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- AUS vs ENG Highlights, 2nd Ashes Test Day 2: Australia finish on 378/6, take 44-run lead at stumps
AUS vs ENG Highlights, 2nd Ashes Test Day 2: Australia finish on 378/6, take 44-run lead at stumps
Weatherald, playing only his second Test, impressed with 12 fours and a six before falling lbw to Jofra Archer. Labuschagne continued his rich vein of form with a confident 65, though he fell just short of a century thanks to a sharp nick to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith off Ben Stokes. Steve Smith, who had looked solid at the crease, was dismissed by Brydon Carse after attempting a hook shot, highlighting England’s brief resurgence under the lights. Carse had earlier removed Cameron Green (45) and Smith (61) in quick succession, sparking hope for the visitors.
Despite the breakthroughs, England’s bowlers struggled with consistency, gifting Australia scoring opportunities with loose deliveries and four dropped catches. Travis Head, retained as opener in place of the injured Usman Khawaja, managed 33 before tea, while Alex Carey remained unbeaten on 46 alongside Michael Neser at 15.
England had resumed on 325-9, with Joe Root carrying the team with a gritty 138. Root added nine more runs before being dismissed in a spectacular catch by Labuschagne, ending a 10th-wicket partnership of 70. Mitchell Starc led the bowling effort with 6-75 in the first innings.
Both Weatherald and Labuschagne praised the atmosphere and the crowd at the Gabba, with Weatherald remarking, “It’s really enjoyable.” Labuschagne added, “Obviously the boys played well… it’s a nice day.” As Australia heads into Day 3, the hosts are well-placed to assert control in this pivotal Ashes clash, but England will hope to exploit the pitch under lights and fight back.
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, On a length around middle and off, Alex Carey defends this off his front foot.
- Josh Inglis 11 (14)
- Alex Carey 12 (14)
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Good length around middle and off, Josh Inglis gets behind the line and blocks.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Good length wide of off, Josh Inglis shoulders his arms at it.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Good length around off, Josh Inglis steps across and tucks this to square leg.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Full and wide of off, Josh Inglis gets closer to the pitch of it and drives this through cover for two. Australia now trail by 19 runs.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Short one, around off, Josh Inglis sits under.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, WIDE! Bumper, way too high on the batter. Josh Inglis ducks down. Wided.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, Short pitched, around middle and leg, Alex Carey backs away from the stumps and pulls this over mid-wicket for three runs.
- Josh Inglis 9 (9)
- Alex Carey 9 (13)
Ben Stokes to Josh Inglis, Full and wide of off, Josh Inglis goes for the expansive drive off the front foot but gets beaten.
Ben Stokes to Josh Inglis, FOUR! Anything short and Josh is throwing his bat at it. Short and wide of off, Josh Inglis accepts the width on offer and slashes hard at it. Gets it raced through the gap to backward point's left for four runs.
Ben Stokes to Josh Inglis, On a length, angling into the batter. Josh Inglis jams this out.
Ben Stokes to Josh Inglis, On a length in the line of the stumps. Josh Inglis gets right on top of it and blocks.
Ben Stokes to Josh Inglis, Good length on off, Josh Inglis defends this.
Ben Stokes to Josh Inglis, FOUR! The game is being played at a rapid pace here. A couple of wickets just a while back and now a boundary barrage again. Full and wide of off, Josh Inglis strides towards the pitch of it and throws his bat at it. Gets it edged off the outside of the bat through the gully region for four.
- Alex Carey 9 (13)
- Josh Inglis 1 (3)
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, Good length on middle and leg, Alex Carey dead bats it.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, A sharp bumper, on middle and leg, Alex Carey sways away.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Carse cramps Josh for any sort of room as he hits the deck hard and bowls it around the thigh pads of Josh. The batter flicks this through square leg for one.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, Good length on the pads, Alex Carey nudges this through square leg and takes a single to bring up 300 for the Aussies.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, Full and on middle and off, Alex Carey flicks this to mid-wicket.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, Bumper, around off, Alex Carey goes away from the line of it and leaves it.
- Alex Carey 8 (8)
- Josh Inglis 0 (2)
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, Back of a length around middle and off, Alex Carey stands his ground, rides the bounce and punches this through the point region for three runs.
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, FOUR! Carey gives a charge down the track and finds the fence. Short and wide of off, Alex Carey puts on the dancing shoes and slashes hard at it. Gets it edged over the slips cordon for four runs.
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, Good length just wide of off, Alex Carey looks to play it away on the off side but gets beaten on the outside edge.
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, Good length on middle and off, Alex Carey blocks another one.
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, Back of a length around off, Alex Carey gets right behind the line of it and defends this one.
Ben Stokes to Alex Carey, On a length around middle and off, Alex Carey drives this to mid off.
- Josh Inglis 0 (2)
- Alex Carey 1 (2)
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Good length around off, Josh Inglis defends this well off his front foot.
Brydon Carse to Josh Inglis, Bumper again, around middle and leg, Josh Inglis sits down on this.
