Australia crushes England in the second Ashes Test to go 2-0 up in the series
Australia has a firm grip on the most famous trophy in cricket after crushing England in the second Test at the Gabba — which finished with fireworks between Jofra Archer and Steve Smith.
Steve Smith engaged in trash talk with Jofra Archer but Australia’s actions spoke louder than any words as the hosts stormed to a 2-0 Ashes lead.
England will need to defy almost nine decades of history to regain the urn after the Aussies claimed an eight-wicket win inside four days at the Gabba.
A pumped-up Smith sealed the victory by smacking Gus Atkinson over deep midwicket for six, Australia passing the target of 65 in just 10 overs on Sunday night.
An over earlier the stand-in skipper had egged Archer on, chirping him that “you bowl faster when there’s nothing going on, champion,” during a mid-pitch tete-a-tete picked up by stump mic. Either side of their words, Smith smacked Archer for two fours and a six.
In the corresponding Test of Archer’s most recent Ashes series in 2019, Smith had been felled by the English paceman but the champion batter has never been dismissed by Archer, a fact he wears as a badge of honour.
“It stays on the field. It was Good banter. He’s a competitor. He comes hard at you. It was good fun,” Smith told Kayo Sports of the exchange.
Smith later again refused to elaborate on what had happened when asked at his post-match press conference.
“He was just bowling good pace. Not really too sure what he said, not really sure what I said either. And it’s not really any of your business either,” Smith said, laughing.
“So we’ll leave it out there.”
England must come from 2-0 down to win the best-of-five series, a feat only achieved once in Test history, in 1936-37, when a Don Bradman-inspired Australia overcame that deficit.
A moment of brilliance from Smith had earlier restored order while Michael Neser vindicated the faith of Australian selectors as he ground his way to career-best Test haul of 5-42, aided by a sensational Aussie fielding effort headlined by Smith and Alex Carey.
Ben Stokes offered a valiant attempt at an umpteenth rescue mission as he and Will Jacks held the Aussies at bay for almost half of day four before Smith’s mindbending reflex catch at slip ended Jacks’ stay on 41 after Neser drew an edge from the England all-rounder.
Stokes had displayed admirable patience in a most unBazballesque half-century before he too fell to the Queenslander, as Carey continued an outstanding match with both gloves and bat to snaflle a catch up to the stumps, halting Stokes’ innings after 152 deliveries.
From there the tail was quickly enough wrapped up, with Brendan Doggett claiming his first wicket of the innings as Gus Atkinson pulled the paceman to Smith at midwicket, before Neser removed Brydon Carse for seven, leaving England all out for 241.
Having been widely ridiculed for throwing wickets away across the series to date, England finally found a pair of players willing to apply themselves with the bat in the form of Jacks and Stokes, who hauled the tourists from their overnight position of 6-134 - still 43 runs in arrears - to a 47-run advantage well into the middle session.
Though there had been the occasional half-chance, Jacks and Stokes played sensibly and with restraint, showing that despite some cracking there remained few demons in a Gabba wicket that had proved benign almost from the outset.
Australia had always remained strong favourites, but the union of Jacks and Stokes had at least given further oxygen to the debate about whether the Aussies had erred in not picking Nathan Lyon.
Former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting added fuel to the fire on Sunday afternoon, commentating on the Test for Channel 7.
“They obviously won’t be thinking about it out there, but we can think about it here,” Ponting said.
“This would have been an ideal time for Nathan Lyon to come into the attack. We saw some turn and bounce yesterday from Jacks, he’s got a very good record against Stokes as well, has Lyon. And you’ve got a few tailenders after this that I’m sure would look to go after the spinner.”
However Neser, who had said after play on day three that he had thought his time as a Test player had likely passed him by, was not to be denied.
The 35-year-old had taken the spot of Lyon in what Aussie selection chair George Bailey had conceded was a line-ball decision, and playing his first Test since late 2022, Neser repaid the faith placed in him by the panel.
“I love the Gabba, the fans here, this is my home but the Ashes is such an event for Australia,” Neser said on Kayo Sports’ Ashes coverage after completing his maiden Test five-for.
“This is a moment I’ll never forget. My family is here. A special moment.
“I know this pitch can go flat for a while so all I was thinking was hitting the top of off - keep it real simple. I was fortunate enough to find a couple of edges.
“What Steve did there at the end was special.”
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Originally published as Australia crushes England in the second Ashes Test to go 2-0 up in the series
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