The back-end of the Ashes series witnessed some spice on the field when England captain Ben Stokes and Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne were involved in a fiery exchange at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. Despite putting on a hefty 384 on the back of Joe Root’s record-breaking 160, his 41st Test century, across two days, Australia munched into the visitors’ lead in quick time with in-form Travis Head storming to a quick-fire half-century. Batting alongside Marnus Labuschagne for the second wicket, Head continued his onslaught with a steady diet of boundaries. Labuschagne seemed to have hit Stokes’ nerve when his constant jibes from the non-strikers’ end coincided with Head slamming the England captain for two consecutive fours. As Stokes walked back, he could be seen hurling back a few words while wrapping an arm around Labuschagne and extending the conversation. According to news.com.au, Stokes appeared to tell the Aussie No. 3 to “shut the **** up.” Things got pretty heated 👀#Ashes pic.twitter.com/UHum32WUH0 — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2026 Stokes proceeded to pat Labuschagne on …