England once again crushed to a heavy defeat in the second Pink-Ball Test at the Gabba in Brisbane as Australia went 2-0 up in the 5-match series with 3 games remaining. England seemed to have not quite learnt lessons from the last Test defeat and at key moments lost the plot despite being good in patches. The 1st Test lasted a mere 2 days while this one lasted 4. England were found wanting in key aspects in all departments and we will try and decipher three reasons for their loss in this Test match.
Inability to take wickets at regular intervals hurt England.Â
After posting a decent score of 334 on the board, England needed early wickets and wickets in clusters ideally to put pressure on the Australians. But Australia came out flying with their approach and knocked England out of their game. England bowled poor lines and lengths on Day 2 and Australia scored at a rampaging speed. One of the key aspects for Australia was no one got a hundred but everyone chipped in and allowed them getting a big score.
England could not go bang bang as partnerships were formed even after a wicket fell. The opening stand between Travis Head and Jake Weatherald was 77 followed by a 69-run stand between Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne. Labuschagne and captain Smith put on 50 before Smith and Cameron Green put on 95 runs. Alex Carey and Josh Inglis put on 37 quick runs. Carey and Michael Neser put on 54 runs while Carey and Mitchell Starc put on 33. Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland put on 75 runs while the last wicket pair also put on 20 runs.
There were half-centuries for Weatherald, Smith, Labuschagne, Carey and Starc while Green and Inglis too chipped in. It meant England just could not find back-to-wickets barring one occasion. The lines they bowled were poor to say the least. If they wish to come back in the next Test match, they have to bowl a lot better than they did in the first innings for sure.
Losing 6 wickets in a session under lights on Day 3 put England firmly on the back foot
After conceding 511 and a lead of 177 runs, England ought to bat a lot better and apply themselves. They started batting in their second innings in the second session and raced to 45/0 in 6 overs when they went in for the Dinner Break after which they had to bat under lights with the ball moving around. This is where application and staying there hanging in was the important thing to do, but England were keen to play their natural game.
The ball swings under lights and it is an ideal time to bowl and Australia know how to bowl then and took advantage of England’s shot selection. Duckett was cleaned up before Pope played a loose drive back to the bowler and the same applies for Zak Crawley. Joe Root the centurion in the first innings chased at a wide ball outside off-stump and was dismissed and so was Harry Brook and Jamie Smith to leave the tourists at 128/6. The England team collapsed from 90/1 to 128/6 in no time and lost the plot then,
Will Jacks and Ben Stokes showed the other batters the template to bat the next day when they went through a wicketless session and applied themselves. There was lack of application from England and the sameness of getting out really worries the English fans. It seems they are not learning their lessons. Going forward, England may need to re-think their approach and have different gears according to the situation of the game and not play just one way or high way that should be the moto. Whether they can do it, remains to be seen.
Multiple Dropped Catches Hurt England
We have spoken about batting and bowling, but fielding let England down very badly when they were bowling on the second day afternoon/evening. They dropped multiple catches and that really cost them as Australia made them pay and score 511. Travis Head was dropped on 3 by Jamie Smith and he added 30 more runs to lay the platform before getting out. England dropped a lot of catches under lights on Day 2 and that was the clincher.
Ben Duckett dropped two catches one of which was costly as Alex Carey was put down on 0* first ball and he went onto make a solid 60+. Michael Neser was dropped once by Brydon Carse while Josh Inglis too had gotten a lifeline. Joe Root too dropped a catch at slip a tough one of Carey. England dropped 5 catches while Australia on contrary dropped 1 and that too a tough caught and bowled chance. If England held onto their chances, then Australia may have scored 100-150 less and it could have been a different ball game.
The old cliche goes catches win matches and England were really sloppy to say the least. This is not the first time it has happened with them, even against India at home they dropped crucial catches which benefitted their opposition. Fielding and catching falls under things that you can control. Going forward, England would want to improve their fielding and sharpen their catching by leaps and bounds because you cannot give good sides like Australia lifelines. They have to pull up their socks in the fielding department as well.
What Lies AheadÂ
So, Australia have gone 2-0 ahead in the 5-match Ashes series and would like to seal the series in the next Test match which takes place at the Adelaide Oval in South Australia from 17th December 2025 at 5:00 AM IST onwards. England will be in must-win territory and be desperate for a win to keep the hopes alive. But can they and will they make a comeback.
Australia will have Pat Cummins back for sure as captain. Let’s see how things unfold in about 9 days time at the Adelaide Oval when Chapter 3 of this epic series kicks off.
Also Read: Ashes 2025-26: Michael Neser’s 5-Wicket Haul Helps Australia Go 2-0 Up In Series