Before the start of the Ashes 2025/26, there were lots of speculations on how Steve Smith would face the premier England pacer, Jofra Archer, in the five-match series. The Australian captain revealed that even though he got hit by the short ball of the Barbados pacer during the 2019 Ashes, the latter wasn’t able to dismiss the New South Wales batter.

The fire burnt on the ninth over of the fourth innings between the batter and the bowler. The first ball was on a short length delivery as Steve Smith went on the back foot and pulled it meatily through the mid-wicket region as it raced away for a fine boundary. Two balls later, Smith was rushed for pace as the top edge went over the keeper for a four.

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The fourth ball from the batter was whipped over the fine-leg fence over the fielder’s head for a massive six. He was quick on the pace and perhaps premeditated the length of the delivery. “You bowl first only when it’s over, champion,” said Smith to Archer as he strides to the batter on his follow-through.

Watch: Steve Smith’s heated altercation in batting against Jofra Archer 

In the first innings, England posted 334 runs on the board, thanks to the fine unbeaten century of Joe Root, while Zak Crawley clubbed 76 runs. Mitchell Starc notched up figures of 6/75 in 20 overs. In reply, the hosts took a massive lead of 170+ runs with the help of five half-centuries from their line-up.

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“It stays on the field (smiles). Nah, good banter. He's a good competitor; he comes harder, so it was good fun. Yeah, it was good (Test match). I thought the boys played exceptionally well. Our first innings batting, the tail I thought was unbelievable, they were able to extend. I think the bottom four batted for 53 overs or something like that, so it allowed us to get into the dark last night.” Smith said in the post-match presentation.

Most of England's batters got starts in the third innings, but apart from Stokes’ 50, no one was able to take it to that spot as they set a small target of 65 runs, as the home side completed the chase by eight wickets to take a 2-0 lead.

The second Test of the Ashes 2025-26 ended with another big defeat for England. The match was played at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 4. Australia once again dominated and beat England by eight wickets.

England began their innings with Zak Crawley scoring a solid 76. Joe Root produced a standout performance, hitting his maiden Test century in Australia and making 138 off 206 balls. Jofra Archer added a useful 38 runs, helping England reach a total of 334.

Australia gave a strong reply. Travis Head scored 33, and Jake Weatherald made 72 as openers. Marnus Labuschagne added 65 runs, while Steve Smith scored 61. Alex Carey made 63, and Mitchell Starc played a key knock of 77 runs. Australia reached 511 runs in their first innings and took a big lead against England.

Also Read -Watch: Kuldeep Yadav gets this award from India’s dressing room after 2-1 ODI series win vs South Africa

A seriously spicy end to the second Test! #Ashes

Break it down here: https://t.co/2htO3lNuXL pic.twitter.com/Tq62fMqr3h

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 7, 2025

Australia Maintains Dominance to Win Second Ashes Test

In the second innings, England tried to put up a better fight, but another middle-order collapse hurt them again. Zak Crawley continued his good form and scored 44 from 59 balls. Ben Stokes added a steady 50. England reached 241, which set Australia a target of 65 runs.

While chasing, Australia lost Travis Head early for 2 runs. However, Jake Weatherald (17*) and Steve Smith (23*) stayed calm and took the team home. Australia finished at 69/2 in 10 overs, winning the match by eight wickets and taking a 2–0 lead in the five-match Ashes series.

Brief Scores:

England: 334 and 241 in 75.2 overs (Stokes 50, Crawley 44; Neser 5/42, Boland 2/47, Starc 2/64)

Australia: 511 and 69/2 in 10 overs (Smith 23*, Weatherald 17*; Atkinson 2/47)

Result: Australia won by 8 wickets

Player of the Match: Mitchell Starc

Series: Australia lead 2–0 in the 5-match series

At the start of the second day of the second day-night Test of the Ashes 2025/26 at the Gabba in Brisbane, Marnus Labuschagne provided a fine one-handed catch to end the England innings with the dismissal of Jofra Archer. The batter pulled the short ball against Brendan Doggett as Labuschagne dived at the deep square leg region to grab the spectacular catch. 

Later, in the evening, Will Jacks battered that catch with another spectacular grab to send back the Australia captain and their number four batter, Steve Smith. The right-handed batter was in top form in that contest and celebrated his half-century as Cameron Green was bowled at the start of the 56th over for 45 runs.

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Three balls later, Brydon Carse put another short ball at Smith, who got cramped for room and looked to pull the ball behind the stumps. But Smith grabbed a spectacular one-handed catch at the backward square leg. He was in the air while attempting the catch and swung the game like a pendulum of a clock.

Watch: Steve Smith dismissed to Will Jacks’ one-handed catch during second Ashes 2025/26 Test

Earlier in the game, England posted a massive total of 334 runs on the board, which is the second-highest team score against Australia in the day-night pink-ball Test. Their opening batter, Zak Crawley, notched up 76 runs in 93 balls at a strike rate of 81.72 with the help of 11 boundaries, while Joe Root remained unbeaten on 138 runs with 15 fours and one six.

It takes a humongous effort to dismiss a set Steve Smith! 🤔🧐

Will Jacks: Hold my hat! 😎#AUSvENG | THE ASHES | 2nd Test, Day 2 | LIVE NOW 👉🏻 https://t.co/J8u4bmcZud pic.twitter.com/8G8SunLBev

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 5, 2025

Jofra Archer smashed a fine knock of 38 runs at a strike rate of 105, shouldering on two boundaries and two sixes. Mitchell Starc picked up six wickets for 75 runs in 20 overs. Australia’s top five was excellent with the bat as all of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Jake Weatherald celebrated their respective fifties.

Cameron Green smashed 45 runs while Alex Carey remained unbeaten on 46 runs. Australia made their way to 378/6 by the end of the second day as they had already collected a decent lead of 44 runs with the bat.

Ahead of the second Test of the Ashes 2025/26 for the day-night fixture against England at the Gabba in Brisbane, the focus has shifted on Steve Smith, who used the anti-glare strips like the former West Indies batter, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, to sight the pink ball under the floodlights.

Ahead of the Gabba Test, Marnus Labuschagne has given a hilarious reaction to those anti-glares as he tried to find the scientific reason for those. He felt that those glares perhaps had worked for the players to sight the ball well under the lights.

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“I think the looks- there must be some sort of science or theory around it. I haven’t read into it, but I guess it’s something to do with glare. Especially on the wicket and the glare from the wicket. And maybe it helped in picking the ball better. Either way, I look at it. If there is science behind it or if it’s a placebo and it doesn’t work, but it feels like it works.” Labuschagne told in that interaction.

Watch: Marnus Labuschagne’s suggestion on Steve Smith’s anti-glare strips before D/N Gabba Test in Ashes 2025/26

Labuschagne jokingly informed that he won’t be opening the batting along with Steve Smith. He also echoed the same sense as Pat Cummins, where he felt that the batting orders are quite irrelevant these days in the game.

"Go out there and smack ‘em around everywhere." 😂🏏

It's all about whatever works, as Marnus Labuschagne says Steve Smith's new eye black look is about glare for the day-night Ashes Test at the Gabba. ⚫⚫

📻📱Catch every ball this summer on ABC listen: https://t.co/WbUr1sULLV pic.twitter.com/tOQAxXtyBI

— ABC SPORT (@abcsport) December 1, 2025

“Both ways, it works. So, I would love nothing more than to see him stroll out to the wicket with the chevrons on and go out there and smack them around everywhere. I think we can be pretty much sure that Steve or I won’t open. I think, after all the talk, the batting order is just where you bat in the order.” Labuschagne addressed this in the video.

“It probably pushes back the time you come to the crease. And that’s why there is a batting order, because certain times suit certain players and the way they play. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you bat. We have got to find a way to score runs, and whatever happens, what’s best for the game.” Marnus concluded.

Travis Head was excellent with the bat, coming into the opening position during the fourth innings of the opening Ashes 2025/26 Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth as Australia were aiming to cross the winning line by getting 205 runs. He got the chance to open after the left-handed regular opener, Usman Khawaja, got back spasms. 

