Steve Smith's brilliance propels Australia to a victory in the 2nd test and a 2-0 Ashes lead

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Steve Smith took a brilliant reflex catch to swing momentum, got into a heated exchange with Jofra Archer and then slogged the winning runs Sunday as Australia beat England again to take a 2-0 Ashes lead.

Set a target of 65 for victory in the second test after dismissing England for 241 in the second innings, Australia raced to an eight-wicket win late on Day 4 as storms brewed in and around the stadium.

Archer was bowling around 150 kph (93 mph) under the lights and it only fired up Smith.

“The adrenaline was pumping at the end of the end, yeah. Jofra was bowling pretty quick,” Smith said. “It was a huge win. Great to go 2-nil up."

There were some theatrics involving the Australia captain and England's strike pace bowler, with Smith ducking under a short ball and then critiquing Archer for bowling “fast when there's nothing going on, champion.” He then hit a four and a six to bring up 1,000 test runs at the Gabba.

With Australia at 63-2 and needing just two runs to win the day-nighter, Smith hit a six to seal it and finished unbeaten on 23 from nine deliveries.

“Not really too sure what he said, and not sure what I said," Smith told a post-match news conference. “It's not any of your business, either,” he added, laughing. “So we’ll leave it out there.”

Day 4 was a tale of two captains.

England skipper Stokes curbed his attacking instincts, dispensing with Bazball and pragmatically setting about reviving England’s Ashes prospects.

England had resumed Sunday at 134-6, and took an hour and 36 minutes — 18.2 overs — to erase the first-innings deficit.

The Australian attack bowled a tight line and length and mixed it up with some short-pitch deliveries in an attempt to entice the usually aggressive England batters to have a go.

Stokes (50) and Will Jacks (41) resisted the temptation for the entire first session, knowing that a wicket would expose the tailenders. It was a completely different approach to England’s usual attack-at-all costs mentality that has attracted wide criticism in the first two Ashes tests so far.

The seventh-wicket pair put on a 96-run stand to get England to the brink of the night session, but that ended when Smith — Australia's stand-in captain — took a stunning one-hander diving to his left at slip off Michael Neser's bowling to dismiss Jacks.

That was the momentum changer. The subsequent slide happened quickly, with England losing its last four wickets for 17 runs and Neser finishing with a five-wicket haul.

Stokes reached his 50 from 148 balls, the second-slowest half-century of his career. It was only four balls behind the 152 he took to make 50 at Headingley in 2019, where he scored an unbeaten 135 to guide England to one-wicket Ashes victory.

This time, he didn’t go on. The 34-year-old was incredibly caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey standing up to the stumps to Neser (5-42).

Stokes twirled his bat in the air in disbelief before striding back to the pavilion. Smith took two more catches as England's lower-order crumbled.

Australia won the series-opening test on Day 2. At least the second test went four.

“Very disappointing,” Stokes said. “A lot of it, to me, comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this format when the game is on the line. In small passages we’ve been able to bring the game back into some kind of control, and then we’ve let it slip away."

England has been criticized for its bowling attack failing to hit the right lengths consistently, for its dropped catches and for its top-order again throwing away wickets chasing fast and furious runs.

“We need to think a bit harder and a little bit deeper about those moments,” Stokes said, "and show a little bit more fight when it’s needed.”

Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc was voted player of the match for the second time in the series, following his 10-wicket haul in Perth with six wickets in England's first innings in Brisbane and then scoring a team-high 77 as Australia took a 177-run first-innings lead.

He took another two wickets late on Day 3, increasing his series haul to 18.

The third test starts Dec. 17 at the Adelaide Oval with England needing a win to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes. The fourth test starts Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney will host the fifth test from Jan. 4.

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

Australia's captain Steve Smith reacts after winning the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Josh Inglis, left, and Australia's captain Steve Smith celebrate the wicket of England's Gus Atkinson during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Michael Neser, second left, celebrates with teammates the wicket of England's Will Jacks during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes lies down after being hit by the ball during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

Australia's Michael Neser shows the ball after getting five wickets during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes throws bat after loosing his wicket during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's Will Jacks plays a shot during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes reacts in the hot condition during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

England's captain Ben Stokes avoids a bouncer during the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In a city that often seems to be staggering from one crisis to the next, the sudden resignation of police Chief Brian O’Hara after a finding he likely interfered in a misconduct investigation has left Minneapolis searching again for a way forward.

