Captain Ben Stokes showed tremendous resilience and grit in the first session and was ably assisted by Will Jacks. The duo played proper Test match cricket and managed to keep Australia at bay and went through the session unscathed. The deficit has been wiped off and the lead for England now is 16 runs with 4 wickets in hand. Any target of 150+ batting 4th will be extremely tricky for Australia. The hosts still on top but needs to be careful now.
Ben Stokes & Will Jacks keep Australia at bay in the first hour
Ben Stokes and Will Jacks resumed proceedings for England while Scott Boland had ball in hand for Australia. Boland bowled a decent first over. Mitchell Starc had ball from the other end. Stokes got a ball on the pads as he clipped it away with a flick between mid-on and midwicket for a boundary. Boland continued and bowled a decent over. Starc too kept things tight as England showed their resilience.
Boland gave away 4 byes as a bonus to the batting side. Starc bowled another decent over. Michael Neser came into the attack next. The 150 came up for England in 41.1 overs. Neser bowled a probing over. Brendan Doggett came into the attack again. Stokes broke the shackles as he planted his front foot and drove it through extra covers for a boundary. Neser continued and bowled a decent over. Doggett bowled another decent over. Neser bowled another good over.
Doggett continued and bowled a decent over again. Neser bowled a maiden as England reached 162/6 in 48 overs with Stokes on 19* and Jacks on 13* with a deficit of 15 runs as we all paused for the Drinks Break.
Ben Stokes & Will Jacks continue to frustrate Australia as we go through a wicketless first session
Brendan Doggett continued after the Break and he overstepped as well. Jacks got hit on the helmet and a mandatory concussion test was done on him and he continued to bat. Stokes managed to get a triple off Doggett. Scott Boland came back into the attack as Stokes changed his bat. Stokes broke the shackles as he walked across and tickled it away to deep fine leg for a boundary. Doggett continued and bowled another decent over.
Boland continued and bowled a probing over which was a maiden. We had a change in bowling as Cameron Green came into the attack for the first time in this innings. He troubled Ben Stokes by beating him outside off-stump and delivered a maiden. Boland continued as a single for Jacks brought the scores level. Green continued as Jacks got a single to bring up the 50-run stand between the duo and England went in front as well.
Boland continued as Stokes broke the shackles as he got a lucky boundary while trying to defend and got squared up. The ball kissed the upper half of the bat and flew over the leaping gully fielder Cameron Green who jumped but the ball went over him to the deep third man fence. Green continued and bowled a decent over despite giving a wide away as well.
Travis Head came into the attack as well and kept things tight giving away a run. Marnus Labuschagne came into the attack to bowl the final over before Tea. Labuschagne bowled a decent last over as England went to the Tea Break at 193/6 in 59 overs with a lead of 16 runs with 4 second innings wickets in hand. Stokes is unbeaten on 36 off 112 balls with 4 fours to his name while Jacks is with him on 25* off 66 balls with one four to his name. 13 extras given by the fielding side so far.
Australia bowled with great discipline and kept things tight but were unable to get wickets as all bowlers were rotated around with Cameron Green, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne all getting a ball but no rewards in the first session as England fought hard.
What Lies Ahead In 2nd Session
England have done well to hold off Australia and keep them at bay with a wicketless first session with Ben Stokes the captain leading from the front alongside Will Jacks who has also done well. The lead is 16 runs with 4 wickets in hand. The pitch will be up and down and if England can get a lead of 150+ then who knows we may have a game on at the Gabba.
An important second session for both teams is ahead of us with England trying to increase the lead and Australia searching for wickets.
Also Read: Ashes 2025-26: Mitchell Starc’s All-Round Show Puts Australia In Command