Travis Head smashed a fine knock of 123 runs in 83 balls at a strike rate of 148.19 with the help of 16 boundaries and four sixes. He had a massive partnership of 117 runs for the second wicket in 92 balls with Marnus Labuschagne, who remained unbeaten on 51 runs in 49 balls at a strike rate of 104.08 with the help of six boundaries and one six as they completed the chase in 28.2 overs.

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“This wicket- it kind of gets better, I think, at the end of day two. It was probably at its best for the game this late this evening. We saw that probably last year.”- Steve Smith, Australia’s stand-in captain, reckoned in the press conference to which Head went ‘Oh come on, mate!!’

Watch: Travis Head’s cheeky reply to Steve Smith post 1st Ashes 2025/26 Test win

England were bundled out for 172 runs in the first innings, thanks to the half-century knock from Harry Brook, while Ollie Pope smashed a fine 46-run knock. Australia ended with a low 132 score in the first innings as the visitors’ bowlers went hard at the home side, with Ben Stokes picking 5/23 in six overs.

 

 

 

 

 

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England notched up 164 runs in their second innings. At one point, they were 65/1 and ended up losing their nine wickets for 99 runs, with Scott Boland ending with figures of 4/33 in 11.4 overs while Mitchell Starc and Brendan Doggett shared six wickets between them.

“I was happy to do it. It doesn’t bother me too much. We’d spoken about it - we know what England’s short-ball plans look like, we saw plenty of it in 2023. The coaching staff and Patty (Cummins) had a few ideas, and this was one of them.” Head was told in the post-match presentation.

At the end of the day, it was the England cricket supporters who were louder than the Australian cricket supporters at the Optus Stadium in Perth. After the Stumps on Day 1 of the first Test of The Ashes 2025-26, England is leading by 49 runs, after scoring only 172 in the first innings. Australia, the home team, lost 9 batters for 123 runs. Nathan Lyon and Brendan Doggett will start Day 2 as the last wicket batters for the Aussies. Ben Stokes, team England captain, took 5 wickets in the process.

During the match, when the visiting side was positioning themselves ahead of their opposition side, Barmy Army, a group of England team supporters, got their moment to sledge the home team captain, Steve Smith. In the absence of Pat Cummins, who is out from action due to injury, Smith is the stand-in captain of Australia.

As Australia was going into huge trouble, members of the Barmy Army started to recite their infamous chant, "We saw you cry on the telly. Cry on the telly." Whenever Smith and the Australian team felt in a problematic situation against England, the Barmy Army started to chant those words to put more pressure on the opposition team, which is Australia. 

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Barmy Army sledge Steve Smith

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It was an out-and-out entertaining day of cricket. Mitchell Starc started to clinch wickets from the beginning of the match and concluded his bowling figure as 12.5-4-58-7; England bundled for 172 in 32.5 overs. Target was easy on paper, but the pacers of England left the Australian batting line-up suffocating for some fresh air.

Jofra Archer started the carnage by taking wickets of the openers, then it was Ben Stokes who claimed 5 wickets to clinch half of the opposition batting order. Brydon Carse also struck twice. Australia lost 9 wickets for 123, with Steve Smith gone for 17 off 49. 

On the eve of the opening Ashes 2025/26 Test match at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the stand-in Australia captain, Steve Smith, took a dig at the former England spinner, Monty Panesar, for his comments suggesting Ben Stokes remind Smith of the sandpaper gate during the series. 

Steve Smith went off topic in the press conference and revealed that anyone, referring to Panesar, who would think that Athens was in Germany or America, doesn’t hold a place in their thought process. Panesar has now gone hard at the New South Wales batter.

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“To think that he wanted to talk about me before one of the biggest days of his career -- when he will lead Australia out against England as he stands in for absent captain Pat Cummins -- is flattering, and nothing short of hilarious. I cannot believe he has dug out the old YouTube clip of my shocker and memorized it word by word,” Panesar wrote in his column on The Telegraph.

