Ashes LIVE: England look to extend lead as Australia prepare to chase victory at SCG

2 months ago 14

Key posts

1 of 1

Poll: Who deserves player of the series?

The Ashes is already locked up, but as the fifth Test races towards its conclusion all the chat is around which player has outperformed the rest over the course of the series.

There’s still time to vote!

Latest posts

9.14am

Analysis: Webster saves the day, but Australia reject spin at their peril

A few minutes before tea on day four, a cheer went up around the SCG, for Steve Smith had decided to try a spinner for the 40th over of England’s second innings.

Partly the cheer was for the identity of that spinner – cult hero Travis Head – but it was also evidence that another big Sydney crowd had tired of a constant diet of seam bowling.

Head’s first ball landed in the perfect spot outside Harry Brook’s off stump, disturbed the top of the pitch, and drew an inside edge that wasn’t too far away from presenting a bat-pad catch.

Beau Webster couldn’t contain his excitement after snaring Will Jacks for a duck.

Later in the same over, another delivery burst through the top of the pitch and kicked at Brook, who, after a hurried inside edge, then kicked the ball away to ensure it did not backspin into the stumps.

These were all promising signs for Head, but after tea the pace procession continued. England got back into the game through Brook and the exceptionally organised Jacob Bethell, a left-hander who faced precisely one ball of off-spin turning away from his bat before he got to 99 on a pitch starting to deteriorate. Bethell went to his hundred by plonking another part-time spinner, Beau Webster, over wide long-on.

That alone is reason enough to question why there was no specialist spinner in Australia’s attack this week. But it is also worthwhile to recall the words of former Australian spin bowler and selector Peter Taylor on day one.

You can get into the rest of this piece here.

9.12am

Day four stumps report: Bethell shines for England but Webster spins Australia to brink of victory

Beau Webster said he was glad he didn’t “throw the toys out of the cot” after being overlooked earlier in the summer after a thrilling contribution with both bat and ball on the penultimate day of the Ashes brought victory in the fifth Test within reach for Australia.

Jacob Bethell’s outstanding maiden first-class hundred was the glue in an admirable England fightback at the SCG, before a three-wicket haul from allrounder Webster underlined the value of spin on a deteriorating surface.

England avoided the prospect of an innings defeat by compiling 8-302 in their second innings, a lead of 119 runs, thanks largely to a coming-of-age century from 22-year-old Bethell, who became the youngest England batsman to score a Test hundred against Australia at the SCG.

The only other players to post a Test century at the SCG before turning 23 this century are Salman Butt (2005), KL Rahul (2015), Matt Renshaw (2017) and Rishabh Pant (2019).

Australia had earlier been bowled out for 567, with England captain Ben Stokes forced from the field with an adductor injury, which is likely to prevent him from bowling in the fourth innings.

Read the full report here.

9.10am

We have reached day five in Sydney

But a mirage in a desert - like England’s search for success this Ashes campaign - has become reality. It did not seem likely when Steve Smith (129) and Beau Webster (42) yesterday morning were ready to knuckle down for the day and help Australia to an inviolable lead.

And even after Smith’s out-of-nowhere exit and after Australia were all out for 567, the tourists were still gazing longingly into the distance, adamant they were approaching a thirst-quenching oasis and not a Zac Crawley dismissal five balls into their second innings.

But Ben Duckett stuck around with a steadying 42. And then there was Jacob Bethell, a genuinely jockey-sized cavalry who rode fearlessly into the arid (yet strangely humid) conditions and doubled England’s total. Mitchell Starc did his best. So did Scott Boland and Michael Neser, and the rest of an attack trying to break a 22-year-old No.3 who somehow knew exactly what to do in every situation. And in the end they all just shook Bethell’s hand, a well done for an unbeaten 142 - and a maiden first-class century - on which he will attempt to build today.

The above was not helped by the pitch, which was amenable to a specialist spinner and did not consider Australia’s decision to pick a team without one. At least Smith knew what to do, and put Webster to work on some off-break that, let’s be honest, is the primary reason for those late wickets yesterday (Webster dispensed of Harry Brook and Will Jacks within one over, and added a limping Ben Stokes for good measure).

Special mention also to the complete lack of judgment from some of the batters whose dismissals leave Bethell in a partnership with Matthew Potts (unbeaten on 0) with only Josh Tongue still to bat.

What is the moral of the story? Who bloody knows. Will this be done by lunch? You’d think so, given England’s lead of 119 runs may not get too much bigger before Australia bat again. Will Usman Khawaja get to open to ensure a more fitting farewell than his last knock?

In the words of Manuel: “I know nothing”. First ball at 10am AEDT.