Time to wrap things up for today. Thanks for your company, see you in the morning. Don’t be late.
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Australia’s change of approach in numbers
Perth, first innings 132 runs, ten wickets, 2.91 runs per over
Since then 581 runs, eight wickets, 5.73 runs per over.
Ali Martin’s report from the Gabba.
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More from Joe Root
It is slightly different to playing with a white ball. You still back yourself to [take catches]. We did a lot of work before the game but unfortunately it’s one of those days didn’t quite stick. We have to make sure we stay confident and take our chances later in the game.
We have to come out tomorrow with a huge amount of energy and positivity. We know that our best cricket can turn a game really quickly. If we’re anywhere near our best, this game can turn in our favour. It could be very tricky batting last on their surface.
Joe Root's talks to TNT Sports
He arrived in the middle of Labuschagne’s interview and looked a bit sheepish.
[On his century] It was clearly very enjoyable. But more than anything it was just good to get in that position by the end of the day after the start we had. I’ve tried not to approach it any differently to how I’ve done it in the past two years – I’ve got a plan to score my runs and if I do that for long enough, making good decisions, I’ll be successful.
[On the fielding] It’s clear we weren’t at our best in phases of the game. The way we dragged things back in the final session shows what this game can be like, especially with the pink ball. We’re got work to do tomorrow but we’re well and truly in this game.
If we get things right in the morning and apply ourselves in our own manner, in the current fashion, we can put ourselves in a really strong position on a wicket that looks like it’s plating. It looks like there might be a few cracks to work with later on in the game. First and foremost we’ve got to get things right tomorrow morning.
Marnus Labuschagne's verdict
That was an exciting day of cricket – jeez there was a lot happening! Awesome day.
Getting out for 65 just as it was changing from day to night wasn’t ideal. But the boys handled it well, played with great intent and got us into a good position.
If you’re bowling good balls in the channel at the Gabba, with the extra bounce, it’s tough to score. It was a nice wicket and that plays its part. It’s a little bit crack-y here and there but the majority of the time, when the ball hits the wicket it’s really nice.
The two guys at the top grabbed the momentum; Weathers [Jake Weatherald] played beautifully. When we came in off the back of that we were able to piggyback them and continue to put pressure on.
I don’t think I’ve got the best catch of the day – Jacksy just pipped me there.
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The last word from Chris Paraskevas (see earlier emails)
Hahahahahaha ther3 qare photos of me asleep in a hedge out there somewhere from my uni days (Not even kidding....)
I’m never drinking again btw (rhis time it ended better last timenthe cops came around due to mutliple noise complaints and the time before that i got mugged in the park)
ai am making such an effort to keep my words tight right now, so much editing.
Also 9ne more time for the rec9rd;
a) these are two games that were on a platter for any team with half a cricket brain
b) noting my dehydration issues off 5-8 hours straight drinking how did all these cricketers in the 70s and 80s score centuries in India with 99% Blood Alcohol (presumably)
England grassed five catches today, some of them straightforward. Matt Prior, talking on TNT Sports, says the Joe Root drop in the 70th over was definitely Jamie Smith’s catch. He didn’t move. Nothing scrambles an England cricketer’s brain like an Ashes series away from home.
A significant concern for England is that this will impact the batting of Smith and Ben Duckett (who dropped two of the five catches) in the second innings. Both were already in need of runs but this will increase the pressure.
A reminder that Josh Hazlewood has suffered an injury setback.
“Hi Rob,” says Eamonn Maloney, “I’m sure relying on written correspondence about cricket and various opaque subjects as one of your key social interactions is perfectly normal. E Maloney, yes, also autistic.”
And the award for the line of the day goes to…
“No bowler born in England has taken a wicket in this series,” writes Tim de Lisle. “Thank God for immigration!”
Stumps: Australia lead by 44 runs
73rd over: Australia 378-6 (Carey 46, Neser 15) A quiet over from Jofra Archer brings an end to a scruffy but highly entertaining second day at the Gabba. There were 75.2 overs, seven wickets, 387 runs – and five dropped catches that will haunt England’s dreams tonight.
Australia have the match and the series in their grasp: they lead by 44 runs with four wickets remaining and the tantalising prospect of bowling with a newish ball under the lights tomorrow. Tellingly, given the nature of the first-innings scorecard, all of Australia’s top seven made important contributions.
England’s effort was beyond reproach but at times they bowled far too short. Their performance was decent at times, crap at others. There is still a way England can win this game. But after only four days of actual play in the 2025-26 Ashes, they have stumbled into the last-chance saloon.
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72nd over: Australia 377-6 (Carey 45, Neser 15) Carey drives Atkinson crisply for four, then takes a pair of twos and a single to move to 45 from 44 balls. Like all the best keeper-batters, he is so good at punishing tired bowlers – but unlike most he does it in an understated way and manages risk like a top-order batter. He has matured into the most brilliant cricketer.
England’s lack of a fifth bowler is hurting them. At least they haven’t lost their fourth: Brydon Carse is back on the field.
“Didn’t click on the link for Atmosphere because I’m at work,” writes Charlie Tinsley, “but presume that was the Russ Abbot number? Seems a little ill fitting?”
71st over: Australia 368-6 (Carey 36, Neser 15) Neser cuts Archer for four to extend the lead to 34. Archer rebukes him with successive bouncers past his nose, both followed by pointed if slightly weary stares. Neser is batting sensibly and has added 39 precious runs with Carey.
“When it comes to neurodivergence, I wonder how many OBO readers/contributers are affected?” writes John Starbuck. “I myself am neurodivergent, having an arithmetical ability of, at best, a seven year old. I was seven when the figures stopped making sense – Talking Heads reference – but I was entirely captivated by cricket from about the same age. The greatest thing about following cricket is that it rarely leads to criminality, even if you have to rely on experts (normal people) for the stats.”
I’ve thought about this, actually, and have come to the conclusion that 99.94 per cent of OBO readers are neurodivergent.
70th over: Australia 363-6 (Carey 35, Neser 11) Make that five dropped catches. Carey charges Atkinson and edges a whisty wrip to the right of Root, who can only punch the ball for four. That was a tough diving chance; he probably saw it late because Carey was whirling across the line. I reckon Root would take it six or seven times out of 10. On the TV coverage, Alastair Cook says it might have been Jamie Smith’s catch.
Carey salts the wound by bashing a cut to the cover boundary, which makes it 11 from the first three balls of Atkinson’s over. The camera cuts to Ben Stokes, who is fighting really, really hard not to grit his teeth. If he does, in his current mood, he could do as much damage to his teeth as a Kitkat chunky did to Bob Mortimer’s.
69th over: Australia 349-6 (Carey 25, Neser 8) Neser cracks Archer towards wide mid-off, where Carse drops a simple chance. That’s England’s fourth dropped catch of the day, three of them relatively straightforward. Carse is normally such a good fielder; I guess that’s what a long day in the field does to you.
To compound England’s misery, he’s damaged a finger and is running off the field. Not sure whether it’s on his bowling hand or not; if it is, England have another problem heading their way.
“I see Paul Griffin’s Broken Heart (10.15),” writes Peter Dymoke, “and raise him Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control (or anything else for that matter by that bunch of nihilist geniuses).”
That’s far too upbeat. I’ll consider Atmosphere if England collapse to 50 for 9 tomorrow evening.
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68th over: Australia 346-6 (Carey 24, Neser 6) A double bowling change, with Atkinson replacing Stokes. Carey, a specialist in playing match-shaping innings between around 40 and 70, moves closer to that statistical zone by guiding three runs through mid-on.