Monty Panesar sledges back Steve Smith over mastermind quiz show dig during Asia Cup 2025/26

In the ground, Smith failed for 17 runs in 49 balls as 19 wickets fell on the opening day of the Test match in Perth. The visitors were bundled out for 172 runs in the first innings, while the hosts found themselves 123/9 by the end of the opening day’s play.

 

 

 

 

 

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“I must admit I am delighted to have got so far inside his head, but if I can achieve that, imagine how much damage Ben Stokes and his side are going to be able to do once play starts in Perth? We've both made mistakes, but at least mine was on a celebrity quiz show. He was on a cricket field, and we both had to live by them.” Panesar added.

“I would actually ask Steve whether he can look himself in the mirror yet and admit that he was part of “Sandpaper gate”, the worst example of Australian cheating in history. Steve has just displayed a massive weakness and mental vulnerability that, at this level of elite sport, you cannot afford to do.” The left-arm spinner of the England side shed light.

The 2025/26 edition of the Ashes begins on November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, as the stadium, making its debut in 2018, will host its first-ever Ashes Test, having missed out on the chance in the last edition. There is an enticing excitement around the series, especially due to the project of Bazball, designed for the trip among the visitors, led by captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.

Ahead of another chapter in the history book of the two teams, let’s take a look at the best batting performances in Ashes history, which is consisted of Don Bradman, Steve Smith, and others. It might not be the highest individual score of the rivalry, but it has been one of the best knocks regarding the situation and atmosphere of the game. 

Batting has never been an easy job in any of these two countries. In England, it's always a challenge in swinging conditions. Even if the batters get set, when the clouds roll over, the temparture goes down to live up the grass and create pressure on the batters. Meanwhile, in Australia, it's about the batters getting getting ready to the pace and bounce of the quick surfaces while the spinners come into play late on the fourth and fifth day. 

Let’s take a look at the top five batting performances in history of Ashes-

1. Don Bradman (Australia)

The former Australia captain, Don Bradman, was the most successful batter of the Ashes rivalry as the right-handed batter collected 5028 runs in 63 innings at an average of nearly 90 and a strike rate of 58.07 with the help of 19 centuries and 12 half-centuries at the best score of 334.

His highest score of 334 is the second-best individual score in Ashes history. That knock came in 1930 at Leeds in Headingley. The tourists batted first to post 566 runs in the first innings as Bill Woodfull’s 50 was the second-best knock of the scorecard after Bradman’s 334.

England were bundled out for 391 in the second innings and were forced to follow on, to which they gathered 95/3 as the game ended in a draw.

2. Steve Smith (Australia)

Smith sits as the third leading run-getter in the history of the Ashes with 3417 runs in 66 innings at an average of 56, scoring 12 centuries and 13 fifties at the best score of 239. He is just around 200 runs away from overtaking Jack Hobbs to claim the second spot on the list.

The Australian captain marked his return to the game after a one-year suspension in 2019 at Edgbaston. In the first innings, the visitors were cruising at 122/8 with Smith playing the lone hand. But he smashed a fine knock of 144 runs with 16 fours and two sixes before repeating the heroics in the second innings with 142, thanks to 14 boundaries.

3. Alastair Cook (England) 

Alastair Cook has a decent record in the history of the Ashes. The former England opening batter and the captain of the side, smashed 2493 runs in the red-ball format against Australia at an average of over 40 with the help of five centuries and 11 half-centuries at the best score of 244.

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His best knock of 244 came during England’s trip down under in 2017. At the iconic MCG, the southpaw carried his bat for the hostile 409-ball innings, which was decorated with 27 boundaries as he spent over 144 overs in the middle. Time was not enough for the result as England completed a draw.

4. Ben Stokes (England)

2019 was a golden period for the England side as they won the ODI World Cup for the very first time. A couple of weeks later, the focus shifted to the Ashes at home. They lost the opening clash at Edgbaston and drew the second one at Lord’s as the eyes turned to the third game at Leeds in Headingley.

Following the target of 359, the hosts were nine down for 286 runs as the defeat looked inevitable for England. Stokes, who was on 61, refused to give up and charged against the Australian bowlers right, left, and center. Thanks to several big shots against a clinical opponent bowling line-up, he remained unbeaten on 135 and leveled the series at 1-1.

