ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) Michael Clarke's Australians finished off England's tail-enders in less than an hour Monday to win the second test by 218 runs and take a 2-0 series lead into Perth, where they're aiming to reclaim the Ashes with a third straight win.
Australia won the series-opener by 381 in in Brisbane, only three months after losing 3-0 in England for its third consecutive Ashes defeat. Now Clarke and Co. are heading to the WACA ground at Perth, where England hasn't won since 1978 and where Mitchell Johnson bowls his best, confident they can end England's Ashes roll.
"The next test is what's important," Clarke said. "I'd love it to be three-nil that's our goal."
The first test ended with angry, hostile exchanges between rival players, and the second test went the same way on day four with Johnson and Ben Stokes bumping into each other and Clarke getting involved with a batsman again. Clarke was fined after the first test, and players were expected to be cited by the International Cricket Council again.
Three dropped catches on the opening evening were costly for England, letting Australia off the hook after three quick dismissals. The Australians punished those errors and more on the second morning, recovering to make 570-9 declared with captain Clarke (148) and vice-captain Brad Haddin (118) sharing a 200-run partnership. Then Johnson turned the test upside down with a terrifying spell of 5-12 in 18 balls amid an innings haul of 7-40 as he skittled England for 172 on a pitch tailor-made for batting.