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The fuse has been lit for the remainder of The Ashes following two heated exchanges at the death during the second Test in Brisbane.

England's sore and sorry Ashes squad have been gifted a vacation straight out of a tourism brochure.

Smith won his war of words with the English fast bowler before he hit the winning runs in the second Test at the Gabba on Sunday night.

Skipper Ben Stokes and his team crashed to their second humiliating defeat in a row as Australia won by eight wickets on Sunday night.

OLIVER HOLT: Ben Stokes knew he had nicked Michael Neser's ball and he turned and walked. His face was consumed by self-loathing and self-disgust.

Geoffrey Boycott did not hold back in his assessment of England's dire eight-wicket defeat by Australia at The Gabba, with the England great branding the Brisbane Test a 'horror show'.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: England turned down the chance to play a two-day pink-ball game in Canberra before the floodlit Test at the Gabba, opting instead for five days of training.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: If England didn't know the scale of their task before they arrived, they know it now. Two-nil down with three to play is not a situation they have remedied ever.

A fuming Ian Botham has launched a scathing attack on England's cricketers, claiming that travelling fans should demand a 'refund' from the ECB.

Steve Smith delivered a savage eight-word sledge to Jofra Archer as tempers flared between during Australia's eight-wicket victory against England in Brisbane.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: Ben Stokes and Will Jacks put up a fight, but the Australian victory that felt inevitable when play resumed was finally sealed at 7.29pm local time

England are staring at another Ashes series defeat in Australia after slumping to a huge eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane. Here Daily Mail Sport's LAWRENCE BOOTH rates the players.

Get all the latest scores, reaction and updates as Australia sit on the verge of hammering out a 2-0 lead in the series.

The former Test opening batter's current situation is a very far cry from his career heyday on the field and with Channel Nine.

Yes, they come fully furnished and boast modern kitchens in a great inner-city location - but that's not the reason they're so highly sought-after.

OLIVER HOLT IN BRISBANE: Brook's talent is so pronounced that he is capable of extraordinary things but sometimes his ambition exceeds even his own skills and make him look overly reckless.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: The claim will infuriate fans who have watched their team press self-destruct after a total of only five days of cricket at Perth and Brisbane.

Ben Stokes's side staggered to 134 for six by stumps, still 43 behind, and face a near-impossible task to avoid going 2-0 down. This Ashes series feels over almost before it has begun

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: It was dismal stuff from start to finish, a slap in the face for their fans who have spent thousands to cheer them on.

RECAP Daily Mail Sport's live blog for all the latest scores and updates from day three of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.

OLIVER HOLT IN BRISBANE: England were sauteed in the sweltering heat of deeply frustrating opening session at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon.

Esteemed cricket commentator Jim Maxwell has been forced to apologise for branding England's aggressive 'Bazball' style of play 'Baz Bollocks' while covering the second Ashes Test.

A former Olympian has angered England cricket fans on social media, with some going to vile lengths to retaliate, suggesting that her Great Great Grandfather was a rapist

Aussie opener Jake Weatherald has defended England's diabolical fielding after the tourists dropped five catches at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday.

A crucial WBBL game has had to be abandoned during the innings break because an errant ball went under the roller, leaving a hole in the pitch

David Warner has lashed Cam Green for throwing away his wicket, as a shocking display of fielding from England helped the Aussies to a strong finish at stumps on day two of the second Ashes Test

I took my seat in the Gabba lower tier, a few rows back from the boundary. The crowd was somewhere between paralytically drunk and wantonly feral.

Get all the latest scores and updates as Ben Stokes's England team try to avenge their loss in Perth and avoid a disastrous start to the series.

After the euphoria, the return to Planet Earth. If the first day at the Gabba was all about Joe Root, the second was a wearily familiar tale of Australian batsmen grinding English bowlers into the local dirt.

It was a difficult first session in the field. Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith put down a simple catch from Travis Head, off the bowling of Archer, and that seemed to suck the life out of England's bowlers.