67th over: Australia 342-6 (Carey 21, Neser 5) A weary Jofra Archer replaces a weary Brydon Carse and shows his weariness in a nothing over that is milked for six runs. Australia are still going at more than five an over. For all the excitement and drama, when you zoom out the quality of cricket today hasn’t been the best.
“As we approach the end of the day’s play,” writes Romeo, “I just want to thank you (and all your colleagues) for the OBO. That is all.”
Oi! Romeo means you, Dony, and you, Wilson, and you, Starbuck, and you, Paraskevas, snoring in a hedge somewhere, and everyone else. While it’s important to recognise that the quality and popularity of the OBO is largely a result of my neurodivergent brilliance the actual cricket, you all enhance it – even, for reasons too difficult to explain after such a long day, those of you who never write in.
66th over: Australia 336-6 (Carey 18, Neser 1) Stokes is grimacing between deliveries, occasionally feeling his left foot; it seems to be tiredness or cramp rather than anything vicious. He goes wide on the crease to hit Neser on the leg, turns to appeal for LBW, then stops to ouch his way through the pain before resuming the appeal. It was too high anyway.
“This last half-hour feels *Graham Smith voice* crucial,” writes James Male. “The Australia of my childhood would now put together a soul-crushing partnership of 250 for the seventh wicket and destroy whatever hope I had left. This bunch are really good but thankfully not Gilchrist level!”
Hopefully, at least for England, they’re not Merv Hughes / Geoff Lawson level.
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65th over: Australia 335-6 (Carey 18, Neser 1) Carey backs away to slap the weary Carse down the ground for four. What England would give not for a fifth bowler: a Potts, a Tongue, even a Cook or a Curran. Later in the over, Neser edges a single to take Australia into the lead. Realistically, and with a respectful nod to the wonderful precedent of Adelaide 1995, I’m not sure England can afford to concede a lead of more than 50.
(If you don’t remember Phil DeFreitas’s assault at Adelaide in 1995, get on YouTube. Graham Thorpe had changed the mood with a blistering counter-attack; then Daffy took Craig McDermott to the cleaners and England, down to their last 12 fit players, won spectacularly.)
64th over: Australia 329-6 (Carey 13, Neser 0) That was the last ball of Stokes’ over. Neser’s selection ahead of Nathan Lyon made no sense… except in this scenario. He’s a very good No8, with five first-class centuries and a career-best of 176 not out, so England are nowhere near the Australian tail.
Neser is not out! Never mind the height: there was an inside edge onto the pad and Neser survives.
England review for LBW! Michael Neser pushes around his first ball and is hit on the pad. England plead for LBW without success and then discuss a review. Stokes thinks it might be high, but somebody else shouts, “We’ve got three!” so he decides to give the third umpire something to do.
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WICKET! Australia 329-6 (Inglis b Stokes 21)
Another dropped catch! Inglis tries to cut Stokes and edges low to the right of gully, where Duckett can’t hang on to a tough one-handed chance. Those two dropped catches will increase the pressure on Duckett when he bats in the second innings, especially as he’s already on a king pair.
This’ll help his mood! Three balls later Inglis is bowled neck and crop by a beautiful nipbacker. He looks at the pitch suspiciously; the ball maybe kept a bit low but he was already playing down the wrong line. Lovely bowling from Stokes, a man who won’t take no for an answer.
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63rd over: Australia 327-5 (Carey 13, Inglis 21) Not for the first time today, a short ball from Carse is called wide. He’ll be stiff as a board in the morning – all the seamers have bowled at least 15 overs but Carse has been the one tasked with ramming it halfway down time after time. That takes it out of even the hardiest fast bowlers.
“We never win at the Gabba,” writes Peter Gartner. “Is it 35 years since we last won there?”
Please, don’t be so melodramatic. It’s 39 years.
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62nd over: Australia 325-5 (Carey 13, Inglis 20) Successive boundaries for Inglis off Stokes, an edge just wide of second slip and a crisp square drive. He’s had some luck early in his innings but that was a cracking stroke. For all the euphoria of Jacks’ catch, England are still in big trouble here.
“Tactical genius,” says Tom Kirkpatrick. “4D chess by Stokes and Carse. The four ball set up is soo obvious. Too obvious for these guys. Give them a whole innings of short ball spray.. make them really believe that you’re scrap, then bring the killer blow.
“Joke’s on me for getting bored of the build-up and therefore missing these two overs of brilliance. Ahhhhh.. Test cricket!!”
Heh. Mike Selvey told us a funny story about Javed Miandad when they played together at Glamorgan. Javed went out to bat against a spinner and kept mistiming everything, inside-edging the ball onto his pad or screwing it into the leg side. The opposing captain brought the field up, put in two or three close catchers, and then Javed helped himself to a few easy boundaries over the top. All the false strokes were deliberate.
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61st over: Australia 315-5 (Carey 12, Inglis 11) A graphic on TV shows that Australia have scored 219 runs behind square, 137 on the off side. Bloody hell! That’s an indictment of how short England have bowled.
Carey backs away to heave Carse through midwicket for three. Carse stays around the wicket to the right-handed Inglis, who does well to get on top of a lifter and drop it short of Pope at short leg.
60th over: Australia 309-5 (Carey 9, Inglis 9) Inglis edges Stokes between second slip and gully for four. Australia have conceded so many runs behind square on the off side today, both deliberate and inadvertent. And there’s four more, slashed to the right of gully on this occasion.
No luck whatsoever for Stokes, who ends the over by beating Inglis’s attempted drive. This is bare-knuckle cricket: Australia are scoring at 5.15 per over and England are only interested in taking wickets.
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59th over: Australia 301-5 (Carey 8, Inglis 1) Inglis works Carse for a single to get off the mark. This is only his fourth Test but he’s such a good player and would walk into most teams in world cricket. He might stay in this one, too, if Australia decide to move on from Usman Khawaja.
Just over an hour’s play remaining tonight. England lead by 33 runs.
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58th over: Australia 299-5 (Carey 8, Inglis 0) Stokes continues around the wicket to the left-handed Carey, who is beaten by a good delivery just outside off stump. No need for Australia to panic here; they have two serious players at the crease, with Neser and Starc to come and more than 20 overs until the second new ball is available.
Carey, on the walk, slices Stokes over and wide of gully for four. An unusually risky shot for him, but he got away with it. A more controlled stroke, a cut through point, brings Carey three more runs.
“Great to see Swans making an appearance in The Guardian’s cricket coverage,” says Hugh Boyce. “Certainly wasn’t on my Ashes 25-26 bingo card. Kudos.”
I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more from them as this series develops.
57th over: Australia 292-5 (Carey 1, Inglis 0) Josh Inglis, Leeds-born, is the new batter. Brydon Carse’s figures are unique in Ashes history: 13-1-97-3.
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“I’ve ‘curated’ some Larkin to capture the joy of watches the Ashes,” wrote Paul Griffin about ten minutes ago, “and generally cheer everyone up.
I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.
Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.
In time the curtain-edges will grow light.
Till then I see what’s really always there:
It’s going to be five-nil again isn’t it?
“If that doesn’t work, I would advise playing Broken Heart by Spiritualized. Twice.”
Drinks were taken mid-over after that Jacks catch. And it gets better every time you see it. The ball was behind him when he stretched out to grab it – and then he had to co-ordinate his landing so that it remained a clean catch.
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Drinks: Australia trail by 42 runs
“Hey Rob,” writes Robert Wilson. “I can’t begin to tell you how badly I have taken the passing of Robin Smith. Only 62, FFS! Some sports figures are avatars of your youth or childhood. But some are so sparklingly vivid that they feel permanent, almost geological presences, as though they are still chopping it away square decades after their retirement. He was doggedly, flashingly brilliant in an era when runs just counted more. When a spiky and defiant twenty was the equivalent of a well-judged fifty. When batting was like crocheting baby-mittens under an artillery bombardment and the ball was made of plutonium.
