Browsing: Gabba

Jofra Archer has been criticised by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden for the “shocking look” of arriving for the third day of the second Ashes Test with a pillow.

With England needing four wickets to wrap up the Australia first innings in order to keep their Ashes hopes alive, fast bowler Archer was seen before play at the Gabba with a pillow tucked under his arm.

And the 30-year-old was made to wait for his rest as Australia frustrated England throughout the entire opening session.

Though the hosts lost two wickets, they moved to 450-8 by the interval, leading by 116 runs.

Only twice before have England overturned a first-innings deficit of more than 100 to win a Test in Australia. The last time was at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1979.

“I’m sorry, but that’s a shocking look,” Hayden, who played 103 Tests, said on Channel 7.

“If I was a batsman, I tell you what I’d be doing, I’d be digging in. Forever.

“It would be exactly what you need as a batsman, I can tell you. You’d be looking over and thinking ‘you are never going to sleep on that’.

“Not any part of this day are you going to see that. Not even in the night are you going to see that.”

After Australia resumed on 378-6, England captain Ben Stokes had Michael Neser caught behind for 16.

England took the second new ball at 80 overs, with Gus Atkinson taking the edge of Alex Carey for 63.

Archer shared the new ball with Atkinson, bowling five wicketless overs and conceding 13 runs.

And England could not find a way to part ninth-wicket partnership Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. The pair added 34 runs in 16 overs in the run-up to the break. Starc had moved to 46 and Boland seven.

The extra time spent batting in daylight is vital for Australia. It means England will be facing a newer ball when they bat under floodlights later on Saturday.

England’s deflating opening to the third day came after an error-strewn performance on Friday, when the tourists missed five chances in the field.

Former captain Michael Vaughan questioned their preparedness for this Ashes series, saying England looked “jaded”.

Archer returned to Test cricket in the home summer after a four-year lay-off because of a string of serious injuries.

The Sussex man had bowled 25 overs by the first interval on the third day in Brisbane, his second-most in a Test innings since 2019 – beaten by the 26.1 he bowled in the first innings of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, the second match of his comeback.

On Friday, Archer bowled a seven-over spell immediately after the first interval – his longest uninterrupted spell in Test cricket for five years.

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Joe Root of England (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) England captain Joe Root remains confident about his team’s chances in the day-night second Ashes Test, despite Australia gaining a 44-run advantage on day two in Brisbane.Root’s outstanding knock of 138 not out, his first century in Australia, helped England reach 334 in their first innings.Australia responded strongly, reaching 378-6 by the end of play. The hosts benefited from England’s imprecise bowling and missed catching opportunities on a pitch showing signs of wear.”It’s clear we weren’t at our best… but we took those wickets in a cluster, which shows the nature of this game,” Root told TNT Sports, referring to Brydon Carse removing Cameron Green and Steve Smith within four deliveries.”More work to do, but we’re well and truly in this game. It is different fielding to a pink ball, we practise really hard, just one of those days when things didn’t stick to hand. We’ll keep backing ourselves. We need to take four wickets,” he added.”It’s a simple game. Energy and positivity. We know our best cricket can turn a game very quickly. If we are anywhere near our best this game can turn in our favour.”Root celebrated his 40th Test century, marking a significant milestone in his career.”I tried not to approach anything different to the last couple of years,” he said. “Any time you contribute in an Ashes it means a huge amount. The most enjoyable thing was to get into a position to get us in the game.”

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Carse, usually so reliable, had been as guilty as anyone of spraying the ball around Brisbane – he conceded 113 runs from his 17 overs.

And it was indicative of England’s situation that the Durham man was asked to bowl a spell of bouncers in the night session, when usually the floodlights would offer the kind of movement to encourage orthodox seam bowling.

With Green stepping back to flay an expected short ball, he was bluffed by a Carse yorker that splattered the stumps. From the next ball, Carey gloved a venomous lifter, only for Ben Duckett to grass the vital catch moving forward from gully.

Still, in the same over, Carse got the crucial wicket of Smith thanks to Jacks’ moment of magic. Smith tried to drag a pull around the corner only for Jacks, at backward square leg, to fling himself to his right and cling on with his right hand.

Inglis and Carey countered, boundaries continued to flow and Duckett put down another chance – this time Inglis at gully off the bowling off Stokes. Three balls later, Stokes removed Inglis’ middle stump.

There was still time for England to create two more chances, and for Carey and Neser to add 49 from only 55 balls.

Neser, on six, drilled Jofra Archer to cover where Carse failed to cling on. Carey had 25 when he slashed Gus Atkinson between Smith and first-slip Joe Root. Root dived to his right, but it was the static Smith who should have made the effort.

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Australia have moved into a position to win the second Ashes Test after a dominant performance on day at The Gabba.

Resuming on 325-9 after an epic last-wicket stand, England had momentum, even through only adding nine more runs at the start of the day.

However, Australia wasted no time in swinging the game back in their favour, racking up 378-6 off just 73 overs to move 44 runs ahead by stumps.

Like on day one, England had their moments, particularly in the evening session under the lights when Brydon Carse dismissed Cameron Green (45) and Steve Smith (61) in four balls.

Will Jacks pulled off one of England’s greatest-ever catches to play his part in Smith’s wicket, but England put down four catches throughout the day in Brisbane.

