Neser takes key wickets before Australia ease to 2-0 Ashes series lead over England
2nd Test, D4: Australia, 511 & 69-2, bt England, 334 & 241Neser ends Stokes’ defiance and takes first Test five-ferTo a chorus of Australian cheers, and jeers aimed at England, the second Ashes Test ended not with a whimper but a bang.Steve Smith sent a flash of pink soaring over the rope to seal an emphatic eight-wicket victory for his side, moments after swapping words with Jofra Archer.“You bowl fast when there’s nothing gone on, champion,” was Smith’s dig, before sealing the 2-0 series lead that only one side in Test history has ever overcome.Australia’s second-innings target was a modest 65 runs and, while he was sending down serious heat, Archer’s match figures were hobbled by poor catching.It was hard to disagree with the broader sentiment side-mouthed by Smith: day four was too little, too late from Ben Stokes and his team.
This was a painful defeat for England in the Gabba cauldron; the tourists were architects of their own downfall for the second match running, as impressive as Australia were,Stokes did attempt to reprise the Headingley hundred that sealed his place in Ashes folklore – a statement to his players,But, shut down on 50 from 152 balls amid Michael Neser’s bustling five-wicket haul on his home ground, it was another case of what might have been,England’s collapse to 128 for six the night before – still 43 runs short of making Australia bat again – was simply too great to overcome,Stokes batted for three hours alongside Will Jacks, who made 41, and finally suggested a team prepared to dig deep.
At one stage Stokes received an eye-watering blow to the box, falling flat on his back, knees in the air, as spidercam swooped in close to underline the unforgiving nature of the venue.In the end his wicket summed up another aspect of the cricket played so far, with Alex Carey’s superb reflex catch stood up to the stumps capping a near faultless performance with the gloves – a stark contrast to Jamie Smith’s struggles on his first Ashes tour.Moments earlier, Smith had delivered the first incision of England’s drawn-out demise, removing Jacks with a superb low reflex catch at slip despite being unsighted by Carey.England, by contrast, put down five chances as Australia amassed an imposing first innings of 511 – a total burnished by Mitchell Starc’s impressive 77 from No 9 that, with eight wickets, led to the 35-year-old being named player of the match for the second time in succession.No Pat Cummins, no Josh Hazlewood, and with Nathan Lyon eagerly running drinks out to a pitch he might well have enjoyed, Starc still means zero let-up.
Yet England offered too many gifts, be it a wayward attack or wasteful batting that once again underlines a struggle with situational awareness.Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope offered return catches driving on the up – a danger not recognised or apparently discussed by the coaching staff – while Harry Brook’s first-innings dismissal, trying to larrup the second ball of Starc’s twilight spell, was a howler.Even after Stokes and Jacks got their heads down – the latter making a case to turn his day-night-specific pick into a spot in Adelaide – there was still time for one last brain fade.Gus Atkinson can hold a bat.He has a Test century to his name.
At what was in effect 54 for eight, with another decent stick at the other end in Brydon Carse, it was not impossible to set Australia a far trickier three-figure exam under lights.Cue Atkinson’s pull shot straight to Smith at midwicket, Australia’s captain gobbling it up without moving, which was down there with the most gormless shots of the tour – a trap almost wilfully fallen into.Singling out the No 9 for criticism may seem harsh given some of the efforts of those higher up the night before.But as Atkinson knocked over Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne during a brief Australian run chase chalked off in 10 overs – deliveries that shot through and reared up off what was an increasingly marbled surface – his own dismissal simply grew softer.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionOne wonders what Joe Root made of it all after a match in which he changed a few minds in Australia with a disciplined, masterful unbeaten 138 in the first innings.
Stokes was open to sharing his views, stating that his dressing room – but implicitly Australia itself – is no place for “weak men” and adding: “It’s a mentality.It’s a mindset about how you take yourself out there in those situations.”Brendon McCullum’s insistence that England actually overtrained during the buildup will doubtless go down like a lead balloon back home.As will the fact that England now travel up the coast to the resort town of Noosa for what is officially being termed a mid-series break.Hitting the nets straight away would be a poor choice given the intensity of this past week but it will only add to the perception of an unserious team.
The bottom line on a tour to a place such as Australia, where the spotlight is harsh and a country curiously revels in English misery more than its own team’s success, is that the only way to win is to win.Right now, that is something England have not done here for 17 consecutive Tests.There is a nine-day gap before action resumes and, though the Ashes are unlikely to change hands from 2-0 down, jobs may well hinge on winning a match with the series still alive.