“I know you knew him. I did not, of course. Yet it feels horribly personal. I think he would have been an utter legend if he had had more media game. But for me, his evident shyness or reserve added infinitely to his stature. He seemed to say his say solely through his game. And his game was all courage, audacity and flair. That square cut (which you had to see in real life to understand) was actual effrontery, brazen impudence in the bowling-dominant cricketing realities of the time. He was like an introverted pirate leading a crew of accountants. I am so sorry his life after cricket was clearly a struggle. But I am so grateful that I got to be alive when he was cleaving bowling legends to the rope at the speed of ****ing light like it was nothing.”
Yeah. It’s still so raw. In cricket, it’s often said that your biggest strength is also your biggest weakness. That was probably the case off the field for Judgie; he had a surfeit of empathy, felt life’s everyday sadness too keenly. But it’s worth stressing that, although his life after cricket was often a struggle, it certainly wasn’t without joy. He never, ever stopped looking for the good in life and in people, no matter how hard things were. He adored his fiancée Karin – who shares what Mark Nicholas called Robin’s “blue-sky idealism”, and is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met – and his family, especially his children.
After Carey was dropped first ball, a straightforward low chance to Duckett at gully, Smith played a lap-pull towards short fine leg. Jacks ran to his right and thrust out a telescopic right arm to take a stunning catch. I told you the selection of a specialist No8 and gun fielder was inspired!
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WICKET! Australia 292-5 (Smith c Jacks b Carase 61)
Will Jacks has taken a blinder and England are back in the game!
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Brydon Carse changed ends, with the field again set for a load of short stuff. Green backed away, ready to play another tennis shot, and was cleaned up by a pinpoint yorker. Well bowled by Carse but not great cricket foom Green.
WICKET! Australia 291-4 (Green b Carse 45)
A double bluff does for Cam Green.
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56th over: Australia 289-3 (Smith 61, Green 45) Carse is hooked after a single over; Stokes replaces him. A quiet over, one from it.
55th over: Australia 289-3 (Smith 61, Green 44)
54th over: Australia 287-3 (Smith 60, Green 43) Brydon Carse replaces Jofra Archer, England set a field for short-pitched bowling… and Carse’s over disappears for 17. Green backs away to flat bat four over mid-off, then Smith top-edges six over the man placed on the boundary almost as a long stop.
Carse’s figures are R-rated: 12-1-95-1. Good job he bowled that maiden eh.
“Bill the Chef at Foyle Hospice is the man with all the gen on plantar fasciitis,” writes Colum Farrelly. “He has distilled the knowledge of every passing medic over the last year. His summary of the effective treatment is delivered in proper Stokesian English: ‘Nothing effin’ works.’” Glad to be of service.”
53rd over: Australia 270-3 (Smith 52, Green 35) It’s an indictment of England’s performance that Australia have scored at more than five an over without being especially aggressive. A good ball from Atkinson, just full of a good length, zips past Smith’s attempted drive. Next stop, rocket science.
When Atkinson hits a similar length, slightly wider, Smith inside-edges just past the stumps for two. England can still win this game – batting last won’t be easy – but they have to take at least two or three wickets tonight.
“You’re not alone in being a bit perplexed at the bowling on show here, and I have to say I find this a lot more troubling than the batting, which has been, shall we say, chaotic for much of Stokes’ tenure,” writes Will Vignoles. “However, I can’t remember the last time they’ve got it this wrong in the field – they’ve been outmatched by good batters a few times of course but today they’ve bowled like a drain and been tactically all over the shop. What is it about Australia that scrambles England regimes so much?”
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52nd over: Australia 267-3 (Smith 50, Green 34) Smith, trying to glide another boundary, almost drags Archer onto his stumps. A graphic on the TV coverage shows that 61.5 per cent of England’s deliveries have been short today. That’s all wrong.
Chris Paraskevas, whose drunken email was the highlight of the afternoon session from an English perspective, has filed an update.
Made the decision to stop drinking. Soberring up a bit. Headache has started already which is such an underrated part of an afternoon sesdsion..
Been thinking about England’s last victorious squad in Australia. Bowling lineup (and in general) just feels more balanced. More variety (bounce, skid, pace, swing, spin). Same could be said or batting.
Mhey heeeeeaaaaaadddddddd!!!!!
... Gotta love twst cricket.
I’m not sure it was a more balanced squad, just better, particularly the batting line-up. And Australia were worse. Simple game!
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Hey, England fans, I know it’s bad. But I’ve found a great new pop song that will cheer you up!
“After 33 Tests, we’re still waiting on Green to play an Innings That Counts…” writes Eamonn Maloney. “Don’t like seeing him higher than No6 with a sub-35 average.”
Tell that to Zak Crawley. The 174 not out in that otherwise low-scoring game in New Zealand counted, surely? The 70-odd at Galle in 2022 was a very good innings as well, if not quite an ITC.
Fifty for Steve Smith!
51st over: Australia 266-3 (Smith 50, Green 33) Smith waits for a widish ball from Atkinson, opens the face and slices it for four. That’s the third boundary – all to third - in the space of six balls.
Smith clips another boundary between mid-on and midwicket, and a quick single takes him to a determined, businesslike fifty from 67 balls. Nobody in Australian cricket enjoys the feeling of boot on English throat as much as Smith, who was No8 – and the highest current player - in our list of the 100 greatest men’s Ashes cricketers.
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50th over: Australia 256-3 (Smith 41, Green 32) Smith is hit on the hand by Archer, then glides a boundary past the slip cordon. For all the times Smith has been wounded by Archer, he’s never fallen to him in a Test match. England could really use a bit of statbusting right now.
Green steers four more to the same part of the ground. Australia trail by just 86 runs and have a couple of fingers on the urn. Already.
“David Sedaris did a marvellous piece on a lecturer he once had who leant into ‘authentic’ pronunciation with tremendous commitment,” writes Matt Dony. “The class would try and get him to say ‘Nicaraguan’, as he would entertainingly pronounce it ‘Nee-har-raw-ahn’. For years, my sister and I have used this as shorthand for over-pronounced foreign language phrases. ‘He pronounced soupçon in nee-har-raw-ahn French.’ Of course, I have little high ground, as the other week it took me five attempts to order chorizo in a cafe, and the cashier only understood when I said ‘chor-i-tzo.’ Mrs Dony found the whole exchange hilarious. Anyway, hoping for a monster bowling session!”
How are you pronouncing that?
49th over: Australia 247-3 (Smith 36, Green 28) A fuller nip-backer from Atkinson is inside-edged onto the pad by Green. Close, close, close. Atkinson has no wickets in the series but has been one of England’s better bowlers. Only Jofra Archer has been more economical, which speaks to something.
“Congrats to the new OBO parents,” writes Mike Selvey, legend of the Guardian’s cricket coverage and inspiration for some of The Streets’ best work. “I got news of the birth of my first grandchild as I was getting out of a cab in Vulture St on the first morning of the 1998-99 Ashes. It is why I get her birthday wrong because it was 20 November in Brisbane but only 19th at home.”
Haha. I’m amazed, given how thick I am, that I’ve never slept through the first day of an overseas Ashes series after getting the dates mixed up.
48.1 overs: Australia 247-3 (Smith 36, Green 28) Green is hit nastily on the hand by Atkinson, leading to a break in play while he receives treatment. There’s a bit of blood oozing from the nail on his right thumb.
