First, the series delivered a spicy exchange between Jofra Archer and Steve Smith and on Monday, it was Marnus Labuschagne and Ben Stokes bringing the fire to this year’s Ashes.
A frustrated Stokes, who had just been hit for two boundaries by Travis Head, clashed with Labuschagne between overs in an incident which Alyssa Healy said could land the England skipper in hot water.
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Labuschagne appeared to be complaining about bad light, which attracted the attention of Stokes. The England captain had a few words for Labuschagne, who seemed to direct a few back in Stokes’ direction.
Stokes appeared to tell Labuschagne to “shut the f*** up”.
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Stokes had initially continued walking past Labuschagne before turning around and wrapping his arm around the Australian in what Brett Lee called “a little bit of a neck squeezer”.
Should Stokes come under scrutiny from the International Cricket Council, it is likely to come under Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match.”
For context, Virat Kohli was fined for his forceful contact with Sam Konstas in the Boxing Day Test in 2024, although on that occasion his actions appeared far more deliberate.
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Healy said after Day 2 on Fox Cricket that Stokes may “have a little trip to the match referee” after the Test match for his actions, which equally had the star Australian keeper-batter wondering where this fire had been from England all series.
“Where’s it been?” she asked.
“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.
“It’s been a frustrating one, in particular for someone like Ben Stokes. It came out in that situation but you want to see that.
“You want to see the passion, you want to see the aggression and this is what Marnus Labuschagne lives for. He’s more than happy to get under the opposition’s skin in any way he can.”
It was a similar message from Australian legend Adam Gilchrist, who said the incident looked “pretty heated” between the pair.
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“Under Pat Cummins’ leadership and captaincy, and obviously Steve Smith’s done the lion’s share of it in this series, this Australian team haven’t been outwardly verbal and aggressive,” he said.
“The old-school sledging seems to have not fit with their characteristics and character, whereas England against India in the last northern hemisphere summer, they made a point of going after India verbally. They were really aggressive in their language and body language.”
Brett Lee, meanwhile, said he would have “loved” to have seen a similar level of aggression and intent from the tourists from the opening ball of the series.
“Should you touch another player? No. Is there anything wrong with it? I’d say no… I’d love to have seen this in the first Test,” the former Test paceman said.
“This is what the Ashes are about. You’re playing for your country, so get out there and have a crack.”
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