England faced mounting pressure to recall James Anderson and Stuart Broad ahead of the second Ashes Test, all but leaving no room for specialist spinner Jack Leach.
But with Joe Root off the field early on Day 4, it looked as though England's choice to play five seam bowlers may not have been the most judicious decision.
Root was not able to bowl until 36 overs had passed in the second innings due to being withdrawn from the field with an abdomen injury suffered in the lead up to Day 4 - leaving his side almost devoid of any spinning options.
Ollie Robinson resorted to bowling a few overs of off-spin and Dawid Malan rolled his arm over with some very part-time leg-spin. Malan finished with 2/33 off his six overs, while Robinson picked up 2/54 from 15 overs (including overs bowled as a seam bowler).
🚨 Ollie Robinson off-spin alert 🚨#Ashes pic.twitter.com/elhB1U7uGl
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 19, 2021
England bowling coach Jon Lewis said that with the benefit of hindsight, England may have played a specialist spin bowler.
"The wicket is obviously turning," he said.
"And we felt the ball would move around under the lights a little bit more than it has.
"In hindsight, you might say we should have picked a different side.
"But at the time, we felt like we picked a team that would win the game."
Australian batters Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head took the game away from England through the middle of Day 4 mainly due to England's part-timers being unable to extract any value on offer from the Adelaide pitch.
A solid 89-run partnership from the pair set the foundations for Australia's second innings - and a fourth innings target of 468 for England. Labuschagne and Head scored 51 a piece, hitting 13 boundaries between them.
With roasting temperatures in the high 30s earlier on in the match, the Adelaide Oval wicket was flattening and drying out on Day 4, with Australia's Nathan Lyon's later proving the abundance of turn and bounce on offer.
Watching the excellent Nathan Lyon bowl on an Adelaide pitch which has turn and bounce makes me ask the question we ask every winter .. where are we with spin in English cricket ? My thoughts…
via https://t.co/jTw0hUd9Mw https://t.co/uhgvoW3Bo4— Nasser Hussain (@nassercricket) December 19, 2021
Lyon made the ball turn and bounce consistently, bowling with a beautiful arc and drift - beating the bat ball after ball. He built the pressure from one end for wickets to be taken at the other and was unlucky not the take a wicket himself, but had Malan dropped by Smith early in his innings.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that the lack of a decent spin bowler on a dry, turning Adelaide track should be at the top of England's list of issues to address.
Warning signs ahead of the Test
England were warned of the perils of not playing a specialist spinner in the second Test, not least of which by Adelaide Oval groundsman Damian Hough.
Adelaide Oval groundsman Damian Hough says it would be a mistake for England not to play a spinner in the second Test #AUSvENG #Ashes
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) December 14, 2021
Earlier in the week, Australian batter Travis Head described playing a spinner in Adelaide as a "non-negotiable".
"Lloyd pope for South Australia has spun the ball, I’ve spun the ball every now and then which is rare … whenever we play Nathan here for NSW he’s almost been near impossible to hit," he said speaking to the media.
"It’s going to offer him great spin throughout the whole game, we won’t see it change. We might get some foot holes late day four or five but traditionally the ball has spun off the straight from day one, so I think he’s hugely in the game."
But Jack Leach's figures in Brisbane left his spot in the side almost untenable. Leach was bashed out of the attack in the first Test, returning figures of 1/102 from just 13 overs, calling forth England's reluctance to back him up in Adelaide.
It was thought Joe Root would offer the modicum of spinning variety to give the quicks a chop out and improve England's over rate. In the first innings, he took 1/72 from 20 overs bowled.
Off-spinner Dom Bess has also travelled with the England squad, and managed to take six wickets for the England Lions against Australia A last week.