The hosts grilled England in Brisbane to go 2-0 up in the series.
‘Bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion!’
Well, if one was only listening to the commentary, it would have been enough to guess that there’s an Ashes rivalry on the screen. There was, and how! Some words were exchanged between Jofra Archer and Steve Smith in the closing moments of the game, which fired the Gabba up. However, the words of Archer could not take precedence over his bowling.
England have a lot to work on after the first two Tests of the Ashes 2025 series. With the skill that the dressing room possesses, not a lot seems to go their way. Joe Root’s century in the first innings of the second Test was the only silver lining for the Three Lions. Their bowlers could not make any inroads when it mattered the most, and were thrown to the cleaners by the Australians on most occasions.
That being said, Steve Smith had a fun response up his sleeve in the post-match press conference. The Australian skipper was asked about his altercation with Jofra Archer in the middle, when the Australians needed 19 runs to seal the game and go 2-0 up in the five-match series. The 36-year-old quickly pounced at the journalist stating that it was none of anyone’s concern.
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It would not take a lot to determine that Australia were clinically much better than the visitors throughout the two Tests which have been played. England skipper Ben Stokes also mentioned how Australia were a lot better in winning the crunch moments that existed in the game. Stokes spoke about the mindset for the visitors and also stressed that they need to show more mental grit.
For the Australians, the tactics started with their selection of the playing XI. The hosts included Michael Neser in the XI in place of Nathan Lyon, which raised a lot of eyebrows around the world. However, the right-arm fast bowler ended up with a five-wicket haul in the second innings, when it mattered the most. Smith spoke about the change after the game, stating that it was a tactical one.
Alex Carey’s display of wicketkeeping was regarded as one of the best in a long time, and it certainly was fantastic. The Australian wicketkeeper-batter displayed stunning tactics behind the wicket, and also was close-in for a brief period, especially against Scott Boland and Michael Neser. That being said, the captain himself, Steve Smith was immaculate with his bowling changes and in the slip cordon as well.
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