England captain Joe Root vowed his side must "front up" and salvage some pride after surrendering the Ashes in toothless fashion, admitting Australia have outplayed them throughout.
Resuming on 31-4, England were bowled out for just 68 inside 81 minutes, with debutant Scott Boland taking an incredible 6-7, as Pat Cummins' hosts won the Melbourne third Test by an innings and 14 runs to retain the urn.
It followed a 275-run thrashing in Adelaide and a nine-wicket reverse in Brisbane, with two Tests in Sydney and Hobart left to save face.
"We have to make sure when we get our opportunities to get ahead we take them," said Root, adding that England should have scored 250-plus in their first innings rather than slump to 185 all out.
"If we had we would have been very much in the game and we would have been looking at a very different game.
"But last night was an outstanding spell of bowling from their attack and you just have to find a way to get through it. Sometimes it has to just be an hour's hard grind."
A hostile spell from Australia in the last hour on Monday effectively won them the match, reducing England to 31 for four, still 51 runs behind.
Their final five wickets fell in the space of 29 balls as England offered the weakest of resistance in front of a jubilant home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"We knew going into today we were more than capable of getting ourselves a score and it's really disappointing that we didn't manage to do that," added Root.
"We have to front up, make sure we stay focused, looking to improve all areas of our game individually and collectively, and we have to have a really strong inner belief to be able to come back.
"We need to put some pride back. We're really disappointed to be 3-0 down with two Test matches to go. We have to try and make sure we come away from this tour with a couple of wins."
Despite admitting they had been "completely outplayed" so far, Root did take heart from their Jimmy Anderson-led bowling effort that restricted Australia to 267 in their first innings, which he called their best day of the series so far.
"They have definitely outplayed us in the three games, we have not been good enough," he said.
"I also think that the way we bowled yesterday was excellent as well. I'm really disappointed for the bowlers because they kept us in the game, we just have to keep looking to get better."
Cummins said warned that the Australians were only just getting started with Boland's 6-7 off four overs on his debut.
It equalled the record for the fastest five-wicket haul, in 19 balls, and came after Jhye Richardson - a late replacement for injured regular Josh Hazlewood - took five wickets in the second Test at Adelaide.
"A great sign of the strength of Australian cricket. We were really confident Scotty would do a great job. Maybe not six for seven!" said Cummins.
"Outside of the actual results, there have been so many other positives - a couple of debutants, a strong squad.
"These three victories really feel like we're setting ourselves up for the next few years and on."
The result means Australia have retained the Ashes after just 12 days of action and will be targeting a 5-0 series win when the fourth Test begins in Sydney on January 4.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
