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Michael Atherton has described England’s bowling in the opening second Ashes Test in Brisbane as “terrible” as Australia relied on short, wayward delivery to win with a flier in the first innings.
England, who had added nine more runs to their overnight score of 324-9, soon began to pick up some wickets, but in the ‘dinner’ interval Australia were chasing 130-1 in 21 overs – a scoring rate that became all the more remarkable considering there were three maidens at the start of the innings.
“It’s been a bad morning (in England),” Atherton said Sky Sports Cricket’s Daily Ashes podcast. “They just pitched poorly, that’s it.
“Australia were six overs and England’s bowling was short and wide, hitting all parts.
“Bryden Cass had a particularly tough day. But I don’t think either one of them is particularly good; (Jofra) Archer is the best option, and when you give up the combination of Archer and (Gus) Atkinson, things go down a bit.”
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Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton believe England will have more joy and be more effective if they use Jofra Archer towards the end of games.
Nasser: Don’t mind England
sky sports” Nasser Hussain echoed Atherton’s sentiments, telling the podcast: “England have a new ball: that’s a given, when you rock at the Gabba, Australian pitches, you don’t get carried away by the bounce.
“In the first innings in Perth, the same attack that was brilliant – without (Mark) Wood – just ran over and said ‘cut me’. In the first 15 overs of the new-ball spell, I’ve never seen so many overs and ramps. It was unbelievable.
“There’s nothing in between with this England team. They’re either really poor or they show a bit of character and try to fight back at the end of the day.”
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Nasser Hussain analyzes England’s performance on day two of the second Ashes Test, with the team bowling “terribly” in the first two games before fighting back after the dinner break with a series of catches.
England improved slightly in the afternoon, picking up two more wickets before Steve Smith (61) and Cameron Green (45) appeared to take the game away from the visitors with a 95-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Only Brendan Carrs (3-113) saw the fight back from both sides in the same match, while Ben Stokes (2-93) added the wicket of Josh Inglis (23) to threaten England’s counterattack as Australia suddenly stumbled to 329-6.
“When the 57th over was over and Australia were 291-3, you thought England were out,” Atherton added.
“Australia played this game just like England played this game yesterday and other times in the past when they opened the door.
“Karls was beaten all over the ground and suddenly picked up those two wickets and then had a catch and you thought England were back.
“Suddenly England, a bit on their feet, had a real sense of opportunity but then conceded four catches!”
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Joe Root admits England started the second day of the second Ashes Test poorly but says they responded well to push Australia back and need to go into day three with a better mentality
‘England could have knocked Australia out’
Alex Carey (46) was conceded the first ball by Ben Duckett at the gully of the same karse and then again by Joe Root at slip off Gus Atkinson in the 25th.
Duckett was also the offender when Inglis was bowled in the 21st, before Stokes rearranged the stumps in the 7th and Michael Neser (15th) was shelled by Carles at cover in the 6th.
Together with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith hitting Travis Head (33) off Archer (1-74) in the first session, England fell to a total of five overs on the day.
“Australia are leading the game now, although not as much as they should be,” Atherton said, looking ahead to day three at the Gabba.
“England were still in it but those conceded goals hurt them. They could have knocked Australia out easily tonight and the game could have been even.
“You have to say England are not out of the woods yet but they have to get wickets early tomorrow. They can’t afford to lose their lead.
“Then they have to hope that the batting conditions are reasonable and they can have a good day or two with the bat and then hopefully those cracks start to open up and they can exploit those cracks in Australia’s fourth innings.
“That was their path to victory. It looked impossible to get there an hour and 20 minutes before the close.”
Australia Ashes Series 2025-26
All time UK and Ireland
- First test (Perth): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second test (day/night): Thursday 4 December – Monday 8 December (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third test: Wednesday 17 December – Sunday 21 December (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth test: Sunday 4 January – Thursday 8 January (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
