Watch: "Shut the..."- Ben Stokes and Marnus Labuschagne's verbal spat in 5th Ashes 2025/26 Test goes viral

Tensions and tempers flared late on the second day of the ongoing fifth test of the Ashes 2025-26 at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) where England captain, Ben Stokes, appeared to be telling Australia’s number three batter, Marcus Labuschagne, to ‘shut the f*** up’ as the visitors struggled for wickets in the fading light before the umpires called for early stumps as a drizzle started to make an appearance slowly into the contest.

It felt like the England captain was unhappy with Marnus Labuschagne wanting to get off the field in the cloudy conditions as the floodlights were turned on in Sydney. There was a suggestion from Labuschagne that prevented Stokes from running from a certain position where he wanted to during the final session.

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Stokes gave the South Africa-born a spray, appearing to say ‘shut the f***’, before wrapping his arm around Australia’s number three batter as the umpire, Ahsan Raza, walked towards them to make the situation light between the two veterans, which could catch the attention of the match referee later in the game.

Ben Stokes and Marnus Labuschagne’s verbal engagement goes viral

In the first innings of the game, England posted 384 in their first innings with Joe Root celebrating his second century of the trip. The second leading run getter of the format ended up with 160 at a strike rate of over 66 with the help of 15 boundaries, while he got full support from his Yorkshire teammate, Harry Brook, who nailed 86 at a strike rate of 86 with the help of six boundaries and one six.

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Australia made their way to 216 for the loss of two wickets in just 34 overs as Travis remains undefeated on 91 runs in 87 balls with the help of 15 boundaries as the home team trails by 218 heading into the 3rd display of the fifth encounter.

Brief Scores after Day 2: Australia 166/2 (Travis Head 91*, Marnus Labuschagne 48, Ben Stokes 2/30) trail England 384 (Joe Root 160, Harry Brook 84, Michael Neser 4/60) by 218 runs.