Brisbane [Australia], December 5 : Australia seized firm control of the second Ashes Test on Day 2 at the Gabba. Half-centuries from opener Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne and captain Steve Smith guided Australia to 378/6 at the end of Day 2, gaining a 44-run lead over the visitors.
Alex Carey (46*) and Michael Neser (15*) were at the cerase for the Aussies whent he Stumps were called on Day 2.
The morning session saw England add only nine runs to their overnight total before their resistance finally ended. Joe Root, who had anchored the innings with a brilliant hundred, was left stranded on 138* as Jofra Archer was dismissed by a spectacular diving catch from Labuschagne off the bowling of Brendan Doggett. Mitchell Starc finished with phenomenal figures of 6/75, as England finished with a total of 334.
Australia's reply was anything but cautious. Openers Jake Weatherald and Travis Head immediately signalled their intent, launching a quick counter-attack that rattled the English bowlers. Weatherald, in particular, was the aggressor, bringing up his maiden Test fifty quickly. His aggressive approach set the tone for the entire innings, with the scoring rate consistently hovering near five runs per over. The opening partnership of 77 provided the hosts with a perfect platform before Head (33) fell to Brydon Carse. Weatherald's dazzling innings was eventually ended on 72 off just 78 balls by a Jofra Archer yorker, but the damage had already been done.
The middle order continued to press the advantage. Captain Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne looked comfortable against the English attack, rotating the strike withy ease and punishing anything loose. Both batters converted their starts into significant half-centuries, ensuring that the hosts did not just consolidate but rapidly chased down the first-innings total. Labuschagne was the more adventurous of the two, hitting nine fours and a six in his impactful 65 before being caught behind off Ben Stokes.
In the final session, England finally slowed Australia's scoring under the lights, thanks to Brydon Carse. He took two big wickets in one over, bowling Cameron Green for 45 and then removing Steve Smith for 61. But Alex Carey (46*) and Michael Neser (15*) steadied things, guiding Australia to 378/6 and a 44-run lead by stumps. Australia will aim to build on their advantage on Day 3, while England will hope for quick wickets to stay in the match.
After the day's play, Labuschagne said the final hour was crucial for Australia to finish the day only six wickets down, giving them time to build their innings in the Day 3 morning and push England's bowling later into the night. He felt the top-order set the tone with positive intent, and the rest of the batters followed their momentum.
"That was a crucial last hour there for us to get to the end of play, six down, give us a bit of time in the morning in that day session and then obviously pushes our bowling innings later into the night. So, that was crucial there and obviously the boys played well and probably let them in a little bit there through that middle session but yeah, it's a nice day. (scoring rate talked about?) Nah, it wasn't talked about. I think, with Heady and Weathers at the top, they sort of just grabbed the momentum and, I feel like the rest of us sort of just piggybacked off the back of that and sort of kept going and I think everyone that came in sort of had that good intent and, we were able to keep scoring, through that whole day," he said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
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