How to watch Australia vs England: live stream 2nd Ashes Test for *FREE* from anywhere in the world

Joe Root of England reaches his century during day one of the Second 2025/26 Ashes Series Test Match between Australia and England at The Gabba on December 04, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.
(Image credit: Philip Brown/Getty Images)
  • Live stream The Ashes 2nd Test for *FREE* on 7Plus
  • Unblock your stream with NordVPN (75% OFF)
  • 2nd Test: December 4-8, daily start times: 4am GMT / 2pm AEST / 11pm ET (day before)

England will resume on day four at 134-6, still trailing Australia's innings by 43 runs after Australia had posted 511 in their first innings. All eleven batsmen reached double figures in that innings, only the third time in Australian test history that this has happened.

Before this series began, the Ashes 2nd Test in Brisbane looked set to be England’s toughest challenge of the five matches. It is a day-night Test, played with a pink ball at a ground where England have the lowest win percentage among Australia’s current Test venues.

Although Australia lost their only previous pink-ball Test in Brisbane, against the West Indies in January 2024, they have won their other 13. England, by contrast, are both less familiar with and less successful in the format: they have played seven pink-ball Tests and lost five. Two of England’s likely eleven, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith, have never even played first-class cricket with a pink ball.

Batting in pink-ball Tests becomes trickier as floodlights come on and twilight descends. This is when the most dramatic cricket tends to happen. With a 2pm start in Brisbane, the evening session will play out in prime time in Australia and on UK screens from 9am.

The early part of each day is normally the easiest time to bat. Joe Root, who has played in all of England’s pink-ball Tests, says of this period: “It can feel quite placid, and you can feel out of the game with the ball. With the bat, it’s about recognising those moments and making the most of them knowing when to put the foot down and maximise the good batting conditions.”

England’s Bazballers hardly need an excuse to attack, but this represents a prime opportunity. They will certainly be wary of facing Mitchell Starc — the world’s most successful bowler with the pink ball — under floodlights. Another potentially dramatic Test match is in prospect as we head to The Gabba.

Read on as we explain how to watch the 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 between Australia and England from anywhere in the world, including free options.

How to watch The Ashes 2nd Test 2025/26 for free

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Free Cricket

For those in Australia, 7Plus is streaming The 2nd Test of The 2025/26 Ashes free on their platform.

New to 7Plus? Register for a free account to watch 7Plus online.

Don't forget. You will need an Australian postcode (e.g. 2027) to access Channel 7's streaming service.

Traveling outside Australia during The Ashes? You can use a VPN to watch all the action free of charge as if you were back at home. NordVPN is our top pick of the options.

Scorecard

England 1st Innings: 334 all out
Root 138, Crawley 76
Starc 6/75, Neser 1/43

Australia 1st Innings: 511 all out
Starc 77, Weatherald 72
Carse 4/152, Stokes 3/113

Use a VPN to watch any Ashes stream

If you're keen to watch the cricket but you're away from home and your preferred coverage is geo-blocked, you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.

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How to watch Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 live streams in the US

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In the US, Willow TV will show the 2nd Test of The Ashes between Australia and England.

Don't have it as part of your cable package? you can watch Willow coverage through your choice of Sling TV's Desi Binge Plus or Dakshin Flex plans – starting from $10 per month.

Visiting the US from Oz? Use NordVPN to watch the free stream of Australia vs England live from The Gabba.

How to watch Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 live streams in the UK

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In the UK, TNT Sports will be broadcasting the 2nd Ashes Test with coverage starting at 4am GMT.

To access TNT Sports, you'll either need to add it to your TV package, or you can take out a standalone subscription via Discovery+, which will set you back from £30.99 per month.

For those outside of Blighty you can use NordVPN to access TNT Sports' stream while you're out of the country.

How to watch Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 live streams in India

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To watch England vs Australia at The Gabba you'll need Star Sports, or the JioHotstar app to watch on mobile devices. Prices start at Rs. 299 ($3.49) for Hotstar.

Australian resident visiting India? Use NordVPN to access 7Plus' free stream while away from home.

How to watch Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 live streams in Australia

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As alluded to earlier, Channel 7 are broadcasting the series free on television and via its streaming service 7Plus, including the 2nd Test.

Fox Sports is another option for the 2nd Test. The most cost-efficient option to see their coverage is specialist sports streamer Kayo Sports, with plans starting from $30 a month after you've taken advantage of its first month from $1 offer or 7-day free trial.

Remember if you're out of Australia at all during The day-night test get yourself a VPN to stream 7Plus from anywhere in the world.

How to watch Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 live streams in South Africa

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Supersport will be showing the 2nd Test between Australia and England in South Africa.

You'll need to get a DStv access package to watch with prices starting at Rs99/month for the streaming version.

Abroad right now? Just use a VPN and tell your device that you're back home and you'll be good to go.

How to watch Australia vs England 2nd Ashes Test 2025/26 live streams in New Zealand

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Sky Sport NZ will be broadcasting the 2nd Ashes Test in New Zealand.

You can access Sky Sport through satellite TV or get a live stream with the Sky Sport Now subscription service starting at $29.99 per day or $54.99 per month.

Those outside of New Zealand for the pink ball Test can use NordVPN to gain access to their home streaming service.

The Ashes Test 2 Q+A

What time does play start in the Australia v England 2nd Test?

Play in the Brisbane Test at The Gabba is scheduled to start at 11pm ET (day before) / 4am GMT / 2pm AEST / 3pm AEDT / 9:30am IST / 6am SAST each day.

What are the teams for the 2nd Ashes test?

Australia: 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Josh Inglis, 8 Michael Neser, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Brendan Doggett.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Jofra Archer,

Australia v England at Brisbane Cricket Ground

▶︎ Played: 22
🇦🇺 Australia wins: 13
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England wins: 4
❌ Draws: 5

Player to watch: Mitchell Starc

The 35-year-old leader of Australia’s attack was Player of the Match in the 1st Test for taking 10 wickets. In 14 pink-ball test matches he has snared 81 wickets at 17 runs a piece. In comparison, in red-ball test matches, he has 331 wickets at average of 29.

Why is Brisbane Cricket Ground called 'The Gabba'?

Brisbane Cricket Ground is nicknamed 'The Gabba' due to the stadium being in the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba.

Who won the toss for the 2nd Ashes Test?

Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first as England look to get a score on the board.

Can I listen to The 2nd Ashes Test?

Yes. The UK's iconic Test Match Special will be broadcasting ball-by-ball coverage on Radio 5 Sports Extra from 3:25am GMT. Michael Vaughan, Phil Tufnell, Glenn McGrath and a host of other top stars will all be giving their opinions.

And if you miss the day's play, don't forget to listen to the TMS Podcast afterwards.

To access this you will need a BBC account and if you're out of the UK at any point during the Test match series then make sure to use NordVPN.

Disclaimer

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Roderick Easdale
Contributor

Roderick is a freelance sports journalist and a crossword complier. He is the author of six books, including the critically acclaimed comic golf novel Summer At Tangents, which was named one of Country Life magazine's Books of The Year. He has also written five non-fiction books including The Novel Life of PG Wodehouse; The Don: Beyond Boundaries; Wally Hammond: Gentleman & Player and England’s Greatest Post-War All Rounder. An erratic fast bowler in his youth, Roderick became an erratic medium pacer in his autumn playing days. His last wicket was a stumping, which made him decide it was time to retire. He now occasionally plays for the MCC – but for their golf team. He is a member of Trevose and has played golf in around two dozen countries.

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