Alex Yee runs second fastest British marathon time to trail only Mo Farah
Alex Yee, the Olympic triathlon champion, has become the second-fastest British marathon runner in history with a stunning run in Valencia. The 27-year-old finished seventh in a strong field in a time of 2hr 6min 38sec, quicker than any Briton in history apart from Mo Farah, who ran 2:05:11 in Chicago in 2018.It was a remarkable performance, especially given Yee took up the marathon only this year as a mini-sabbatical from triathlon after he won gold in Paris. As Yee crossed the line he roared to the skies before placing his hands to his head, in disbelief at the time he had just achieved.“Valencia marathon blew away any expectations I had of myself,” said Yee
Australia v England: Ashes second Test, day four – as it happened
Righto, that is all from us today. The lights are dimmed here at Brisbane’s Gabba and the pitch is being watered by the ground staff. Australia are one win away from being home and hosed themselves.We’ll be back to OBO the third game of the series in Adelaide starting on 16th December.All Ben Stokes wants for Christmas… is a Test match win in Australia
He’ll always have Brisbane: Michael Neser revels in sweet day of Ashes glory | Geoff Lemon
In the end, the only tension was whether Brisbane’s rain would descend before Australia could knock off the last 32 runs in the final session, and so whether going 2-0 up in the Ashes would be delayed until the fifth day. It turned out that England’s resistance through the light of the afternoon had only dished up some evening entertainment for home fans, with Travis Head able to put on a brief show in dispatching the pink ball over the fence before he headed back the same way.Although through the longest partnership of the series so far, 221 balls on the hottest day of the second Test, Ben Stokes and Will Jacks made Australia work in the field, something that was perhaps worth doing for the simple fact of proving that it can be done. With Mitchell Starc tiring after leading the line all series, the contest became a grind. What it reflected about Australia’s bowling makeup was instructive
England to seek better warmup preparations before 2029-30 Ashes series
The England & Wales Cricket Board is ready to offer Australia their pick of warm-up facilities before the next Ashes series in 2027, in an attempt to secure similar treatment when England return in 2029-30 and avoid being forced into the kind of buildup that preceded the current series and has become the focus of intense criticism.England’s preparations are under the microscope given their dismal start to this series, with the first Test lost inside two days and the second lost in four, with Australia’s winning margins eight wickets both times. “If I was an England supporter and had paid the money to come here, I’d be asking the ECB for a refund,” Ian Botham said on Sunday. “Because this team, for me, is not prepared.”Though much of the travelling squad was in Perth, venue of the first Ashes Test, by 2 November, 19 days before the commencement of hostilities, and the remainder had arrived by the 9th, their only cricket that could even be loosely defined as competitive before the series got under way was a two-day game against the Lions, a collection of their own reserves and promising youngsters
Neser takes key wickets before Australia ease to 2-0 Ashes series lead over England
2nd Test, D4: Australia, 511 & 69-2, bt England, 334 & 241Neser ends Stokes’ defiance and takes first Test five-ferTo a chorus of Australian cheers, and jeers aimed at England, the second Ashes Test ended not with a whimper but a bang. Steve Smith sent a flash of pink soaring over the rope to seal an emphatic eight-wicket victory for his side, moments after swapping words with Jofra Archer.“You bowl fast when there’s nothing gone on, champion,” was Smith’s dig, before sealing the 2-0 series lead that only one side in Test history has ever overcome. Australia’s second-innings target was a modest 65 runs and, while he was sending down serious heat, Archer’s match figures were hobbled by poor catching. It was hard to disagree with the broader sentiment side-mouthed by Smith: day four was too little, too late from Ben Stokes and his team
‘What’s my life like away from rugby? Chaos’: Red Rose superstar Ellie Kildunne on confidence, cowboy dances and why it’s cool to be different
Kildunne is known for her startling speed and audacious tries, but there’s more to the talented full-back than rugby, from a passion for photography to a sideline in DIY tattooingEllie Kildunne says it’s not quite sunk in yet. A couple of months on from winning the Rugby Union World Cup with her England teammates, she’s still on a high. I ask if she slept with her winner’s medal by her bed the night they won. “That night?” She gives me a look. “It’s still by my bed
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