Australian star batter Marnus Labuschagne has rubbed salt on England with his blistering statement after the hosts thrashed Ben Stokes and his team by 82 runs in the third Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on December 21.

Marnus Labuschagne has once again shown why he is one of Australia’s most vocal and animated players after his team sealed the Ashes 2025-26 in style. With a dominant win at the Adelaide Oval, Australia took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series against England and retained the Urn for the fifth straight time.

Marnus Labuschagne fires back at Stuart Broad after Australia seal Ashes

The Ashes have always been known for its fierce battles and unforgettable moments between England and Australia, and this edition was no different. After Australia announced their squad, former England fast bowler Stuart Broad sparked the verbal war by questioning the strength of the Australian side and calling it the “worst Australian team since 2010-11.”

This remark did not go unnoticed inside the Australian camp. Instead of responding with words, the home team gave a befitting response with their domination. Playing in the home conditions, the Kangaroos were ruthless from the start of the ongoing Test series.

They completely outplayed England inside three days in Perth, followed it up with another dominating win at the Gabba, and then delivered the final blow in Adelaide. As Australia retained the Ashes urn with two matches still to play, Labuschagne did not hold back.

Marnus Labuschagne takes dig at England as Australia sets sights on a 5-0 whitewash

Riding high on the team’s dominant performance, Labuschagne took a sharp dig at the England cricket pundits, including Broad, by saying their criticism only pushed Australia harder in the Ashes. He noted that Australia responded perfectly by racing to a 3-0 lead and securing the urn.

However, the star batter Marnus Labuschagne has insisted that their job is not done yet, as the Australians are now aiming for a complete 5-0 clean sweep in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 against England.

Marnus Labuschagne said on ABC Sport after the Adelaide Test: “All the media hype—we have to say it—being called the worst Australian team in 15 years… like it’s nice to be sitting where we are, three-nil. The job is not done yet; we want to make sure it’s 5-0 and really take that urn.”

Did the Aussie team hear all that punditry bluster before the Ashes began, calling them "the worst Australian team since 2010"?

Yes, they did. And now they've answered it.

Catch every ball this summer. Live and ad-free on ABC Radio and ABC listen: https://t.co/WbUr1sULLV
Follow… pic.twitter.com/yOtJ7uxsHY

— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) December 21, 2025

Pat Cummins credits squad depth for Australia's Ashes success

Meanwhile, Australia captain Pat Cummins said the team is thrilled after a hard-fought Ashes win. He said that winning such a long Test series requires more than just the playing XI and stressed the importance of sticking to their own strengths rather than worrying too much about the opposition.

Cummins said at the post-match presentation, “Feels pretty awesome; I’ve been thinking about this series for a long time. It wasn’t easy today, but we got it done and are pretty excited about changing rooms. First of all, you need more than just 11 players in an Ashes series—five tests, and even three tests in, we’ve shown that. We’ve used 14 or 15 players. Steve was great. It's always, always about focusing on what we do really well as bowlers, not trying to get too carried away with the opposition; most of the time it’s focusing on what we do well.”