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48th over: Australia 246-3 (Smith 35, Green 28) The old ball has been changed, though the England players don’t look particularly impressed with the replacement. Archer bowls a nothing over, his 14th of the innings. England look almost cooked. Almost.
“It’s 3.16 am in Minnesota,” says El Rose. “I may have chosen the wrong night to make the effort but it’s tonight or never.”
In the words of that great cricket commentator Richie Aprile…
[NB: Clip contains adult language]
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47th over: Australia 243-3 (Smith 35, Green 26) A maiden from Atkinson to Green, much of it landing halfway down the pitch. Sometimes, bowlers drop short because human beings are not robots and they can’t always land the ball where they want to. But this feels like a deliberate tactic, one that is hard to fathom in the circumstances. O Matt Potts, Where Art Thou?
46th over: Australia 243-3 (Smith 35, Green 26) Jofra Archer returns to the attack. It’s only a partial exaggeration to say this spell is England’s last chance. He bowls a zingy short ball to Smith, who is hopelessly late on a pull stroke and top-edges it over the slips for four.
Smith makes a mockery of the previous stroke by leaning back to uppercut for six, a deliberate and utterly brilliant stroke. Quite why England are bowling so short, I know not. There is an argument that, in the face of formidable competition from day two at Perth, England’s performance today has been their worst of the series to date.
“I’ve been awake since 5.30am with nerves, not just for the cricket,” writes Sam Charlton in Leeds. “My incredible other half, Siân, is defending her PhD in AI for medical diagnosis and care this morning. So here’s to a successful defence, both in Siân’s PhD viva and England’s first-innings total.”
All the best, Siân! Let’s accentuate the positive: England have bowled so poorly that you are guaranteed to mount the most successful defence of the day. (But seriously, we wish you well. And if AI can do anything for plantar fascitis, I’m all ears.)
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45th over: Australia 233-3 (Smith 25, Green 26) A good over from Atkinson… until the last ball, which is fractionally short and pulled sweetly over the top for four by Green. Australia are giving England a taste of their own medicine, scoring at 5.17 runs per over. How do you like dem Bazball apples?
“Re: over 43 - you’re right, it is boring,” says Felix Wood, “but there’s nothing else that can be said. And it’s not really enforced errors plural - it’s a single unforced error repeatedly. Loose drive to balls on fourth or fifth stump. The most frustrating thing is that it’s not even like it’s relentless pressure from a phalanx of bowlers.
“How hard would it have been just to leave Starc’s wide balls until he got tired? He’s a phenomenal bowler, so no doubt he would have exploded some stumps with those yorkers, but at least make him work for his wickets. I’ve even bored myself here. This is what England have reduced me to.”
Weird thing is they played so sensibly against Bumrah for most of last summer. Perth and Brisbane are the bounciest pitches so it was always going to be a risky stroke… and I’m boring myself as well.
“Oh lord,” says Phil Harrison. “This is the series, right here isn’t it? England have to get this session right. If they do, wickets can fall in clumps under the lights. But man, if they don’t this is going to be a long, bleak few weeks...”
At least you can sleep through it.
Gus Atkinson replaces Brydon Carse for the first over after tea. He has two slips and a leg slip for Steve Smith.
Jake Weatherald, whose rapid 72 set the tone for Australia, chats to Adam Gilchrist
Yeah it’s great fun, obviously, a pleasure to be out here. The Gabba’s a great place to bat and the atmosphere for a pink-ball game is awesome.
[On his scoring rate] We always like to take the positive approach. They were aggressive with the short-ball stuff; it’s good to play off the back foot at the Gabba so they were a lot of scoring options.
[On the pitch] It’s still really good to bat on. As the game goes on, with the heat and everything, I think the cracks will play a part.
Tea/Dinner
44th over: Australia 228-3 (Smith 24, Green 22) With Stokes about to bowl, Smith pulls away due to the presence in his eyeline of a bearded fella in a gold rugby shirt, proudly clutching a plastic glass of 3.7% ABV Liver Compromiser, totally oblivious to his impact.
AFter four dot balls, Smith cover-drives for three with a flourish. Stokes is blowing. He ends the over, and the sessioon, with a wide full toss that is edged safely for four by Green.
Australia have their foot on England’s throat. They trail by just 114 and could take a decisive grip on the turn this evening. England’s bowlers were better than in the first session but still nowhere near their forensic performance in the first innings at Perth. They could be about to enter a world of pain.
43rd over: Australia 221-3 (Smith 21, Green 18) Carse is straining to get the ball fuller, the right thing to do on this pitch. When he overcompensates, an occupational hazard, Green drives crisply thorugh extra cover for three. He’s looked good so far. Smith looks anonymous, which is kind of ominous for England; he moves into the twenties with a squirt through point.
The ball isn’t doing a huge amount, and England won’t be getting a new one tonight. It’s important that England fans don’t get carried away; equally, it’s reasonable to suggest that IT’S ALL OVER KAPUT FINITO THREE YEARS’ PLANNING AND THE WHOLE BLOODY THING IS DONE AND DUSTED INSIDE FOUR DAYS I CAN’T TAKE ANY MORE DISAPPOINTMENT YOU CAN FIND SOME OTHER SUCKER TO DO 2029-30 I’LL BE AT A DIGITAL RETREAT ON THE KERGUELEN ISLANDS if they have a bad final session, the Ashes will almost certianly be staying in Australia. I know it’s boring, but the biggest difference in this series to date is that Australia’s batters have made fewer unforced errors.
“Soupçon,” says Patrick O’Brien. “I mean, yeah, well done using that word correctly and all. But admit it, you always say it out loud as ‘soup can’.”
Au contraire, I tend to go for the full, Amelie-style ‘Monsieur Quincampoix’. Possibly a cancellable offence these days. But it’s done with love!
42nd over: Australia 215-3 (Smith 18, Green 15) Another boundary, though there was nothing wrong with the bowling this time. Stokes squared up Green, who got a thick edge through the slips. Stokes effs and jeffs at the batter, prompting this exchange on commentary
Ebony Rainford-Brent I think Stokes was fuming.
Alastair Cook [deadpan] Can you lipread, Ebony?
You had to be there. Maybe it’s an alpha/allrounder thing but Stokes’ intensity seems to go up a notch when he bowls to Green. That and his F-word percentage.
41st over: Australia 209-3 (Smith 17, Green 10) Duckett makes a fine diving stop in the covers when Green punches a drive off Carse. A better over from Carse, with nothing too short; a maiden in fact. England are back in it!
“I’m currently following the OBO while sitting alongside my wife’s hospital bed, as she gave birth to our daughter Audrey at 11am this morning,” writes DanieL McDonald. “Mother and child are doing amazingly well, making me somewhat redundant. The first cricket game I attended was with my dad, the first day of the 1990 Ashes Test in Brisbane, where England were bowled out before stumps and squandered a good match position with a third-innings capitulation (familiar?). I won’t foist it upon her, but maybe Audrey’s first match will an Ashes Test in the new Brisbane Olympic stadium? Whatever comes her way in this crazy mixed up world, I hope she finds something that brings her as much pleasure as Test cricket, and especially the OBO, has for me. Thank you.”
Aww, many congratulations to Daniel, Audrey and the unnamed Mrs McDonald. And thank you for reminding us of Brisbane 1990. Peter Bloody Cantrell.
40th over: Australia 209-3 (Smith 17, Green 10) It’s mildly bonkers that a player of Green’s quality hasn’t scored a century in a home Test. This is his 17th, with his highest score the punishing 84 he made against India at Sydney in his debut series. He demonstrates his abuindant class with a beautiful extra-cover drive for four off Stokes.
Right, come on down and let’s play a game of spot the differences.
