England’s great century from Joe Root was preceded by poor batting (including a nasty dismissal of Jamie Smith, arguably one of the worst in history), and sloppy bowling and fielding that allowed Australia to fight back on the second day of the final Ashes Test.
Root turned his 72 runs into a knock of 160 off 242 balls in one night in Sydney. It was Ash’s second ton this time after hitting 138 balls that didn’t go out in Brisbane, but the tourists were all out with 384 balls, falling short of the 400-plus ball total they had hoped for after the restart with a record of 211 wins and 3 losses.
Travis Head (91 in 87 games) then scored 50 or more for the third time in the series after hundreds in Perth and Adelaide, adding 105 with Marnus Labuscanu (48) on the second wicket before the latter was caught in a gully off Ben Stokes (2-30) and Australia were shut out with 166 wins and 2 defeats, 218 runs conceded.
Joe Root scored 160 (his second century of this Ashes series) as England made 384 all out on the second day of the final Test in Sydney.
England seamer Matthew Potts posted an impressive 0-58 on his return with seven overs and an economy rate of 8.28, but Smith’s dismissal for 46 earlier in the day was truly frightening.
The batsmen were hurting even as they scored 94 with Root for England’s sixth wicket from 229-5, but Harry Brook (84), who added just six runs to his overnight score, missed out on his maiden Ashes century by beating Scott Borland (2-85), and Stokes was nicked off for an 11-ball duck, beaten by Mitchell Starc (2-93) for the 14th time in Tests.
Smith came under fire from pundits after gifting his wicket to part-time bowler Marnus Labuschagne.
Smith survived on the 22nd when he dressed and covered Cameron Green when he bowled a no-ball, but his luck ran out just before lunch when he retreated back to leg and beat part-time seam bowler Labuschagne’s bouncer straight into extra cover.
Various commentators, including Jonathan Agnew, Sir Alastair Cook, Justin Langer and Stephen Finn, were left stunned by Smith’s loose stroke as the new ball approached, and this will undoubtedly be remembered as England’s worst sending off in a series of truly awful matches.
Root star but England are having trouble with balls and dropped catches.
After Smith fell, Root added 52 with Will Jacks (37), but England lost their last four wickets for nine runs. Root was caught and bowled by Michael Nether for four wickets, but wayward new-ball bowling from Potts and Brydon Kearse (0-43) and drops from Root and Ben Duckett allowed Australia to run behind.
Stokes pinned Jake Weatherald (21) lbw after the opener (he was glassed by Root at slip on nine, then inexplicably scored by Duckett in the forward square on 14), but with a free-scoring head he made 57 for the first wicket within 10 overs, proving England’s nemesis once again.
Root left the field with back spasms during the evening session, likely due to the pain the England batsman felt as he progressed to his 41st Test handling, alongside Australia’s great Ricky Ponting and behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar (51) and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (45).
Ben Stokes celebrates Jake Weatherald’s wicket after trapping LBW in Australia’s first match
The Yorkshireman’s only blemish on the day was the home batsman grazing over Weatherald’s head inside the cordon after trying to cut Potts, but it was far worse when Duckett dropped the same batsman, bowled by Kearse in the next over.
Kearse and Potts were largely lost at the start of the innings, and Potts, making his first Test appearance in the series in place of the injured Gus Atkinson (hamstring), conceded 14 runs in his four overs, perhaps reflecting his lack of familiarity with cricket.
Perhaps England should have started with Josh Tongue (0-31), who had taken 12 wickets in the previous two Tests, including five fors in the first innings in the tourists’ two-day win at the MCG.
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Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton look at England’s bowling struggles on day two of the final Ashes Test
Previously, Nether had been the most prolific of Australia’s bowlers, finishing with figures of 4-60 after dismissing Zac Crawley for LBW on the opening day, forcing Jacks to steer into gully, darting out to the right and pouching Root with his own bowling, tossing the last man’s tongue into a duck with a peach.
Nessel (No. 1) was hit in the right elbow by Stokes after being posted as a night watchman in the gloom of the late evening after Labuschagne, a player with whom the England captain shared an awkward exchange at the crease, was caught by Jacob Bethell.
England’s situation is not too bad as they have won back-to-back Tests and narrowly lost 3-2 in the series, but Australia will be looking to make it 4-1 after a day of mistakes by their opponents.
Australia won with 4-60 including a route catch and bowling by Michael Nether
Ashes Series in Australia 2025-26
Australia leads with 3 wins and 1 loss in 5 consecutive matches
