Head punishes England with 85-ball century after Warner, Labuschagne partnership

Australia piled on the misery with the bat on day two of the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane, finishing the day at 343 for seven to take a lead of 196 after England were rolled for just 147 on day one. David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne set up the day perfectly for Australia with a 156-run partnership before Travis Head took the game away from England after Tea, scoring his maiden Ashes century in a single session. 

The visitors had briefly clawed their way back into the game after Australia lost four wickets for 29 runs in the afternoon, but a 150-run final session turned the tables on England to firmly put the hosts in the driving seat.

It was a morning of what might have been for England as the visitors bowled without much luck, only managing to pick up one wicket despite creating a host of opportunities. Ollie Robinson had Marcus Harris nicking to the slips in the 6th over, but David Warner was handed three lives in his innings of 94.

Ben Stokes cleaned through Warner’s defences on 17, only for it to be called a no ball. Later on, Rory Burns dropped a regulation chance at second slip with Warner on 48 before Haseeb Hameed was unable to run out the left-hander from short leg after the opener had slipped and lost control of his bat while looking to make his ground.

While Warner’s innings was filled with false strokes, his partner Marnus Labuschagne was at his fluent best on his home ground, leaving the ball with discipline and attacking anything loose from the English seamers. After soaking up the pressure against the pacers, Warner and Labuschagne targeted Jack Leach, taking 31 runs from his opening three overs as they both looked to take the aerial route against the left-armer.

The pair shared a 156-run stand before Labuschagne cut Leach to point, opening the door for England to make a comeback. Mark Wood got one to nip away and find the edge of Steve Smith before Ollie Robinson took two wickets in two balls to leave Australia in a spot of bother at 195 for five. However, England’s hopes were dashed by a blistering knock from Travis Head, who briefly steadied the ship alongside Alex Carey before launching a stunning counter-attack.

Head demolished Ben Stokes for three boundaries in an over before creaming Jack Leach to all parts of the ground, with the left-arm spinner finishing the day with figures of 95 for one from his 11 overs. Head shared a 70-run partnership off just 69 balls with Pat Cummins and eventually reached his century off just 85 deliveries, slamming 13 fours and 2 sixes to score the third-fastest ton in Ashes history.