Australia, 1st innings of first Test 132 all out (2.91 runs per over)
Australia, since then 414 for 5 (6.06 runs per over)
39th over: Australia 204-3 (Smith 17, Green 5) Smith mistimes a pull off Carse so badly that the ball drops right in front of him; at the same time Carse falls over in his delivery stride. Elite cricket, the best of the best.
“England should have had a go with Josh Tongue, an expert in removing the tail but also taking wickets further up,” says John Starbuck. “Carse and Atkinson are both adequate in most cases but rather too similar as well, with not enough variation between them. Given that we can now rely on Archer to strengthen the tail, the others’ failures in three innings loom larger.”
I’ve never thought of Carse and Atkinson as being similar, but Tongue is certainly a point of difference. So is Potts, whose fuller length and ability to make the batters play would have been valuable on this pitch. He also gets good players out, right-handers especially, and was all over Smith in the ODI series in 2024.
Either way, I don’t love the selection of Jacks. Would’ve made sense in a low-scoring dogfight, but not this.
38.2 overs: Australia 200-3 (Smith 14, Green 4) A ripper from Carse hits Smith on the elbow, the same blow he landed at Perth. Smith wrings his hand in pain and then receives treatment; it’s not quite Graham Gooch at Trinidad in 1990 but he’s not enjoying the physio’s poking and prodding. Eventually the pain subsides and he takes guard again.
38th over: Australia 200-3 (Smith 14, Green 4) Cam Green is Australia’s new No5. That was well bowled by Stokes – close to the length Jason Gillespie spoke about a moment ago, with a soupçon of away movement to find the edge.
You’d imagine Stokes will settle into a marathon spell at this end, especially if he can get the ball moving under lights. I think he fancies Green too, having set him up beautifully in the first innings at Perth. Green punches a handsome drive that is very well stopped at mid-off by Archer. But he gets off the mark next ball, tucking an errant delivery to the fine leg boundary. England have been spitting out four-balls today.
WICKET! Australia 196-3 (Labuschagne c Smith b Stokes 65)
Eeeeeesh, how England needed that. Labuschagne tries to force a good ball from Stokes and gets the thinnest of edges that is well caught by the tumbling Smith. The end of a terrific, quietly forceful innings from Labuschagne, whose 65 came from only 78 balls.
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Josh Hazlewood is a doubt for the rest of the series after suffering another setback. At this rate, Australia will be able to play him as a specialist batter for the last two Tests.
37th over: Australia 196-2 (Labuschagne 65, Smith 14) Last winter I stayed up into the small hours and watched Brydon Carse bowl like a dream against New Zealand. He was forensic, intimidating, insistent, and he looked like a banker for this series. Alas, today he is bowling pure, unadulterated filth – and not the good kind.
The first ball of his eighth over is short on leg stump, and you’ll never guess what Labuschagne does with it?!?! You betcha: a pull round the corner for four more. Tihs is another reason England needed five bowlers, as insurance for somebody having an off day. Two sides to every story, though, and Labuschagne in particular is playing with clarity and ruthlessness. Smith cuts for three to bring up the fifty partnership.
Even Jason Gillespie, one of the most empathic, gentle and polite people in cricket, is going off on one in the commentary box about the performance of attacks in this game. “At Perth and Brisbane,” he says, “you want to bowl as short as you can while still getting the batsmen to come forward. In the modern game I’m seeing a lot of impatience.”
36th over: Australia 189-2 (Labuschagne 58, Smith 14) Stokes replaces Archer. His first ball is too short and pulled easily round the corner for four by Labuschagne. England picked the wrong attack – Matt Potts should have played, mainly to bowl to this pair – and have doubled down by bowling really poorly. But apart from that it’s been an unmitigated triumph.
In other news, this, from Chris Paraskevas, is an early contender for my favourite email of the 2025-26 Ashes.
G’day Rob. Hope you’re well! (I am properly pi$$ed.) Quintessential gorgeous Sydney day today peaking at around 35 degrees celcius in the arvo.
Had the Xmas work function off and the afternoon was shaping up to be an absomur3 disastwr when I realised I was the obly one hitting the turps (going at a strike rate of three drinks an hour) and then to top it off- The Old Fitzroy pub literally ran out of burgers (this is afrer I clweayrly saw thwir chef cooking 8 burgers when I accidentally walked into the kitchen lookingnfor the dunny).
Anyway long story ahort / sober: had to make do with fish and chips (doesn’tr really absorb the alcohol but that’s a grwat rhing upon reflection) At one point I averted complete catastrophe when the bartender came to remove my empty glass - only to realize I had the MBM and a stream of the game fired up and the phone rreasted against the glass.
Might hit the Bottle-O and keep the party going all night, this game is actually going to g0 past 2 dayz (m??+?!?!?!?!?).
How good is life inn Australia / the permanent shadow of the pub!?“PS. England bowlint .... bad.
Just say no, kids.
(Btw you can see Chris’s short film here. It’s not about his Christmas party.)
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Fifty for Labuschagne
35th over: Australia 182-2 (Labuschagne 51, Smith 14) England’s Carse has taken a serious spanking, with 54 runs coming from his first six overs. Labuschagne gets four more with a top-edged pull over the keeper’s head – and those runs take him to a vital half-century from only 67 balls. He’s back.
Smith forces two more later in the over. Carse’s figures would look a bit grisly in an ODI, never mind a Test: 7-0-61-1.
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Thanks Angus, hello everyone. We’re about to enter the twilight zone, and unless England have a very good second half of the day, the Ashes hopes of this team will never be seen again. The next few hours are positively Brobdingnagian.
As the sun sets on Brisbane, Jofra needs a spell and so do I. Time to hand the pink pill of the OBO to Rob Smyth and bid you all adieu. Enjoy the twilight zone, folks!
34th over: Australia 175-2 (Labuschagne 46, Smith 12) Archer continues and immediately draws an edge from Labuschagne’s dropping hands. It falls well short of the slips though. Third ball is slower and fades down leg-side where Marnus helps it along with a gentle caress that steers it past the fielder at fine leg for FOUR. I’m surprised Archer hasn’t been spelled here. he is clearly tiring and has shown signs of a side strain. Is Stokes taking unnecessary risks with his strike weapon? Or has he simply got nowehere else to turn?
An email from Stephen Holliday thinks “there’s something quite nostalgic about all this. An utterly toothless England with no ideas other than to huff and puff and get burnt foreheads, and an Ashes series over on the morning of the fourth day of play. It’s like before Trump. Before social media. Before the internet. Endless summers without a care in the world. Really happy days. I approve!”
33rd over: Australia 170-2 (Labuschagne 41, Smith 12) Change of bowling as Atkinson gives way to Carse… and Ben Stokes issues a snarl straight away as he’s forced to Atkinson’s stop skew off the boot and gifts Smith two runs from the misfield. Smudge takes another two from the fourth, a leg-side no-ball, and then drives FOUR through mid-on from the last as Carse continues to leak runs.
32nd over: Australia 161-2 (Labuschagne 41, Smith 4) Archer enters his 11th over, the most of any England’s bowlers and the most frugal too. He’s going for just 2.36 per over and has the wicket of Jake Weatherald to his name. Given their history, Smith and Labuschagne seem happy to wait Archer out and attack the change bowler. Will Stokes risk Carse again, despite him giving up nine an over? He’ll have to roll the dice because Archer looks done and Labuschagne lifts him for SIX over fine leg to prove it.
31st over: Australia 155-2 (Labuschagne 35, Smith 4) Australia’s run-rate has dropped to 5.11 since Weatherald’s exit and Atkinson is slowly turning the screws on Smith, delivering a maiden. Looks like Archer is going to keep this spell going. England are going for broke.
30th over: Australia 155-2 (Labuschagne 35, Smith 4) Breathe easy, England fans. Jofra Archer has resumed his spell and his first ball is 139kph, still a good clip. Smith lets it pass down leg-side but he pulls the second square and steals a run. Archer tosses down a 146kph bumper and Labuschagne ducks it, rising with an impish grin.
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29th over: Australia 154-2 (Labuschagne 35, Smith 3) Footage on air now is showing Archer in consultation with the England physio on the boundary. He’s staying on but looks to be stretching out his flanks. Atkinson is still rolling at the other end, faster and tighter than in the first session. He draws an ugly flash from Labuschagne first ball that sends Marnus back into his shell for the rest. A maiden ensues.
28th over: Australia 154-2 (Labuschagne 35, Smith 3) Archer is still delivering at 140kph but seems to be tiring a little. Smith works an overpitched ball for three and then another full one gets lashed through the covers by Labuschagne. Seven from the over.
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27th over: Australia 147-2 (Labuschagne 30, Smith 0) The Old Firm of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne reunite following Jake Weatherald’s departure for an excellent 72. Smith sees off two deliveries from Atkinson, happy to watch awhile.
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WICKET! Weatherald lbw Archer 72 (Australia 146-2)
Breakthrough! Great bowling by Jofra Archer. He got clouted for four last ball and sought revenge. He has nailed Jake Weatherald bang in front. No appeals to the third umpire by the batter. He knows he’s gone. And sure enough, replays show it hitting middle stump halfway up.
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26th over: Australia 141-1 (Weatherald 68, Labuschagne 29) Marnus steals a single and leaves Archer to Weatherald who is loving life as a Test cricketer. All the more now, as he crunches a late cut to the rope. Strewth, that was brutal. He took it off the third rib and it rocketed to the boundary. But Archer’s reply is a yorker and it’s got past the bat and thundered into the pads. Big shout!
25th over: Australia 141-1 (Weatherald 68, Labuschagne 29) Gus Atkinson’s girded loins continue to deliver tighter lines but minimal threat. He’s throwing them down at 137kph and angling it back in at the stumps. It’s all going well until Weatherald steps back and cuts like a knife behind point for FOUR.
Guy Hornsby doesn’t like what the new dawn has delivered in the UK but, like all stoic Poms, is looking on the bright side: “Well that’s a sobering score to wake up to Angus! But we’ve been here many times before. England bowled 2nd XI stuff in the first session, but you have to hope they’ll have had a bit of a talking to in the break. And looking at how they’re coming out so far, it seems to have worked. There’s a really long way to go and we have the lights to come, so we are still right in this, we just have to bring the stumps into play. And pray.”
24th over: Australia 137-1 (Weatherald 64, Labuschagne 29) As Archer rolls to the crease, Jake Weatherald begins mouthing mantras. Lip readers, please write in to tell me what he’s saying to himself. Or is he just pouting and pussing like Mick Jagger? Whatever he’s doing, it’s working and he’s having fun out there. He clips Archer for another single as Australia take their target under 200.
23rd over: Australia 133-1 (Weatherald 61, Labuschagne 28) Atkinson has been given a fresh spin. His first four overs went at almost six an over but he yields just a single to each batter here. Perhaps tea has girded his loins for the new session?
Darryl Accone is following from South Africa: “At lunch at the Gabbatoir, the best-laid plans of Bazzers and men lie in waste after Australia’s Baz-like start to their innings. It’s good to see cricketing intelligence whip cricketing inflexibility, to see respect for fundamentals trump the self-hypnotising mantras of a mindless cult.”
22nd over: Australia 131-1 (Weatherald 60, Labuschagne 27) Jofra Archer enters his sixth with 0-9: frugal figures but he’s paid to make breakthroughs. Weatherald works him for a single but Archer responds with a good line outside off to Labuschagne. Tight bowling but England need aggression from Archer.
Players are taking the field for the second session of this pink ball Test. Jofra Archer looks full of beans (perhaps, literally) and is pawing at the ground like a wolf watching a rabbit on the horizon. Mind you, so is Jake Weatherald. He has thumped 59 from 56 for his first Test half-century and looks hungry for more. Here we go…
With England reeling and Australia rolling, Stephen Smith is keeping calm rather than carrying on: “We’ve had a horribly traditional first innings 334 with a big score from the big man [the 183cm Joe Root] (his red inker and subsequent 70-odd average soothes me). And now top order runs in reply. Take away the run rate and this just has too much of a feel of an actual Test match. Where’s the flash where’s the pizzazz where’s the chutzpah? Hopefully Jamie Smith emerges after lunch with his hard cricket replaced by an e scooter helmet to get this all back off track.”
Tom Banks isn’t quite as hopeful and asks. “Too late to fly out Jimmy?”
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Tea: Australia 130-1 (trailing England by 204 runs)
Advantage Australia.
The home side still trail by over 200-runs but on the evidence of that session they will reach and breach that target before the day is out. England may have edged day one and piled a few more runs onto an entertaining 10th-wicket partnership this morning, but they have dropped their bundle on day two through loose bowling, a dropped catch and abysmal body language.
As Brian Withington writes in from Blighty under the gloomy headline ‘Fill Your Boots’: “The generosity of most of our batters has been surpassed by the bowlers, with a smorgasbord of long hops spiced with the occasional half volley. Bon appetit!”
Joe Root’s unbeaten 138 was magnificent but Australia have erased it in a session. Can the visitors recover their mojo after lunch and give themselves a sniff of squaring the series? Or will Australia pile on the runs and rain down more misery?
Time to grab a bite and wet the whistle. We’ll be back in halfa.
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21st over: Australia 130-1 (Weatherald 59, Labuschagne 27) Stokes enters his sixth over with 0-32. He should be working on his lunchtime speech instead. It will need to be Henry V-at-Agincourt-esque to get England up for the second session. They are flatter than the Barmy Army choir right now. The run-rate is 6.19 and rising and both batters are set, stealing singles at will and slapping every loose ball to the rope.
20th over: Australia 125-1 (Weatherald 57, Labuschagne 25) Good change-up, England. Spinner Will Jacks is into the attack. Can he add a little more egg to the face of Australian selectors who left their own spin champion Nathan Lyon out of the XI? Not immediately he cant. First ball beats everyone and runs for four byes. Ouch. Now another FOUR as Weatherald taps a legside drifter to the rope with ease. A cut square yields another single. Jack now delivers a rank full toss and Labuschagne bludgeons it down the ground for yet another boundary.
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19th over: Australia 112-1 (Weatherald 52, Labuschagne 21) Since the dismissal of Travis Head, Australia have actually accelerated. This Labuschagne-Weatherald partnership is now worth 32 from as many balls and England look in the doldrums. They have given up 16 boundaries 18 overs and lunch cannot come soon enough. Stokes is trying to lead from the front but this Gabba pitch looks to be flattening.
18th over: Australia 109-1 (Weatherald 50, Labuschagne 20) FOUR more for Weatherald as his hip clip yields an eighth boundary. That is a terrible ball first up from Carse. And now the Tassie tiger doubles the dose, lifting Carse over slips. One bounce, over the fence. Australia’s 100 is up in just the 18th over. And now Jake Weatherald pulls sweetly for his FIRST TEST FIFTY. Well played, young man! That half century came from just 45 balls and featured nine fours and six. Now Labuschagne gets in on the action, pulling another short ball to the rope. And now he DOES IT AGAIN, driving down the ground. That’s 17 from the over!
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17th over: Australia 92-1 (Weatherald 41, Labuschagne 12) Weatherald works a single to maintain his strike-rate of 100. He continues to look the part at Test level. Labuschagne is into his 60th Test and now shows why, leaning on a full ball from Stokes and sending it down the ground for FOUR. He takes another two through mid-on to make it eight from the over.
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16th over: Australia 84-1 (Weatherald 40, Labuschagne 6) Dangerous leave, Marnie! Carse got that one to duck back and it shaved the off stump. Oohs and Aahs ensue as England bask in the dopamine squirt of Head’s dismissal. That will sober them up a little though. Labuschagne cuts crisply through the slips cordon for FOUR.
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15th over: Australia 80-1 (Weatherald 40, Labuschagne 2) Massive bounce for Ben Stokes! And again Labuschagne makes a late decision to shoulder arms and almost comes undone as the ball ricochets off his gloves and narrowly misses the stumps. That’s how Jofra Archer did Marnus in the first innings at Perth. England’s fans are up and about now England have their first, the prized scalp of Travis Head.
14th over: Australia 78-1 (Weatherald 40, Labuschagne 1) Here comes Marnus. After suffering the ignominy of exile as a former No 1 batter in the world, the feisty and eccentric 31-year-old has fought his way back into the baggy green. He showed off a new technique in Perth and carted an unbeaten 51 in the second innings as Head’s wingman to win victory in the first Test. He gets off the mark sharply today.
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WICKET! Head c Atkinson b Carse 33 (Australia 77-1)
England strike at last! Carse steamed in with a scrambled seam and put it on leg stump. Head swung for the rafters but skied it and Atkinson pouched the chance. England have their first, Labuschagne enters the fray with Australia trailing by 257.
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13th over: Australia 77-0 (Head 33, Weatherald 40) Stokes enters his second over. Head steps out to the first ball and slaps him down the ground for FOUR. England are in disarray here, still shoe-gazing after that dropped catch by Smith off Archer. Australia, by comparison, are playing eyes-up cricket. Now Head gets onto his toes to tonk Stokes away for FOUR through midwicket. Real danger signs for England (and Usman Khawaja) as Australia’s openers light up the Gabba at a 5.92 run-rate.
12th over: Australia 66-0 (Head 22, Weatherald 40) England needed that drinks break. What can they summon after it? Alas, it’s the same slop. Brydon Carse puts the third ball of his second over way short and Weatherald leans back and taps him over the fine leg fence for SIX! Slipshod bowling. Brilliant batting.
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Gervase Greene from Clovelly writes in to ask if “any batter has ever asked Jofra Archer to remove that chunky gold chain he sports around his neck? While it might offend many fans’ aesthetic sensibilities (including mine), if I were a batsman trying to follow a 140kmh thunderbolt such a glittery jangling distraction would infuriate me.”
Gervase, allow me to submit for evidence this salutary tale in which Dean Jones narrowly avoided being scalped by Curtley Ambrose after asking the big fella to remove his armbands…
11th over: Australia 57-0 (Head 20, Weatherald 33) Time for a change, says Ben Stokes as England’s captain brings himself on. He delivers a full bunger straight up and Head feasts, flicking it for three. Stokes gets the next one on a fifth-stump line and the next follows but is shorter. Weatherald squares up and cuts hard. FOUR! England have been loose early here and Australia are making them pay.
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10th over: Australia 50-0 (Head 17, Weatherald 29) Weatherald sneaks a single from Atkinson’s first to find a new highest Test score. Head has predictably decided to throw caution to the wind. He swings and misses at two but finds a bit of extra width from the fourth and BANG – it flies over deep backward point for FOUR. That’s Head’s first boundary of the day… but heree’s his second. This one is SIX! A glorious standing slash over slips for a maximum. Head hammers the next one but doesn’t quite time it and settles for three. FIFTY is up for Australia!
9th over: Australia 36-0 (Head 4, Weatherald 28) ALMOST A RUN-OUT! Head punched it into the onside and set off for the run but Ollie Pope swooped and threw and the Australian had to scramble to get back in time. NOW A DROPPED CATCH! Archer dug it in short and it leapt at Head’s throat, finding a thick edge. Jamie Smith got the gloves up but a fraction too late and it bounced off his thumb and fell to ground. Head somehow survives. Wow, that could be a massive moment in this Test match. Head taps a single to think on his second life while Weatherald slashes at Archer’s fifth ball and sends it soaring over the cordon for his sixth boundary.
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8th over: Australia 30-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 23) Jake the Snake strikes! Atkinson pitched it up and Weatherald met it with full force, driving powerfully down the ground. Two balls later he finds the rope again, taking this one off middle stump and punching it to the boundary. Now he brings down the hammer again, this time cutting Atkinson through covers. Three boundaries in an over for for Weatherald!
7th over: Australia 18-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 12) Archer stays full to Weatherald who is seeing them well now and works a single with a punched pull. Archer bends his back to ping the next two in short to Head, seeking the ribs. But the man with the moustache takes both off the soup strainer and flicks them away without scoring.
Although Joe Root and Jofra Archer found valuable runs for the final wicket, a few critics think they played day two unwisely. “England didn’t take the chance to bowl under lights on Day 1. Sensible. Day 2, third over. Root on strike. Why take the single first ball?” says Gavin Margetson. “Archer is a No.9 or 10, fair enough he’s not an 11. But England’s best chance of winning is if its best batsman spends as much of the 5 days as possible at the crease.”
Tony Hughes agrees: “Bazball or whatever we’re calling this unnecessary aggressiveness made no sense here. All Archer had to do was block and play the poor balls, allowing Joe Root to make runs. England cannot go 15 minutes without trying to smash bowlers around. Make it make sense!”
6th over: Australia 17-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 10) Australia are away now. Each batter taps a single from the first deliveries of Atkinson’s third over. Extra bounce on the third and Weatherald flinches as the pink missile finds a crack and flies at his grille. Next ball isn just as fast – 138kph – but benign. Weatherald scampers a single from the last.
5th over: Australia 14-0 (Head 2, Weatherald 8) After 14 balls without a run, Travis Head finally gets off the mark, working Archer off his pads for a quick two runs. Archer has his pace up to 143kph but hasn’t quite nailed the line yet. Now he strays down leg and Head gets his hip on it, to send it skidding away to the fine leg boundary for leg byes. Fifth ball is a beauty, sizzling past the edge and making Head jump.
4th over: Australia 8-0 (Head 0, Weatherald 8) Runs at last! Atkinson is short on the second ball and Weatherald seizes on it, late cutting sweetly to the third man rope. Nice shot and a nerve settler for the 31-year-old in his second Test. Yowzer! Atkinson digs the final ball in even shorter and Weatherald takes it on, top-edging high over the slips. Roots and Smith give chase but it bounces once and goes over for FOUR.
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3rd over: Australia 0-0 (Head 0, Weatherald 0) Twelve balls and no runs so far and it’s Archer v Head again. The England firebrand has drawn hints of swing from this day two pitch and is moving the ball across Head at 140kph+ looking to feed his three slips a snick. Head stays circumspect to the first four but steps down to the fifth but flays it straight to square leg. Another dot ball on the last. Three maidens!
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2nd over: Australia 0-0 (Head 0, Weatherald 0) Now it’s Jake Weatherald’s turn. He has Gus Atkinson steaming in at him. And straight away the big quick is online, thundering the first delivery into Weatherald’s pads at 137kph and sending the second whistling past off stump. The tattooed Tasmanian had a ixed bag debut. He fell second-ball in the first dig at Perth but showed good signs in the second innings. With Head at the other end, he attacked England’s bowlers and swaggered to 28 while Head plundered his way to a famous century. Second over is another maiden.
