By Krishna Dua 
Australia Dominate Day 4 as England Fight to Avoid Defeat
Brisbane’s cauldron simmered with Australian dominance on December 7, 2025, as Day 4 of the second Ashes Test saw the hosts inch closer to a series-clinching win, enforcing the follow-on and reducing England to 45 for 3 by stumps—still a daunting 267 runs short of an improbable escape. Steve Smith’s tactical acumen, filling Pat Cummins’ void with seam-heavy precision, dismantled England’s top order in a pink-ball masterclass, leaving Ben Stokes’ side scrambling for survival. The 32,000-strong Gabba faithful, basking in Queensland’s humid haze, erupted as Scott Boland’s inswingers and Mitchell Starc’s yorkers carved through the batting lineup, evoking the ghosts of Australia’s 2010-11 whitewash. With England resuming their second innings at 22 for 1, the day unfolded as a tale of resilience versus relentlessness, Australia’s 476 first-innings total a towering testament to their home-soil supremacy.
The follow-on, declared at lunch after England’s first-innings capitulation to 209—trailing by 267—exposed the tourists’ frailties under lights. Zak Crawley’s cavalier 15 off 20 balls, a flicked boundary off Brendan Doggett’s seam, offered fleeting hope before Boland’s nip-backer trapped him lbw at 28 for 2. Ben Duckett, the aggressive opener, fell next for 12, nicking Starc’s hooper to Alex Carey, his frustration boiling over in a wayward slog. Ollie Pope, the elegant No. 3 whose pre-series promise loomed large, mustered 8—a tentative push outside off ending in Neser’s gloves at 40 for 3. As stumps fell, Joe Root (3 not out) and Stokes (7 not out) clung to a fragile partnership, their defiance a thin thread against Australia’s inexorable tide. “We’re fighting tooth and nail, but Brisbane bites back,” Stokes reflected, his captaincy under the microscope after a bold toss win backfired spectacularly.
Australia’s stranglehold, built on Day 3’s declaration at 476 for 7, showcased depth beyond Cummins’ absence. Travis Head’s blistering 142 set the platform, his promotion to open yielding a 180-run stand with Marnus Labuschagne (68), while Cameron Green’s unbeaten 45 added lower-order menace. Smith’s seam rotation—Starc, Boland, Neser, and Doggett unyielding—yielded 3 for 23 in the session, their pink Kookaburra swinging like a scythe under the Gabba’s banks.
England’s Agony: Top-Order Collapse and Tactical Turmoil
England’s Day 4 descent was a masterclass in mounting pressure cracking composure. Resuming under overcast skies, Duckett and Crawley eyed a platform, their 28-run stand laced with intent—a pulled six from Crawley off Neser’s bouncer hinting at Bazball’s bite. But Australia’s pack, marshaled by Smith’s astute slips cordon, struck surgically. Boland, the pink-ball maestro with 22 wickets at 18 in day-nighters, induced Crawley’s fatal flirtation, the umpire’s finger raised to roars. Duckett’s demise followed swiftly, Starc’s 145kph inswinger a carbon copy of his Perth hauls, the left-hander’s 12 a cameo of frustration after a streaky four through covers.
Pope’s downfall epitomized England’s woes. The Surrey stalwart, averaging 42 at No. 3 since 2023, promised poetry with a silken drive off Doggett, but hesitation betrayed him—Neser’s seam movement kissing the edge at 40 for 3. Root, the run colossus with 12,850 Test tons, entered at No. 4, his defensive nudge for 3 a nod to necessity over flair. Stokes, joining at five, unfurled a whippy cover off the pads for 7, but the required 312—on a pitch cracking under footmarks—loomed as a Herculean Herculean. “Our starts are starts, not statements,” lamented Brendon McCullum, the Kiwi coach whose aggressive blueprint faltered against Brisbane’s bite.
Tactically, England’s gambit unraveled. The follow-on acceptance, a nod to Stokes’ never-say-die ethos, backfired as their attack—Gus Atkinson (0-22) and Brydon Carse (0-15)—leaked boundaries in the morning session. Shoaib Bashir’s lone over, turning tentatively, offered no respite, his 0-5 a footnote. Off-field, morale strains showed: the Brisbane e-scooter fines for Crawley and Duckett lingered as locker-room levity, but whispers of fatigue after Perth’s eight-wicket loss echoed.
Australia’s Authority: Smith’s Seam Supremacy and Head’s Hammer
Smith’s interim captaincy, a seamless extension of his 9,500-run nous, defined the day. Devoid of Lyon’s spin guile (calf sidelined), he unleashed a four-pronged seam assault, their collective 3-23 a symphony of swing and seam. Starc, the pink-ball sorcerer with 85 wickets at 16 in this format, dismantled Duckett with a pearler, his figures 2-12 evoking 2017’s Ashes sorcery. Boland, metronomic in the channel, claimed Crawley with a 138kph inswinger, his 1-8 underscoring Australia’s depth.
Head’s first-innings fireworks—142 off 156, laced with 15 fours and five sixes—remained the day’s distant thunder, his opener shift sans Khawaja (back spasms) injecting volatility. Labuschagne’s 68, a patient essay blending defense and drives, anchored the middle, while Green’s 45 not out promised lower-order largesse. Josh Inglis, the wicketkeeper-batsman deputizing amid Carey’s rotation, pouched three catches, his agility behind stumps a quiet heroics. Australia’s fielding, laser-focused, turned half-chances to daggers—Inglis’ low dive for Pope a highlight.
The hosts’ 476 declared, enforced at 2 p.m., pressured England’s 209 reply, where Root’s 72 stood solitary amid collapses. Stokes’ 28, a counterattacking cameo with a hoicked six off Neser, flickered fight, but the follow-on’s shadow loomed long.
Stokes’ Stand: Defiance Amid Desperation
Stokes, the all-round talisman, embodied England’s fightback. His unbeaten 7 by stumps, a flicked boundary off Boland, hinted at the beast within—the 2022 Headingley heist still fresh. Yet, captaincy crucibles tested him: persisting with Bashir on unresponsive turf, delaying Atkinson’s fiery bursts. “We’re 267 away, but miracles are our middle name,” Stokes rallied, channeling 2019’s miracles. Root, his deputy in deed, scratched 3 not out, his leaves outside off a lesson in longevity.
Brook’s absence—knee niggle sidelining the vice-captain—thinned the middle, while Jacks’ hobbled 0 underscored squad strains. Lower order flickers—Smith’s 15, Carse’s 10—offered grit, but England’s seamers, toiling for 0-37, wilted under Australia’s resolve.
Series on the Precipice: Adelaide’s Pink-Ball Peril Awaits
With three Tests left—Adelaide’s day-night decider on December 17, then Melbourne and Sydney—Australia scents retention. Smith’s seam blueprint, sans Cummins, vindicates boldness; Head’s ascent adds edge. England’s salvation? A Day 5 rearguard eclipsing Headingley, then a heist in Adelaide’s cauldron. History mocks: their last Gabba escape, 1972 under Illingworth, feels fable.
The Ashes, eternal in enmity, teeters. Australia dominates, victory’s vise tightening—yet England’s fight, flickering, reminds: in this urn’s urn, defeat’s door cracks open to defiance.