O’Hara was an outsider brought in with a mandate to reform the police department after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to federal and state investigative findings of excessive force and racist policing practices. O’Hara had spent most of his career in Newark, New Jersey, where he instituted changes after that department was put under a federal consent decree for patterns of excessive force and unconstitutional stops and searches.

The challenges in Minneapolis were clear before O'Hara arrived in late 2022. For a time, it had seemed the department itself might not survive. In 2021, more than 43% of voters supported disbanding the department as the city reeled from Floyd’s killing and the massive protests and widespread rioting that followed.

Policing experts had noted the monumental task that faced the city’s next police chief, who would have to rebuild community trust and a department whose morale had dipped so low that it was hemorrhaging officers.

“I don’t think there was a bigger challenge to any American city than what Minneapolis faced when he arrived,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of a Washington think tank, the Police Executive Research Forum. “They had gone from 850 to 500 officers, violent crime was significantly up, trust with the community was broken, a police station had burned down and a federal consent decree would face the next chief. Then you had the politics of Minneapolis.”

Coming in as an outsider to lead a large department is daunting, even without being asked to reform and rebuild, said Renée Hall, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives who moved from Detroit to lead the Dallas Police Department from 2017 to 2020.

“It’s extremely challenging to walk into an organization, where you don’t even know where the light switches are, where the bathrooms are. And that’s just the basics,” Hall said. “You have to learn the officers, the community, the politics of that particular city, and try to learn and navigate the existing relationships, like unions or officer associations and who is tied to whom and who is fighting for whom.”

Hall said outside hires can face resentment from those within an organization who supported internal candidates. They also have to earn the trust of the community, which she said takes time.

After the police disbandment measure failed, O'Hara joined the bureaucracy of a deeply progressive city that is regularly buffeted by political battles between the mayor and the City Council, and among council members.

Those battles were on full display Wednesday, when a City Council news conference about O'Hara's resignation quickly turned into an opportunity for the council's resolute progressives to attack Mayor Jacob Frey, who has long portrayed himself as a “pragmatic progressive.”

The resignation “is a symptom of a much larger problem, which is simply that Mayor Frey continues to be unable to effectively manage the Minneapolis Police Department,” said Council member Robin Wonsley, a cornerstone of the council's progressive bloc.

Frey, who just weeks ago pushed to have O'Hara reappointed as chief, fired back at criticism that he didn’t move aggressively enough when allegations of the chief's potential misconduct emerged.

“I don’t make decisions based on rumors and anonymous complaints,” he said in a statement, adding that he would work with the council to find a replacement. “I took action promptly after receiving the investigative report. … Decisions this serious have to be grounded in facts, evidence and completed investigations. Anything less would be irresponsible.”

O'Hara did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday. His attorney, Doug Kelley, released a statement touting successes during O'Hara's tenure, including diversifying and increasing the department's ranks, the decreasing violent crime rate and mitigating violent clashes during the immigration crackdown.

“The circumstances of Chief O’Hara’s departure should not define his service," Kelley wrote. "He was proud to serve Minneapolis, remains grateful to the officers and community partners who did difficult work under extraordinary pressure, and hopes the city continues moving forward. He understandably looks forward to returning to his young family in New Jersey.”

The resignation came just months after Minneapolis was plunged into the national spotlight amid a federal immigration surge that left three civilians shot, two fatally. O'Hara faced criticism he hadn't done enough to stop the crackdown.

Violence plagued the city in 2025, including deadly attacks on state politicians in the Minneapolis suburbs; gunfire that erupted at a popular city picnic spot; and a shooting during Mass at the Church of the Annunciation that left two children dead and more than a dozen people injured. O’Hara called the church attack a “ truly unthinkable tragedy. ”

Critics say dozens of complaints were filed against O'Hara, from accusations that he was rude to the public to the recent investigation into an ultimately unproven allegation he had a sexual relationship with a city employee. Most of the complaints have not been made public, and 17 complaints are still being investigated. Investigators closed 17 more without any disciplinary actions.

An independent investigator did not find evidence to substantiate the alleged sexual relationship with a city employee, but a second report released this week said O'Hara likely deleted the employee's contact from his phone during the investigation and that he talked to another employee about the probe despite being told it was not to be discussed.

That recent report led to a written reprimand; Frey told O'Hara he would be disciplined and that he could be terminated. Frey said O'Hara chose to resign instead.

Lauer reported from Philadelphia.

Minneapolis City Council Members, from left, Jason Chavez, Robin Wonsley and Council President Elliot Payne speak to reporters about the resignation of Police Chief Brian O'Hara on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at City Hall in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

FILE - Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara speaks during a news conference, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck, File)