Australia takes 44-run lead in second Ashes test after England drops 5 catches

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australia built a 44-run first-innings lead after two days of the second Ashes cricket test, with the top order all getting starts Friday to help the hosts reach 378-6 at stumps.

Five dropped catches and some wayward bowling dented England's momentum, and allowed Australia's batters to capitalize.

Opener Jake Weatherald led from the start of Australia's innings with 72 from 78 balls, Marnus Labuschagne (65) completed back-to-back half centuries, and stand-in skipper Steve Smith made 61 as bat dominated ball despite some uneven bounce at the Gabba.

Alex Carey was dropped before he'd scored and again on 25, but survived to be unbeaten on 46 off 45 balls at stumps. Michael Neser also got a reprieve before finishing not out 15 in a 49-run seventh-wicket stand.

Weatherald and Head “grabbed the momentum" early, Labuschagne said, and the rest of the Australian batters benefitted.

The series-opener in Perth was all over on Day 2, with Australia winning by eight wickets, but this day-night test in Brisbane seemingly still has a long way to go.

So far, Joe Root’s unbeaten 138 — his first Ashes century for England in Australia — remains the standout innings of the match.

The Australians were coasting at 291-3 in the night session until Brydon Carse took two wickets in four balls against the run of play. He ended a 95-run fourth-wicket partnership when Cameron Green (45) backed away too far and was clean bowled.

Carse had Carey fending a short ball on the next delivery but Ben Duckett grassed a regulation chance at gully.

Two balls later Smith pulled a short ball and Will Jacks took a stunning catch, reaching out one-handed to pluck it out of the air at deep backward square as Australia slipped to 292-5.

Carey and Josh Inglis rallied with 37 for the sixth wicket to get Australia within range of England's first innings 334 but there was more drama.

Duckett put down another catch, going with one hand at gully when Inglis (23) edged Ben Stokes. The England captain didn't rely on any help later in the over, though, when he angled a cutter back into Inglis’ middle stump.

Carse then put down a catch off Jofra Archer’s bowling when Neser was on six, giving yet another reprieve to the Aussies.

It got worse for England when Root put down a catch to his right when Carey edged between wicketkeeper and slip.

“Unfortunately, it's one of those days when a few (catches) didn't quite stick to hand," Root told British broadcaster TNT. “We've just got to make sure we stay confident, we stay up and when we get those chances later on in the fixture, we're ready to take them and we keep backing ourselves."

The England pace bowlers had heavy loads and weren't able to stick to a consistent length, with Archer bowling 20 overs and returning 1-74, Stokes having figures of 2-93 in 17 overs and Carse going for 3-113.

England resumed Day 2 at 325-9 and added nine runs in 14 balls before No. 11 Archer was dismissed.

Root, the No. 1-ranked batter in test cricket, was 135 overnight and remained unbeaten when the 70-run last-wicket stand ended.

Travis Head, the star of Australia's series-opening win, added 30 more runs after a getting a reprieve when he was dropped on three by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith off Archer in the ninth over.

Head ran out of luck when he rushed through his shot to a ball from Carse and skied a catch to Gus Atkinson, ending a 77-run opening stand.

Weatherald made the scoring look easy as he raced to 50 from 45 balls, stroking nine boundaries and a six with a series of cut shots and uppercuts. He moved to 72 before he was hit on the foot by a full delivery from Archer that trapped him in front.

Smith's arrival at the crease was greeted with boos and jeers by the Barmy Army and the stand-in Australia captain immediately had to duck under a 147 kph (91 mph) bouncer from Archer, the fastest delivery of the match.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 and seemed unperturbed until Stokes struck to slow the momentum, setting up an eventual night session.

Australia will resume Saturday, aiming to bat for time and get the chance to bowl at England with a relatively new ball under the lights.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's captain Ben Stokes reacts after bowls a delivery during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne celebrates his fifty runs during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Travis Head, left, talks to Australia's Jake Weatherald during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Travis Head plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's Joe Root plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Jake Weatherald plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's Jofra Archer plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's Joe Root runs between the wickets as Australia's Mitchell Starc fields on the ground during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's Joe Root, centre, with team mates warms up before start the second day of the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 5, 2025--

Aptyx, a leading global designer, developer and manufacturer of complex devices and components for the Life Sciences industry, announced today the strategic acquisition of Argos Corporation, a Massachusetts based precision extrusion company with established expertise and technologies across materials and manufacturing processes. With this acquisition, Aptyx will combine its growing precision extrusion portfolio and launch a Precision Extrusion Center of Excellence - adding immediate capacity, enhanced capabilities, and in-house engineering expertise for Interventional innovation.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251202493371/en/

“This marks another milestone in our growth strategy, further enhancing our ability to provide integrated expertise and innovation for our OEM Life Science customers,” said Gregg Tobin, President and CEO, Aptyx. “This new center perfectly complements our Interventional Center of Excellence in Charlotte, where we have a long history of supporting complex transcatheter implants and delivery systems from early design to finished device manufacturing.”

Building on Aptyx’s Strength in Extrusion

Aptyx has long been recognized for its capabilities in extrusion, from market-leading performance in core mandrel to specialty tubing for sleep, respiratory, and anesthesia applications. The new Precision Extrusion Center of Excellence builds on this foundation—expanding scale, technology, and catheter-grade precision to further support the development and manufacturing of complex interventional systems.

The Center will support its customers with broad capabilities including:

Accelerating Innovation for Interventional Markets

With the addition of the Boston-area Center of Excellence, Aptyx significantly expands its ability to serve the Interventional and catheter-based device markets with speed, precision, and scalability.

The new facility adds depth to Aptyx’s already extensive portfolio of capabilities - including molding, extrusion, coating solutions, and finished device assembly - further enhancing the fully integrated design & manufacturing platform that supports customers from concept through commercialization.

“We’re committed to conquering technical challenges and advancing what’s possible in medical tubing,” said Patrick Daly, Director, Global Extrusion, Aptyx. “This expansion deepens our extrusion expertise and enhances how we bring specialized strengths together across Aptyx to drive Medtech advancement.”

About Aptyx

Aptyx is a global manufacturing partner that engineers smart solutions to help customers solve tough challenges with confidence. With a broad range of specialized capabilities including engineering, extrusion, molding, coatings, and assembly, the company manufactures complex components and devices for the Life Sciences industry. Headquartered in Tempe, AZ, Aptyx has dedicated production facilities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and China. The Aptyx name symbolizes the “aptitude meets excellence” approach found in every aspect of the company’s operations. Visit www.aptyx.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About TruArc Partners

TruArc Partners is a private equity firm focused on middle-market control investments. TruArc focuses on companies in attractive sub-sectors across specialty manufacturing and business services. The TruArc investment team collaborates with its operating partners and portfolio management teams to create value through a transformational growth strategy led by organic or acquisition-driven growth. Visit truarcpartners.com.

About Argos

Argos is an ISO 13485–certified custom extrusion house with more than 25 years’ experience in small-diameter medical tubing and precision thermoplastic profiles. The company produces microbore catheter shafts, liners, co-extrusions, multi-lumen, profile, striping, taper tubing, and heat-shrink and cut-to-order products for reflow, jacketing, and assembly with broad expertise across advanced polymers including but not limited to TPU, TPE, Pebax®, polycarbonate, nylons, polyolefins, PVDF, and other fluoropolymers.

Single- and multi-lumen extrusions in various materials and durometers from Aptyx