1st over: Australia 0-0 (Head 0, Weatherald 0) Head takes strike as he did in the first Test, shielding his junior partner and throwing down the gauntlet to England’s bowlers. Archer sprays the first three wide of off-stump and puts the fourth down leg. Head doesn’t waft at any of them. Instead he watches and waits. Finally he gets a straight ball he has to defend. A dot ball follows. Archer delivers a maiden first-up.
Jofra Archer has the new pink ball in hand...
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 5, 2025
LET'S GO BOYS! pic.twitter.com/5oi1amZY3h
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Here comes Travis Head with Jake Weatherald to open Australia’s innings. Jofra Archer has the fresh pink ball in his hands at the Vulture Street end. What a duel this will be… here we go, folks.
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First innings: England all out 334
That looked a little ominous for Australia as Joe Root and Jofra Archer came out swinging and seized on some sloppy bowling from young Australian fast-bowler Brendan Doggett. But thanks to a magnificent bit of out-fielding by Labuschange, Australia has spared itself further embarrassment and will start their chase early in the day. Joe Root walks off with a wonderful unbeaten 138 from 206 balls and that tenth wicket stand with Archer (38 from 36) spanned 70 runs.
How crucial will that wagging English tail be?
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WICKET! Archer c Labuschagne b Doggett 38 (England 334)
Archer launches, looking for a six. The ball was back of a length and the big quick spun on his hip and sent it high into the vast outfield of the Gabba. Brisbane boy Marnus Labuschagne saw it coming early and sprinted to meet it, jumping full-length to his right and plucking the catch. Superb grab! England are ALL OUT!
ONE OF THE ALL-TIME SCREAMERS FROM MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE!#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/nF2AkvCDtZ
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 5, 2025
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76th over: England 333-9 (Root 137, Archer 38) Mitchell Starc enters the attack. Can he continue his remarkable run of dismissals in the first over of a spell? Archer attacks from the get-go, stepping out to a full delivery and driving handsomely to the rope. Great shot! Starc hangs the next one wider and it wobbles past Archer’s flashing blade. Starc reclaims his line on the next three and Archer is happy to bank his boundary and watch them sail by.
75th over: England 329-9 (Root 137, Archer 34) In his second Test, Doggett was ineffective yesterday, finishing with 0-74. He starts today with a short ball. Root pulls it but finds a fielder. He steers the second one behind square for a single. Jofra Archer adds another run to his highest Test score, swatting another short one. The easy runs for England continue as Root swipes to fine leg. Archer does likewise, ducking and hooking. Four singles, zero threat.
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Here we go. Brendan Doggett will open the attack for Australia and he’ll be bowling to Joe Root on 135.
We have sunny skies in Brisbane and the mercury is currently at its highest level – a toasty 28 degrees. Conditions will start cooling off after the 6.32pm AEST sunset as we enter the “witching hour” of pink ball Tests. Presuming Australia snatch this tenth wicket quickly, where will the home side be by then?
Here come the players onto the field…
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Mitchell Starc might’ve had Ben Duckett’s measure yesterday but his opening partner Zak Crawley did much better. With Joe Root in company, Crawley stood tall for England to pile on a 117-run stand and drag his side out of the abyss of 5 for 2 and stroke them into a position of superiority at 122 for 3.
Crawley had carved 76 from 93 balls with 11 fours in 138 minutes before he became Michael Neser’s sole victim. Simon Burnton enjoyed the big man’s bounce-back from his double-duck disaster in the first Test in Perth.
Mitchell Starc continued his incredible record of striking in the first over yesterday, sending Ben Duckett on his way from the sixth ball of the Test.
It is the 26th time Starc has struck in the first over of a Test innings. England’s Jimmy Anderson is next (19), Kemar Roach (10) and Stuart Broad (nine) follow and New Zealanders Tim Southee (nine) and Trent Boult (nine) are also first-over demolition experts.
Starc also got some high praise overnight from the man whose 414 Test wickets he surpassed yesterday. Wasim Akram got his 414 from 104 Tests at 23.62 while Starc has his from 103 Tests at a higher average but a superior strike-rate.
Super Starc! Proud of you, mate. Your incredible hard work sets you apart, and it was only a matter of time before you crossed my tally of wickets . I am pleased to give this to you! Go well, and keep soaring to new heights in your stellar career . 🙏🙏@mstarc56
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) December 4, 2025
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England’s fans found some villains of their own, with no less than four of their side – Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse – failing to trouble the scorer. Of those donut kings, Max Rushden reserved special scorn for one English batter…
It’s impossible to write this without saying the F word repeatedly. Just leave it outside the off stump. Surely there’s been some self-reflection since Perth. Surely. IT ISN’T THERE TO BE HIT. The whole Ashes is disappearing before our eyes.
But if you’re English, Joe Root was the rolled gold star of the opening day. Having closely followed Root’s rise and 13,551 runs since his Test debut in 2012, Barney Ronay was happy to rhapsodise about the Yorkie terrier’s rescue job in Brisbane.
Follow the story, the craft, the jags in the road, the pieces this thing takes out of you along the way. And at the end of it you have one of those great self-contained sporting moments, the sense of emotional connection through all the surrounding hoopla, the way Test cricket in particular can make you feel you know someone intimately just by watching them move and work and fail and come back.
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If you’re a hometown supporter, Australia’s selectors were the villains of day one, leaving an “absolutely filthy” Nathan Lyon our of the side to play Gabba specialist Michael Neser, and Mitchell Starc was again the conquering hero.
Geoff Lemon paid fitting tribute to the big quick from Penrith who saved his side’s blushes (again) and whose sterling six-for swept him past the 414 dismissals of the great Wasim Akram to make Starc the most prolific left-arm quick of all.
In a series supposed to be defined by Australia’s fast-bowling Big Three, he has done the work as the sole member to make the starting line. With one English wicket left to fall and his tally on six for 46, he was on the brink of the remarkable feat of recording career-best figures for the fourth time in less than 12 months.
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For those who came in late… here’s our blow-by-blow, over-by-over coverage of day one.
Preamble
Hello cricket fans! Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage for day two of the second Test between Australia and England at the Gabba for the 2025-26 Ashes.
This match is beautifully poised, with both combatants seizing momentum then letting it slide throughout a gripping opening day. England won the toss and chose to bat but it was Australia who drew first blood, Mitchell Starc working his magic with the rapid-fire dismissals of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope to have the visitors two wickets down for five runs.
Joe Root strode out in the fifth over with a serious salvage mission on his hands. His team were one-nil down in the series, back at Australia’s happiest hunting ground of the “Gabbatoir” and still raw from their drubbing in Perth. But at stumps, Root’s resilience had carved a new legend to lead his side to an improbable 325 for nine.
The 34-year-old Yorkshireman had also got the gorilla off his back at last with a maiden century in Australia to join the 39 others he’s amassed around the world across 159 Tests over 13 years.And with the help of Zak Crawley (76 from 93) and Jofra Archer (a dervish 32 from 26 late in the day), Root had hauled his team into ascendancy with an unbeaten 135 from 202.
Despite selectors bizarrely benching Nathan Lyon to play a fifth seamer in Michael Neser, Australia entered the final hour of play with their tails up. Starc had another six-for, having seen off Duckett, Pope, Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse for ducks, and Josh Inglis had embarrassed Ben Stokes with a brilliant run-out.
But at 264-9, England sucker-punched them, Root and Archer swinging the axe, seeking fast runs or a late-evening lash at the Australian top-order. They got the former, piling on a fifty-run partnership that will continue this morning to salt the wound of Lyon’s non-selection and his largely-ineffectual substitutions.
So settle in and buckle up. Play begins at 2pm AEST in Brisbane, 3pm AEDT, 4am GMT.
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