‘Frustrated’ Ben Stokes confronts Marnus Labuschagne; Mark Waugh feared England captain would ‘put him in a headlock’

The Ashes battle got heated on the second day of the Sydney Test as England captain Ben Stokes got into a tussle with Marnus Labuschagne.

England captain Ben Stokes went toe-to-toe with Australia's No.3 Marnus Labuschagne as the Ashes battle got really intense and heated in the middle on the second day of the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. The all-rounder didn't take kindly to whatever Labuschagne had to say, and there was a lot of hand-waving between the two, and it all concluded with Stokes putting his arm around the shoulders of the Australian star.

The Ashes battle got heated on the second day of the Sydney Test(AFP)

The incident happened on the final ball of the 29th over after Travis Head hit Stokes for a boundary off the delivery that slid down leg. The England captain was visibly displeased with the wayward ball, and he chirped something towards the left-handed batter, only to get back verbal volleys in return.

Stokes then collected his cap from the on-field umpire, and it was then that Labuschagne also chipped in and started saying to Stokes. The two shared words as the Head, along with the two on-field umpires, watched on.

Labuschagne then witnessed Stokes coming over and putting his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. However, the situation didn't escalate as the two went on their separate ways.

Former Australian batter Mark Waugh, who was on air at that time, said that he thought Stokes would put Labuschagne in a headlock considering the pace at which he charged towards the batter. He also said that Stokes was possibly not happy with Head and Labuschagne complaining about the poor light and wanting to leave the field.

“Ben Stokes is having a crack at the batter and saying, ‘What do you want to go off for?’ Oh! A little bit of confrontation. Just thought he'd get him in a headlock there,” said Waugh on air.

On the other hand, former Australian pacer Brett Lee said, “You wouldn't want to mess with Ben Stokes.”

Travis Head leads Australian fightback

Travis Head, the Australian opener, hit an unbeaten 91 on Day 2 to help Australia crawl back into the game. The hosts concluded the second day at the score of 166/2 in 34.1 overs, still trailing by 218 runs.

Labuschagne missed out on a half-century after getting dismissed for 48. Stokes had the final laugh as he managed to get his wicket.

Earlier, England posted 384 runs on the board owing to a 160-run knock by Joe Root. This was his second century in the ongoing Ashes. With this feat, Root became the joint-third-highest centurion in Tests alongside Ricky Ponting, and is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis.