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- AUS vs ENG Highlights, 2nd Ashes Test Day 4: Australia thrash England by eight wickets to take 2-0 lead in five-Test series
AUS vs ENG Highlights, 2nd Ashes Test Day 4: Australia thrash England by eight wickets to take 2-0 lead in five-Test series
Starc has now been central to the narrative of the series. After being voted Player of the Match in Australia’s eight-wicket victory in the opener at Perth — where he collected a 10-wicket haul — the left-arm quick has placed himself in contention for another award. Across the first two days, he dismantled England with six wickets in their first innings of 334 before producing a brutal 77, the highest score of Australia’s reply of 511.
His influence didn’t stop there. Under the pink ball on Saturday night, with swing on offer and England under pressure, Starc removed No.1-ranked Joe Root for 15 to put the visitors on the back foot. He struck again in his next over, dismissing Jamie Smith to leave England six down and still in serious deficit. His tally now stands at 18 wickets in the series.
Earlier, Australia’s batters had piled on the frustration for England, achieving a rare Test milestone: all eleven players reached double figures. Five of them — Jake Weatherald (72), Marnus Labuschagne (65), stand-in captain Steve Smith (61), Alex Carey (63) and Starc — went on to score fifties, while the lower order added crucial runs. Starc’s 75-run partnership with No.10 Scott Boland set a new ninth-wicket record at the Gabba.
England’s bowling card reflected a long, punishing day. Brydon Carse finished with 4-152, skipper Ben Stokes collected 3-113, and Gus Atkinson bowled 28 overs for figures of 1-114. Jofra Archer claimed one wicket while Jacks, the only spinner in the match, removed the final Australian batter and finished with 1-34.
England had begun their second innings positively before losing both openers. Scott Boland struck twice, while Michael Neser chipped in with sharp return catches to dismiss Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley.
Australia now need just four wickets on Sunday to claim a 2-0 lead in the five-match series — and unless England produce something remarkable, that outcome appears a formality.
If the opening session belonged to the tourists, built on dogged resistance from Stokes and Jacks, the middle session was all about the Australian comeback. As they say, never give the Aussies an opening, or they will come crashing through in a pack. Things quickly flipped as the shadows lengthened and now, Australia are on the verge of extending their lead in this series.
- Travis Head 19 (18)
- Jake Weatherald 10 (12)
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, Bangs this into the pitch, on middle, Travis Head hops up and clips it to the leg side for a quick run. THAT WILL BE DINNER ON DAY 4!
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Pitched up and on middle, Jake Weatherald tucks it towards mid-wicket for a run.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Jofra Archer bowls a wide yorker, outside off, Jake Weatherald goes chasing after it but fails to connect.
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, On a length and around off, Travis Head runs it down to third man for a run.
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, Fuller and on off, angling in, Travis Head blocks it out.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Good length and on off, Jake Weatherald taps it in front of cover for a quick single.
- Travis Head 17 (15)
- Jake Weatherald 8 (9)
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Swing and a miss! Hard length and outside off. Travis Head gets tempted and wafts at it hard, but loses his bottom hand and misses it.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, A bit fuller and on off, Travis Head stays back in his crease and guides it towards point.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Back of a length and on off, Travis Head dabs it down towards point.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, FOUR! Put away! Short of a length but outside off. Travis Head gets the chance to free his arms and crunches it through covers for a boundary now. Australia need 36 runs to win now.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, SIX! Sweetly timed! Gus Atkinson errs in line and serves this full, down the leg side. Travis Head picks it off his pads and whips it nonchalantly over the deep backward square leg fence for a biggie.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Fuller one and on off, Travis Head knocks it towards mid off.
- Jake Weatherald 8 (9)
- Travis Head 7 (9)
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Short and into the body of the batter. Jake Weatherald winds up for the pull but then decides against it and pats it towards square leg.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Fuller and on middle, Jake Weatherald clips it to square leg.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Good length and around off, Jake Weatherald looks to push it away but gets an outside egde on the bounce to gully.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, BEAUTY! Hard length and on middle, angles in but then straightens and keeps rising. Jake Weatherald gets squared up as the ball zips past the outside edge. Jamie Smith, behind the stumps, has to leap up to collect that one above his head.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, FOUR! Streaky! Jofra Archer is absolutely steaming in here. He lands this back of a length and on middle, jags back in at over 150 clicks. Jake Weatherald gets late to put his bat in line. It takes the inside edge and races to the fine leg fence for a boundary.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Bangs in a quick and sharp bouncer at 147.5 clicks, angling into the leg side, Jake Weatherald leaves it alone.
- Travis Head 7 (9)
- Jake Weatherald 4 (3)
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Swing and a miss! Short of a length and outside off, takes off a bit. Travis Head slahses hard at it but fails to connect.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Hard length and on off, Travis Head keeps it out to the off side.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, FOUR! Excellent timing! Touch fuller and just on off. Travis Head gets on top of the bounce and plays it right under his eyes. Just dabs it away as the ball teases the cover fielder to the fence but wins the race for a boundary.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Good length and on off, Travis Head opens the face of his bat and guides it through point for a couple of runs. Australia need 54 runs to win now.
Gus Atkinson to Travis Head, Back of a length and around off, Travis Head steers it away towards point.
Gus Atkinson to Jake Weatherald, Nice shot! Gus Atkinson begins with a full delivery, on middle, angling in. Jake Weatherald steps across and clips it away with excellent timing to the left of mid on. Jofra Archer chases after it to collect it. Three runs taken.
Gus Atkinson to operate from the other end.
