three run chases ending in defeat.

And England's recent batting history in Australia suggests victory is out of their reach; they've scored more than 350 just once out of their past 13 innings on Australian soil and their average total in that time is just 221.

But their two highest totals in that time, 353 and 312, came in the fourth innings on their tour here four years ago, with the latter coming at Adelaide Oval.

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21