England Test captain Ben Stokes lost his cool during a heated exchange with Marnus Labuschagne towards the end of Day 2’s play at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Stokes put his arm around Labuschagne’s neck and appeared to tell him ‘shut the f*** up’ before on-field umpires intervened and prevented it from escalating any further.
The incident happened after 29th over of Australia’s innings. Stokes had been hit for two consecutive fours by Travis Head. The opener was confused at seeing the events transpire in front of him. The English all-rounder got confrontational before umpires took matters in their control.
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The heated exchange did not go in Labuschagne's favour. He could not add a single run to his score. On the last ball of the 31st over, Stokes pitched it up and Labuschagne went for the drive away from his body. All he could manage was a thick outside edge which was pouched by gully fielder Jacob Bethell. An underfire had a lapse of concentration and paid the price for it. He missed his fifty and departed after scoring 48 runs from 68 deliveries.
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Neser’s take on Stokes-Labuschagne incident
Stokes turned out to be the only successful bowler in England's pace quartet. He troubled nightwatchman Michael Neser as well. Neser was hit on the arm before rain and bad light led to an end to Day 2's play.
“I think it is just the fact he is such a strong competitor and he can get under your skin, so it is just Marnus, I guess," Neser said after Day 2.
Healy expects heated exchanges in Ashes
Australia women’s team captain Alyssa Healy was not complaining about the dram on the field. She feels that frustration leads to heated altercations and events like these are expected in an Ashes series.
“Where has it been? This is what we expect in an Ashes series generally. None of that sort of situation, but a bit of spice, a bit of heat, a bit of frustration at times and it probably reflects the series for England so far," Healy said.
At Day 2, Stumps, Australia were 166/2, trailing by 218 runs. Head walked back to the dressing room unbeaten on 91 off 87 balls. His counter-attacking knock led to the visitors losing grasp over the fifth Test despite Joe Root’s 160.
Stokes falls to Starc for 14th time
Earlier in the day, Stokes’ struggles against Mitchell Starc continued. The all-rounder was dismissed for an 11-ball duck. This was the 14th time Stokes has been dismissed by Starc in Tests. Earlier, the record belonged to former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who got rid of Stokes 13 times in Tests.