STEVE SMITH IS OUT! ?

What a take from Will Jacks! ?

Watch #TheAshes LIVE on TNT Sports and discovery+ ? pic.twitter.com/mADph0XIMY

— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 5, 2025

That contributed to each of Australia’s top eight batsmen all reaching double figures as they made light work of the England bowling attack.

Travis Head made 33 from 43, Jake Weatherald hit 72 from 78 and Marnus Labuschagne recorded 65 from 78 to keep the score ticking over during the first phase of the innings.

Alex Carey – who was dropped first ball – made 46 from 45 late in the day, with Josh Inglis making 23 from 25 and Michael Neser an unbeaten 15 from 30.

Carse’s 3-113 came off just 17 overs with Ben Stokes taking the same amount of overs for his 2-92. While Jofra Archer was most economical, he only posted 1-74 from 20 overs.

Based on their history of capitulations, England will return on Saturday with the first objective being to save the game.

With Australia in line to significantly extend their lead before England facing a session under the lights, it is far from certain that the game will be extended to a fourth day.

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England will look to level the 2025-26 Ashes series when they face Australia in the second test in Brisbane.

Meanwhile, the hosts will go a significant way to retaining the urn if they pick up the win in the day-night test, which will get underway on Thursday.

Match preview

England have had plenty of time to reflect upon the first test after they slumped to a defeat in two days in Perth last month.

The tourists appeared to be in a strong position at lunch on day two, when they were leading by 99 with nine wickets in hand in their second innings.

However, they collapsed to set a target just over 200, which was made to look measly by Travis Head’s explosive batting.

Head, who was promoted to open for the injured Usman Khawaja, knocked off 123 from 83 deliveries to stun England and steer his country to an eight-wicket win.

England will be desperate to produce a response in the day-night test at the Gabba, although that will be easier said than done, considering they have not beaten Australia in an Ashes test at the venue since 1986.

The tourists also struggle in pink-ball games, having lost five of their previous seven experiences of day-night tests.

If Ben Stokes’s side are to win in Brisbane, their batters will have to learn from their mistakes in Perth, especially Joe Root, who fell for a duck and eight runs in his two innings as his bid to score his first Ashes hundred in Australia got off to a poor start.

© Imago / IMAGO / AAP

As for Australia, they would have been delighted to win the opening game without two of their three premium fast bowlers in Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Left-armer Mitchell Starc led the attack superbly with seven wickets in the first innings and three in England’s second attempt.

Starc will be relishing the opportunity to get his hands on the pink ball, having taken 81 wickets in 14 day-night tests at an average of 17.08.

Impressively, Australia have won 12 of the 13 pink ball tests they have played on home soil, including victories in all three day-night games against England.

However, their only loss in a home day-night test took place in Brisbane in January 2024, when they fell to a dramatic eight-run defeat against the West Indies.

In fact, Australia have lost two of their last four tests (red and pink ball) at the Gabba after previously enjoying a formidable run of seven consecutive test victories at the venue.

While their recent dip in form in Brisbane may be a slight cause for concern, the hosts will still fancy their chances of going 2-0 up in the series, especially as they have won 14 of their last 16 Ashes tests on home turf.

Squad News

© Imago / IMAGO / AAP

Khawaja has been ruled out of the second test through injury after struggling with back spasms in Perth.

After opening in the second innings at Perth Stadium, Head is set to walk out alongside Jake Weatherald when Australia bat in Brisbane.

That will open the space for all-rounder Beau Webster or Yorkshire-born Josh Inglis to come into the Australian XI.

Hazlewood remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, while Cummins is currently set to miss another test match.

The Australian skipper has been left out of the squad, although he has been training in Brisbane and could return to the team if he proves his fitness in time.

As for England, Mark Wood played in Perth after recovering from surgery on his left knee, only for an issue to flare up ahead of the game in Brisbane.

The knee problem will stop the pace bowler from featuring at the Gabba, and rather than bringing in Josh Tongue as his replacement, England will field the spin option of Will Jacks.

The 27-year-old has been given the nod ahead of Shoaib Bashir due to the fact that he will add depth to England’s batting order.

Jack is the only change for the day-night encounter, meaning opener Zak Crawley will get another chance despite falling for a pair in the first test.

Australia squad:

Steve Smith (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Alex Carey (wk), Jake Weatherald, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser

England team:

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer,

When will the second Ashes test start?

The day-night match in Brisbane will get underway on Thursday (December 4) at 2pm local time, which will be an early rise of 4am for UK viewers.

Gabba pitch update

The second test of the 2025-26 series will take place at the Gabba, which can hold up to 37,000 spectators.

There has been a suggestion that the ground staff could produce a batter-friendly deck, although the surface should still offer considerable bounce.

There should also be lateral movement in the air when each day’s play reaches the twilight period.

The humidity in Brisbane could also play a role in getting the pink ball to talk, ensuring there will be another tough examination for the England batters.

We say: Australia to win

England needs to beat Australia in Brisbane to have a realistic chance of winning an Ashes series down under for the first time since 2010-11.

However, they have not won an away Ashes test since that series, and taking into account Australia’s strong record in day-night tests, we think the hosts will emerge victorious at the Gabba.

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