DRINKS BREAK! With the fall of Steve Smith, the umpires have called for drinks. A bit of a turnaround in the last 4 balls, just when England were starting to look deflated with their short-ball ploy leaking runs and producing no reward. Suddenly, they have their tails up, and Australia still trail by 42 runs. What makes this shift even more significant is that both wickets have fallen to Brydon Carse, the most expensive of the English pacers so far, and this will do his confidence a world of good. Australia now need a partnership to bring some calm back to the proceedings. Alex Carey is joined by Josh Inglis.
Brydon Carse to Steve Smith, OUT! CAUGHT! What a stunner from Will Jacks, running to his right and putting in a dive to send the Aussie skipper back in the dressing room. Carse continues to bowl his heart out as he bends his back yet again, angling into the batter. Steve Smith does well to get inside and pulls this, looking to run this down to the long leg region, but the ball goes uppishly off a top edge. Will Jacks at a deepish backward square leg, glides to his right, puts in a dive and takes a one-handed stunner to send Smith back on 61. Australia are now 292/5, trailing by 42 runs.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, Good length around off, Alex Carey rocks back and punches this away in the gap to open his account.
Brydon Carse to Alex Carey, DROPPED! Oh, Ben Duckett, what have you done? It could have been two-in-two for Brydon Carse. Short one, around off, Alex Carey looks to sway away from it but doesn't drop his wrists in time. Gets it away off the gloves and it lobs towards Ben Duckett at gully. Ben is late in charging forward and dives forward to scoop it but the ball pops out of his grasp.
Alex Carey is in next.
Brydon Carse to Cameron Green, OUT! TIMBER! Carse removes Green from the middle and what a bluff this was from Brydon Carse. With the field set for a short one, into the body, Green thinks of outfoxing the bowler by backing away, exposing his stumps to Carse. The bowler instead changes the length and bowls it very full, around middle and off. Cameron Green tries to reach it and get something behind it but fails in doing so and the ball shatters the stumps.
Brydon Carse to Cameron Green, WIDE! Bumper, down the leg. Green shimmies away from the stumps to smack this over cover as he did in the last over of Brydon Carse but this one goes a bit too high. Wided.
- Steve Smith 61 (84)
- Cameron Green 45 (56)
Ben Stokes to Steve Smith, Back of a length around off, Steve Smith punches this towards mid off for no run.
Ben Stokes to Steve Smith, Good length around off, Steve Smith gets right behind the line of it and keeps it out.
Ben Stokes to Steve Smith, Back of a length around middle and off, Steve Smith hops back and pushes this through cover.
Ben Stokes to Steve Smith, Good length around off, Steve Smith pushes this towards the cover region.
Ben Stokes to Cameron Green, On a length around middle and off, Cameron Green goes for the drive again but gets it sliced to point this time and takes a single.
Ben Stokes to Cameron Green, Low full toss, around off, Cameron Green drives this to cover for no run.
- Steve Smith 61 (80)
- Cameron Green 44 (54)
Gus Atkinson to Steve Smith, Good length and around off, Steve Smith stays back and pats it towards cover.
Gus Atkinson to Cameron Green, Short of a length and on middle, Cameron Green tucks it away towards mid-wicket for a run.
Gus Atkinson to Cameron Green, On a length and on middle, Cameron Green tucks it to the leg side.
Gus Atkinson to Cameron Green, Overpitched and on middle, Cameron Green shows the full face of the bat and drives it firmly but fails to beat Brydon Carse at mid on, who dives to his left to stop it. He dishes out a throw at the keeper's end, where Jamie Smith lets it through his legs, but Ben Duckett backs it up well.
Gus Atkinson to Steve Smith, Back of a length and on off, Steve Smith steers it through point for a single.
Gus Atkinson to Steve Smith, Fuller in length and just around off, Steve Smith does not get tempted this time and leaves it alone.
- Steve Smith 60 (77)
- Cameron Green 43 (51)
Brydon Carse to Steve Smith, Banged into the pitch and around middle, Steve Smith shuffles across and helps it on its way towards fine leg for one more. 17 runs off the over. Australia trail by just 47 runs now.
Steve Smith pulls out just as Brydon Carse is about to load up. Movement behind the bowler's arm put Smith off.
Brydon Carse to Steve Smith, WIDE! Tries the bouncer, on middle but it is too high for the batter, Steve Smith ducks under it. Wided.
Weatherald impressed in only his second Test, hitting 12 fours and a six before falling to Jofra Archer, while Labuschagne’s composed 65 ended with a nick to Ben Stokes. Steve Smith looked set for a big score but was caught by Will Jacks off Brydon Carse, who also dismissed Cameron Green in the same over. Alex Carey remained unbeaten on 46, providing a steady finish alongside Michael Neser.
England’s bowlers struggled with discipline, conceding 51 boundaries and dropping four catches, though Carse’s short-ball tactics sparked a brief revival. Travis Head managed 33 before tea, showing restraint after his explosive century in Perth.
England resumed on 325-9, with Joe Root guiding them to 138, adding nine more before a diving Labuschagne catch ended a 70-run last-wicket stand. Mitchell Starc led the earlier bowling effort with 6-75.
Weatherald and Labuschagne praised the Gabba’s atmosphere, highlighting the enjoyable conditions. With Australia in control, Day 3 promises a tense contest as England looks to exploit the lights and shift momentum in this pivotal Ashes clash.
Match Statistics
Venue
The Gabba, Brisbane
