Stokes wins battle with Labuschagne but England are losing the war again

Rob Smyth Mon, 5 January 2026 at 7:56 am UTC·56 min read It was a small win on a day when familiar cracks re-emerged for England. It is hard to know whether Ben Stokes’s sweary tirade at Marnus Labuschagne was just him unloading on one of the game’s more irritating opponents or if it was a coded message to his team. Either way it seemed to fire up Stokes, who moments later dismissed Labuschagne for 48 to lift a woeful England bowling performance that threatened to undo all the hard work of Joe Root’s 41st Test century.Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once again it is Root and Stokes dragging this team along, lifting them out of the mire with bat and ball. Root’s 160 was a...