Cricket Dec 07, 2025

The Ashes: England suffer eight-wicket drubbing by Australia in Brisbane to trail 2-0 in series with three to play

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
The Ashes: England suffer eight-wicket drubbing by Australia in Brisbane to trail 2-0 in series with three to play

England succumbed to another humiliating eight-wicket drubbing in the second Ashes Test in Brisbane to trail 2-0 in the five-match series, despite showing a bit more fight on day four at The Gabba.

Starting the day six down and still trailing Australia by 43 runs, the damage had already been done after a top-order collapse late on the third evening, but Ben Stokes (50) and Will Jacks (41) hung around to at least force the hosts to bat again.

The pair showed patience and discipline - something few England's batters have demonstrated so far this series - to add 96 for the seventh wicket, batting out the entire first session to give the faintest hope to a remarkable comeback.

With few demons evident in the pitch, against an old ball and a tiring Australian attack, Stokes and Jacks stretched England's advantage to 47 until an inspired Steve Smith catch at slip triggered the tourists' ultimate demise.

Diving low to his left at slip, Smith claimed a stunner to finally break the partnership and see the back of Jacks, with Michael Neser adding the crucial wicket of Stokes in his very next over, shortly after notching his 36th Test fifty.

Stokes got the faintest of edges behind to Alex Carey, who took another terrific catch stood up to the stumps, the England skipper throwing his head back in disappointment and flinging his bat in frustration as he trudged off with his side's Ashes hope lying in tatters.

Brendan Doggett (1-56) picked up Gus Atkinson (3), taking on the short ball, before Neser (5-42), playing in his third Test - and first for three years - would add the wicket of Brydon Carse (7) to end the innings and claim a maiden five-for on his home ground for Queensland.

Set 65 to win, Australia wasted little time in chasing down their target across the tea interval, romping home in 10 overs as things got a little spicy between Smith and Jofra Archer, in particular, under the lights late on.

Atkinson (2-37) picked up Travis Head (22), chopping on to his stumps, adding Marnus Labuschagne (3) in his next over, nicking off to a rising delivery, to give England a smidge of positivity going into the next Test in Adelaide.

Those wickets brought Smith to the crease, who has revelled in telling the watching world that Archer has yet to get him out in Test cricket, despite a memorable battle at Lord's in 2019 in which the Australian suffered a concussion after taking a blow during a fiery spell of fast bowling.

Archer cranked up the pace again with his arrival, but Smith (23no off nine balls) met the challenge head on, hooking the England quick for a pair of fours and a six in the same over as the pair got into a heated exchange out in the middle.

At one point, the stump mic picked up Smith saying along the lines of, "Bowl fast when there's nothing going on, champion," and ultimately it would be he who would have the last laugh, smacking another six off Atkinson to see Australia to victory in style.

England captain Ben Stokes, speaking to TNT Sports:

"When the game is on the line, teams are able to handle that pressure better than us.

"We are a great team when we are ahead, when we are behind and playing huge catch-up we are great but when the game is on the line we are not able to stand up to pressure. That is obvious as a captain.

"It is a mentality, a mindset. How you get yourself into a head space to make clear decisions is so important to be successful at this level.

"No one means to drop catches or not bowl where you are supposed to, but those things cannot happen at this level."

All times UK and Ireland

Tags:

cricket news id:13480435

Share this article

Related Posts

T20 Blast: Sam Curran and James Coles look to build on impressive seasons, Tammy Beaumont and Davina Perrin make England cases

T20 Blast: Sam Curran and James Coles look to build on impressive seasons, Tammy Beaumont and Davina Perrin make England cases

The T20 Blast is here - and 18 teams kick off their campaign on Friday.The men's tournament is set to feature a plethora of stars old and new looking...

England vs New Zealand: White Ferns level ODI series with 17-run win in rain-soaked Cardiff

England vs New Zealand: White Ferns level ODI series with 17-run win in rain-soaked Cardiff

England missed out on a series victory over New Zealand as the tourists won a rain-affected third ODI in Cardiff by 17 runs via DLS to level the serie...

England 'settling nicely' ahead of Women's T20 World Cup - but bigger test to come in India series

England 'settling nicely' ahead of Women's T20 World Cup - but bigger test to come in India series

First job done for England as they work through their pre-T20 World Cup checklist.secured a seventh straight bilateral T20 series victory over New Zea...

Ben Stokes: Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton say England captain's lack of matches leads to 'too much tinkering'

Ben Stokes: Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton say England captain's lack of matches leads to 'too much tinkering'

Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton have called for England captain Ben Stokes to avoid 'too much tinkering' in the nets by playing more competitive m...

County Championship: Yorkshire inflict Surrey's first defeat of the season with dominant victory

County Championship: Yorkshire inflict Surrey's first defeat of the season with dominant victory

Yorkshire wrapped up an impressive win by an innings and 127 runs at Headingley as Surrey slumped to their first defeat of the season in Division One...

Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Free live cricket stream of all England, Scotland, Ireland games and final on Sky Sports App

Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Free live cricket stream of all England, Scotland, Ireland games and final on Sky Sports App

Your Site will make all 12 group matches involving England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as the semi-finals and final of the 2026 ICC Women's T20 Wor...