Ben Stokes’ X-rated outburst during failed England fightback in second Ashes Test vs Australia - The Mirror

Stokes was part of a partnership that saw England regain the lead in the fourth day of the second test at the Gabba.

08:26, 07 Dec 2025

England captain Ben Stokes endured a painful moment as the tourists failed in a fightback against Australia in the second Ashes Test match. The tourists ended their second innings 241 all out.


It means that they lead Australia by 64 runs ahead of the home side's second innings. The start of the second day came down to Stokes and all-rounder Will Jacks to put up some resistance and claw their way back into the test.


That’s what they did in the fourth day. The two put up a partnership of 96 to grab the lead for the tourists and guarantee a second innings for Australia.


READ MORE: Ben Stokes and England send clear Michael Vaughan response amid hope of Headingly 2.0READ MORE: Ashes second Test state of play as Australia close in on another win over sorry England

It was during the partnership that Stokes endured a painful moment when Michael Neser’s bowl hit him in a delicate area, much to the enjoyment of the Australian crowd. The impact made Stokes fall to the ground.

Following the impact the stump mic picked up the England captain responding with “ah s**t” as well as something else that was inaudible.

Former England batsman Sir Alistair Cook then said on commentary: “I’m not sure whether everyone heard that on the stump mic.” It was then suggested that Stokes is a batsman who seems to be hit in the area quite often.


Cook added: “I was going to mention it, he does seem to be a batsman, he does seem to get hit, whether he’s quite an open batter isn’t he? Open shoulders.”

After a short break, where the England physios came on, Stokes continued the over with two dot balls.

“I got hit from Brett Lee at the start of the over, first ball in Sydney. I didn’t many times get hit in that area, and when the physio does run out, it’s the most pointless physio ever, because they can do nothing, they can say nothing, and yet, they still run out there,” Cook added.


“What did the England physios say to Stokesy then? ‘You alright mate?’ ‘No I’m not.’”

Not too much later, England and Stokes suffered another blow with Will Jacks caught brilliantly by Steve Smith off the bowling of Neser. Jacks scored 41 runs, with England on 224/7.

He was replaced in the middle by Gus Atkinson. But that partnership wouldn’t last for too long in a major blow for England, with Stokes caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for Neser’s fourth wicket.


It got even worse for England just a few minutes later when Atkinson pulled a shot straight to Smith to all but end their hopes of a remarkable fightback and leave England nine down with a lead of 54 runs.

Neser completed his fifer by getting the wicket of Brydon Carse and bowl England all out for 241. Australia therefore need a score of 65 in their second innings to take the second test.

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