- Jake Weatherald 1 (2)
- Travis Head 1 (4)
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Pitched up and on off, Jake Weatherald strides out and taps it towards cover for a run. 6 runs off the first over.
Jofra Archer to Jake Weatherald, Jofra Archer lands this short of a length, on off at 145.4 clicks, gets sharp bounce as well. Jake Weatherald leaves it alone.
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, Good length and on off, Travis Head crouches low and stabs it out towards extra cover for a quick single. First runs off the bat.
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, Hard length but down the leg side again, Travis Head misses his flick. This is loose from Archer.
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, FOUR BYES! Free runs for the Aussies. Short of a length but angling down the leg side, keeps moving in even behind the stumps. Travis Head fails to glance it away, and Jamie Smith, the keeper has no chance of stopping that as it races to the fine leg fence for a boundary.
Jofra Archer to Travis Head, Jofra Archer starts with a hard-length delivery at 145.1 clicks, on off. Travis Head hops up and guides it off the outer half of the bat on the bounce to gully.
Starc became just the third cricketer to achieve this historic feat. He joined Dilruwan Perera and Jason Holder. Perera was the first player to score 50+ and pick a fifer in a day-night Test. He achieved this feat during the Dubai Test against Pakistan in 2017.
After him, West Indies all-rounder Holder joined the elite list. Holder achieved the feat during the Bridgetown Test against Sri Lanka in 2018.
For the record, Starc has the most runs as a number nine batter in Tests. The Australian ace player has notched up 1,408 runs in 64 Tests and 77 innings at an average of 22.34, with eight fifties and a best score of 99.
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc-top scored for the Australians with 77, a new record for a number nine batsman at the Gabba.
Akram was reacting to Starc surpassing his tally of 414 wickets during the Brisbane Test against England on Thursday, becoming the leading left-arm pace bowler of all time.
"Congratulations to Starc on passing my tally of wickets," Akram told AFP, saying that the 35-year-old's passion and commitment helped set him apart.
"Starc has shown a great amount of dedication and focus in these times of too much cricket, having T20 leagues with big money coming your way.
"He did play T20 leagues but then decided to play more Tests and left the shorter format because he wanted to be remembered as one of the best in the world in the history of the game.
"Ten years down the line, if anyone decides to have an all-time Test team, then Starc will be named in that team for sure."
Despite trumping Akram, Starc described the Pakistan great as the "pinnacle".
"Wasim's still a far better bowler than I am," Starc said on Thursday.
Akram dismissed the debate over who is the greatest.
"It is difficult to compare both of us because we are from different eras," he said. "People say that I played on placid tracks and he played on bouncy Aussie tracks, so that was different.
"But nowadays batters have a different mindset and they play aggressive shots even on good balls, so that makes wicket-taking a more difficult art."
Akram said he believed Starc's passion could take him further.
"He is 35 and his pace is still there and passion remains at its peak. He has been incredible as a fast bowler and is enjoying fast bowling, so can go on and on."
Archer was pictured arriving at the Gabba in Brisbane with the pillow for day three on Saturday when Australia resumed at 378-6 in reply to England's first innings 334.
He presumably thought Australia's last four wickets would fall quickly and he could have a nap.
Instead, the hosts piled on another 133 runs before being dismissed for 511, with Archer consigned to hours in the field rather than any shut-eye.
"Sorry, but that's a shocking look," Australia great Matthew Hayden said on commentary for Australia's Channel Seven.
"If I was a batsman, I tell you what I would be doing, I would be digging in ... Forever.
"You would be looking over that and saying, 'you will never sleep on that, not any part of this day are you going to see that, not even in the night'."
Ricky Ponting spotted Archer and his pillow as he was arriving and asked England opener Ben Duckett what was going on.
"I couldn't believe it, I was walking straight towards him," Ponting told the same network.
"He gives me a bit of a glance and Ben Duckett was 10 metres behind him.
"I said, 'What is going on here?' He said, 'Don't even ask me, I don't want to talk about it'.".
The Guardian newspaper called the image "an awkward symbol of England's Ashes nightmare".
"Bowler's creature comforts emblematic of a touring side seen as paying the price for taking a laid-back approach," it added.
England were crushed in the first Test at Perth by eight wickets inside two days and were staring at another defeat Sunday in Brisbane.
Starc, Player of the Match in the opening Test after a 10-wicket haul, continued his brilliant form. After taking six wickets in England’s first innings, he top-scored with 77 as Australia posted 511 for a commanding 177-run lead. Under lights, he returned to remove Joe Root for 15 and Jamie Smith soon after, lifting his series tally to 18 wickets.
Scott Boland and Michael Neser earlier took two wickets each in the night session, striking after England had reached 45 without loss at the break.
Australia’s first innings featured a rare achievement — all 11 batters reached double figures, with five scoring half-centuries.
England’s bowlers endured a taxing day, with Brydon Carse (4-152) leading the attack.
Australia now needs four more wickets on Sunday to secure a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Starc, Player of the Match in the opening Test after a 10-wicket haul, continued his brilliant form. After taking six wickets in England’s first innings, he top-scored with 77 as Australia posted 511 for a commanding 177-run lead. Under lights, he returned to remove Joe Root for 15 and Jamie Smith soon after, lifting his series tally to 18 wickets.
Scott Boland and Michael Neser earlier took two wickets each in the night session, striking after England had reached 45 without loss at the break.
Australia’s first innings featured a rare achievement — all 11 batters reached double figures, with five scoring half-centuries.
England’s bowlers endured a taxing day, with Brydon Carse (4-152) leading the attack.
Australia now needs four more wickets on Sunday to secure a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Match Statistics
Venue
The Gabba, Brisbane
