England 2-0 Down in Ashes After Gabba Hammering: A Tour Slipping Away
England 2-0 Down in Ashes After Gabba Hammering Leaves Hopes in Ruins
If the Ashes were billed as England’s moment to reclaim an old prize, the reality after fewer than six days of cricket is brutally different. A two-day defeat in Perth was painful; an eight-wicket thrashing at the Gabba feels terminal. Australia now lead the series 2-0 and Ben Stokes’ side must win three straight Tests to regain the urn — something no England team has ever managed from this position.
On a humid Brisbane afternoon, the scoreline tells its own tale: England 334 and 241, Australia 511 and 69-2. A gulf, not a gap. This was a match that England tried to save late, rather than compete in early. That they showed spirit on day four was admirable but also frustrating. Where was that stubbornness before? Where was the sense of responsibility when the series was still alive?
Stokes, whose entire Ashes captaincy feels forged in pressure, played a grim, determined knock of 50 from 152 balls — his slowest Test half-century since that famous Headingley miracle in 2019. Alongside him, Will Jacks made 41 in 92 balls as the pair added 96 runs for the seventh wicket. It was England’s longest partnership of the tour by a distance, a stretch of near-forgotten discipline. But it came far too late to change anything.
Once Jacks fell to an outrageous one-handed catch from Steve Smith in the slips — Smith’s revenge after being earlier dismissed by Jacks’ own blinder — the final collapse was swift. England’s last four wickets cost 17 runs. Neser finished with 5-42, his first Test five-for. Brendan Doggett bounced out Atkinson. Brydon Carse edged one to slip. The resistance dissolved as suddenly as it arrived.
Australia needed 65 to win. They eased home in 10 overs.
More Misery at the Gabba, More Misery in Australia
The wider story is even darker. England have now gone 17 matches in Australia without a win — 15 losses in that stretch. Across all away Tests, they’ve lost 10 of their last 14. The numbers paint a bleak picture: a side that talks brave, attacking cricket but often fails to produce the basics when it matters.
Brisbane is a painful venue for English cricket. Not since 1986 have England won at the Gabba. The pink-ball angle offered hope, too — an unfamiliar format for both teams not long ago — but here it felt like another trapdoor. England are now six losses in eight day-night Tests. Australia, meanwhile, have won 14 of their 15 under the lights. They understand the rhythms. They understand the pressure moments. England don’t.
It doesn’t help that this was supposed to be England’s golden chance. Australia began the series without Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon. England had momentum from the 2023 Ashes draw and the belief that this newer, freer approach under Stokes and Brendon McCullum might finally bend Australia’s dominance.
Instead, it feels like the worst start to an Ashes tour in modern times. And now the questions turn awkward: England will follow this defeat with a holiday on the Sunshine Coast. When you are 2-0 down and staring at humiliation, watching photos of beach days does not soften public judgement. Attitude, preparation and hunger — all will be debated.
Australia, by contrast, get stronger. Cummins is due back in Adelaide. Lyon is primed to return. Their only job now is to draw one of the remaining three Tests to retain the urn before the Boxing Day crowds roar into Melbourne.
England must win all three — a task that begs belief.
England Fight Too Late to Save the Ashes
To their credit, England finally batted like a Test side on day four. From 134-6 overnight, still 43 behind and heading towards defeat inside four days, the seventh-wicket partnership was everything missing from the tour so far: discipline, leaving balls outside off-stump, ignoring bouncers unless they were worth hitting, picking the right moments to attack. It was slow. It was stubborn. It was smart.
Stokes and Jacks left well. They didn’t fall into the short-ball traps that embarrassed England in Perth. They earned their runs. They dragged the match beyond the lunch interval and deep into the floodlit session. At one stage the partnership had the second-slowest run rate of any England stand above 50 runs since Stokes became captain. But the situation demanded it.
Jacks, in particular, may have secured his place moving forward. He showed maturity and concentration that England desperately need higher up the order. His dismissal — Smith at full stretch, one hand, a world-class slip catch — needed something special. Stokes’ exit came an over later. Neser found the edge and Alex Carey, standing up to the stumps, reacted brilliantly. Stokes walked away furious with himself.
After that, normal service resumed. Atkinson hooked a trap ball straight to mid-wicket. Carse edged for Neser’s fifth. A fight that took hours to build evaporated within minutes.
Perhaps the most galling moment for England was the brief spell they had with the new pink ball under the lights in Australia’s second innings. It was the perfect scenario — the conditions they never earned in the first innings. Atkinson found life in the pitch, bounced out Travis Head, and removed Marnus Labuschagne with a wicked lifter. Suddenly, England looked like a threat.
But with only 65 to defend, there was no room for dreams.
Where Do England Go From Here?
The squad has few options. The talent pool feels thin, despite the narrative of depth. If England want to make changes for Adelaide, they may need to pull from the Lions squad — a Lions team being hammered by Australia A at the same time. Jacob Bethell made a strong 71 there, but Shoaib Bashir went wicketless for 115 runs in 25 overs. There’s no specialist keeper waiting to replace Jamie Smith. Matthew Fisher might offer pace-bowling support, but nothing transforms a dressing room like winning — and England haven’t done that in Australia for years.
Fans might point to history: England came from 2-0 down to draw the 2023 Ashes. Rain in Manchester may have cost them a famous win. But that was at home, with crowds behind them and conditions in their favour. Here, the task is monumental. To even make it 2-2 heading into Sydney feels improbable. The reality is that England are in a struggle to avoid a 5-0 whitewash.
And yet, the anger and despair only exist because the hope was real. This was the Ashes tour everyone wanted — a chance to end the drought, a chance to beat Australia on their own pitches with a philosophy built on fearlessness. Instead, we have seen flashes of spirit buried beneath collapses, chaotic bowling spells, and the old wounds of previous tours returning again.
The road from here is narrow. It demands patience, clarity, and more of the fight Stokes and Jacks showed when the situation was already lost. Adelaide will be a test of character — an Ashes match played not for the urn, but for pride, for reputation, and for the belief that English cricket is not heading backwards.
Australia, smiling and ruthless, have the urn in sight. England, on the Sunshine Coast, have a week to find something they haven’t shown yet: the kind of Test cricket that wins in this country.
There are no comments yet. Be the first to comment!