5. Adam Gilchirst (Australia) 

During the second Test of the Ashes 2006/07, England were struggling against the hosts after the first two games. The third fixture was a do-or-die encounter for the visitors. Taking a lead of around 29 runs in the completion of the respective first innings of both sides, Australia came heavily against the poms.

The wicket-keeper batter, Adam Gilchrist, nailed a fiery unbeaten century of 57 deliveries, which is still the fastest ton in the history of the Ashes. His unbeaten 102-run knock was hard to breach as the England side lost the clash by a huge margin of 206 runs.

Steve Smith, stand-in captain of Australia, announced their playing XI for the opening match of The Ashes 2025-26 series, which is scheduled to take place on November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Burswood, Australia. As per the predictions made by the former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting, Cricket Australia named two debutants for the highly anticipated Test series. 

Opener Jake Weatherald and pacer Brendan Doggett are the two debutants who will play the Perth Test. The Australia team management has tried to balance the top order by coupling Jake with experienced international Usman Khawaja. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith will operate as the number 3 and number 4 batters, respectively. While Mitchell Starc will be in the front to lead the pace bowling attack along with Scott Boland and Doggett as their two prime pacers, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, are ruled out of the match because of injury concerns. Nathan Lyon will be out there in the middle to help the team with quality spin bowling.  

"Brendan's been on a few tours with Australia. He is very skillful. I think he's improved a hell of a lot the last few years, and I'm excited to see him go about his business," Smith said about the debutant pacer Brendan Doggett.

Read More: Top 5 leading run scorers in history of The Ashes

Steve Smith confirms Asutralia's playing eleven for the first match of The Ashes 2025-26

The inclusion of Labuschagne is an exciting call by the team management. The top-order batter was dropped from the team during the World Test Championship Final against South Africa in June, followed by the three-match tour of the Caribbean against the West Indies. 

"Marnus, when he's batting at his best at No. 3, he makes us a very good cricket side. We couldn't really leave him out after he came back and did exactly what was told of him," Smith said during the playing XI announcement. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Australia XI: Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland. 

Australia captain Steve Smith has taken a hilarious yet brutal reply towards the former England spinner, Monty Panesar, ahead of the Ashes 2025/26 curtain raiser at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Panesar made the headlines in the buildup to the series by reckoning that England should ban Smith over the sandpaper scandal. 

Smith, after announcing the Australia playing eleven, didn’t miss the chance to return the favor. Shortly after announcing the squad, he clearly came prepared by referring to Panesar’s embarrassing 2019 appearance on the UK quiz show Mastermind.

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“I’m gonna go off topic for a second here. Who in the room has seen Mastermind and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you? Yeah. Well, those of you who have, you’ll understand where I’m coming from, and those of you who haven’t, do yourself a favour because it’s pretty comical.” Smith expressed to the reports as the video goes viral.

Watch: Steve Smith hits back at Monty Panesar over Sandpaper comments

Smith, who confirmed that the home side would go with two debutants- Jake Weatherald and Brendon Doggett in the playing eleven for the opening Perth Test, looked back at the interaction of Panesar, who called America a city during the previous quiz show- Mastermind.

Monty Panesar said England should reignite Sandpaper-gate during the Ashes...

Steve Smith came prepared. 😂 pic.twitter.com/Kspp5nuBXv

— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) November 20, 2025

“Anyone who believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start, Oliver Twist is a season of the year, and America is a city, doesn’t really bother me those comments. Yeah, that’s as far as I’ll go with that one.” Smith said as Australia, who have won their last 13 of the 15 home Tests against the Ben Stokes-led side, aim to continue their legacy at home in the longest format.

“Ben Stokes and the England team have got to make Steve Smith feel guilty and play on that. Say something like, ‘I don’t think it’s ethical that he’s the captain, I don’t think he played the game fairly. ’ Really get into him and make him feel guilty about it. Make him feel like, ‘they’re probably right, I shouldn’t be here, I shouldn’t be doing this.” Panesar commented on the buildup of the Ashes 2025/26.