Live Cricket Score | Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test Day 1: ENG 98/2 vs AUS at Tea in Brisbane
Australia vs England Ashes 2nd Test Match Live Cricket Score Updates: Zak Crawley 61(80) and Joe Root 32(60) take England to 98/2 at Tea break. Earlier, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first against Steven Smith’s Australia in the second of the five match Test series at Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday. The hosts have already won the first Test and took a 1-0 lead.
Adapting to the day/night conditions at Gabba will not be child’s play and with Australia almost invincible in pink ball Tests, the mountain is a pretty steep one which England have to climb. The Aussies have won all the pink ball matches except one which was a shock defeat to West Indies last year. Except that, Australia have played 14 D/N Tests and have won 13 of them. England, meanwhile, haven’t won an Ashes test at the Gabba since 1986 and haven’t won a test on Australian soil since the 2010-11 series.
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What might work in England’s favour is that Australia will likely be without their regular skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Both of them were absent from the first game too and England should have taken advantage of that but they didn’t. They are, however, unlikely to make the same mistake again.
Teams:
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer
Australia (Playing XI): Jake Weatherald, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith(c), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey(w), Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett
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Mitchell Starc’s skills and Australia’s high winning percentage makes pink-ball Ashes Test a one-sided affair
Australia’s Mitchell Starc bowls a delivery on day two of the first Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Perth, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo)
The pink Kookaburra ball that gains a magenta lustre under the crimson Australian skies is a sight of dread for England. Thrice have they lost Ashes Tests to its malevolent shimmer, by bewildering margins of 120, 275 runs and 146 runs. The fourth exchange, that unfolds in Brisbane, in the cricket’s most fabled rivalry, is cast in the backdrop of a bruising defeat at Perth and the intimidating mastery of their adversaries with the pink ball.
