Ashes 2025-26: Ben Stokes Efforts Fall Short as Australia Thrash England, Lead 2-0 in Pink-Ball Test

England’s Bazball approach faced a tough reality in the second Ashes Test 2025-26, as they lost by 8 wickets on Day 4 at The Gabba, Brisbane. England captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks tried to fight back with a 96-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

However, Michael Neser bowled very well, and Steve Smith took excellent catches at first slip, making it hard for England to win. Neser quickly got the remaining batsmen out, leaving England all out for 241, giving them only a small lead of 65 runs. 

×

England Founded: 1739

England is regarded as the birthplace of cricket and has won the Ashes 32 times.

×

Australia Founded: 1877

The Australian cricket team is the joint oldest team in Test cricket history and has a tremendous record in one-dayers, having won more than 60% of the matches they have played.

Travis Head and Jake Weatherald came out to recreate the fireworks they had experienced at the Gabba in the first Test. However, this time it was a little different. Just like before, Travis was blasting the ball to all corners, while England's bowlers were left helpless watching their bowling go for sixes and fours repeatedly. But among all the explosions, England managed to pick up a wicket when Atkinson got Head (22 off 22) to chop the ball back onto his stumps.

×

Travis Head Batter

Since Michael Hussey's retirement, Australia have struggled to find a reliable middle order batsman who can both anchor and finish an innings.

The young English fast bowler also continued his good rhythm by bowling Marnus Labuschagne (3 off 6) out by getting him to edge the ball to slip with a bouncer that climbed onto the Australian batter. With Australia at 41/2, out came captain Steve Smith to finish things off for his team, leading them to a 2-0 victory. What was expected to be a dull last few overs ultimately ended up being a spectacle thanks to Jofra Archer. With his quick deliveries and verbal jibes, Archer prompted Smith to rediscover his aggressive side again.

×

Jofra Archer Bowler

Jofra Archer is a 30-year-old English cricketer from Barbados, born on April 1, 1995, who is known as a right-arm fast bowler.

The Australian captain did not allow this act to go unavenged and struck back hard against Archer by scoring two 4s and a 6. He finished the innings strongly for Australia by hitting a massive six over deep square in the last over to guide the side to an 8-wicket victory with an explosive last-minute performance of 23* off 9 balls.

Ben Stokes and Will Jacks began their lengthy stay at the crease the following day with a six-run lead over the course of the previous night's innings and exhibited excellent discipline at the wicket. It seemed that neither batsman was confused by the legacy that had plagued ‘Bazball’, both demonstrating their ability to remain patient while being very much aware of the magnitude of the hole they had created.

During the first session of play, both players put in great effort for two hours of play to overcome the initial deficit, thereby preventing an embarrassing innings loss. At the end of the first session, the total runs scored by both Stokes and Jacks was 61 in 24 overs, which was an approach never before adopted by an English batsman.

During the second session, both batsmen employed their experience from the previous session, and they were able to consolidate their successful second session with a 96-run partnership. England’s chance to come back into the match was dashed when Steve Smith produced a breathtaking catch with one hand at the first slip, following which Michael Neser was the next to be dismissed.

The beginning of the end for Stokes occurred not long after he completed his 35th half-century. He was dismissed when Alex Carey caught his drive to mid-off for a brilliant catch by Spirits fast bowler Michael Neser (5/42). Neser took his fifth wicket by catching England's Brydon Carse (7 runs off 10 balls).

England, who have already lost the first two Test matches, find themselves in a difficult situation as the level of criticism surrounding England's performances during the series continues to increase, and they enter the final Test match of the series will take place in Adelaide, Wednesday 17 December.

×

Smriti Mandhana Confirms Wedding Called Off with Palash Muchhal: "Time to Move Forward" India women’s cricket star Smriti Mandhana has confirmed that her wedding with singer Palash Muchhal has been called off.

by K D Mishra December 7, 2025