Captain Ben Stokes is "knackered" but still "fit to bowl" despite not taking the ball on day three of England's crucial Ashes Test, according to assistant coach Jeetan Patel. Stokes employed five other bowlers as Australia moved to 271-4 in their second innings, a lead of 356 at the Adelaide Oval.

The all-rounder earlier spent more than five hours at the crease across two days to make 83 with the bat in England's first innings. During the course of a 198-ball stay, the 34-year-old was struck on the head by Mitchell Starc and suffered bouts of cramp. He also spent time off the field on Friday after banging his head on the ground attempting to make a stop.

"He might be a bit tired and just need a bit of time to himself right now," said Patel. "From what I understand, he's pretty fit to bowl. I think he's just pretty knackered and he's taken a lot out of himself to get through to this point in the game." Given his chequered injury history - Stokes has not played a full part in any of England's previous four series - any suggestion the Durham man might be carrying a problem attracts significant attention.

Always keen to be in the heat of battle, Stokes' absence from the attack on Friday was curious given it was England's last chance to stay in the Ashes series. At 2-0 down and needing to win in Adelaide to keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive, England gave up a first-innings deficit of 85. The tourists could have hung in the contest by dismissing Australia for around 240 in their second innings and had slim hopes at 53-2 and 149-4, only for the hosts to pull away through Travis Head's unbeaten 142.

Although England bowled 66 overs, Stokes did not use himself. "He didn't bowl but that's probably a different discussion with him," said former New Zealand international Patel. "I don't actually know. We all know he doesn't do anything at 80%. Maybe he thought he was a risk, so he didn't bowl." The last time Stokes curtailed his own bowling was on the final day of the drawn fourth Test against India at Old Trafford in July. He subsequently missed the fifth Test at The Oval with a shoulder injury.

Stokes has a history of pushing his body past breaking point, and it was put to Patel that the captain felt he might have risked injury if he exerted himself any further in Adelaide. "All I know is he goes at 100%," said Patel. "If he thinks he can't do it at 100%, I don't think he's going to do it. That's probably where he's at."

England stand on the edge of yet another defeat in Australia, once again likely to be beaten inside the first three Tests of the series. If the tourists' loss is completed on Saturday's fourth day, it would mean the destination of the Ashes has been decided in 10 days - the first and second Tests were over in two and four days respectively. Not since 1921, when Australia needed only eight days of play to win in England, has the winner of an Ashes been determined so swiftly.

If a first goal is to extend this match into a fifth day, England will also have to pull off the highest successful chase at the Adelaide Oval in order to keep the series alive. "I still believe there's an opportunity for us," said Patel. "It won't be easy, we're going to need something magical. It's about time we saw something magical from us. Three games in, we've thrown some but taken a lot. It's about time, now we're backed into a corner, to throw some haymakers back."