Key events
Ali Martin celebrates a pair of fine knocks from two special batters in his report from day two of the fifth Ashes Test. We’ll be back with all the analysis shortly, and again tomorrow for the over-by-over fun. See you then …
Joe Root has been speaking with Fox Sports and insists that he was off the field for much of the third session due to cramp in his back. The Sydney centurion adds that after five minutes with the physiotherapist where he “couldn’t get comfortable”, he expects to be back among the action for a critical day three of the fifth Ashes Test.
Stumps: Australia 166-2
Travis Head (91) guides Australia to stumps with the loss of only two wickets and England’s first-innings lead reduced to 218 runs off the back of some questionable bowling. The tourists were well down the path towards a much more ominous total as Joe Root reached his second century on Australian soil and finished with a typically classy 160. Harry Brook (84) fell early in the day before Jamie Smith (46) rode his luck, and Will Jacks (27) occupied the crease for long enough to let Root shine. Michael Neser (4 for 60) cleaned up the tail to help restrict England’s total and ended the day as the nightwatch and taking a nasty blow on the arm that called for attention before drizzle brought stumps with Australia on 166-2 from 34.1 overs.
34th over: Australia 166-2 (Head 91, Neser 1) Head begins the over with a backfoot drive to cover point for one, and Neser ends it with a single to stay on strike for the final over.
33rd over: Australia 164-2 (Head 90, Neser 0) Head again takes an early single to leave Neser to see out the over from Stokes. The Australia opener is thinking about cashing in tomorrow.
32nd over: Australia 163-2 (Head 89, Neser 0) Head picks up a single to point before Tongue lifts his pace with nightwatch Neser still getting his eye in. But the Australia allrounder’s defence is sound as he sees out the over.
WICKET! Labuschagne c Bethell b Stokes 48 (Australia 162-2)
Stokes gets the breakthrough but that is as much down to Labuschagne as the No 3 drives away from his body and takes a thick edge to gully. Labuschagne looks especially displeased – perhaps due to being forced to bat on under fading light, though he might be just as frustrated for blowing another strong start. Michael Neser joins Head at the crease with stumps now in sight.
31st over: Australia 162-2 (Head 88, Neser 0)
30th over: Australia 157-1 (Head 83, Labuschagne 48) Head brings up the 100-run stand – off only 104 balls – with a straight drive for one. Labuschagne plays and misses at a straighter ball as Tongue finds some shape away from the right-hander.
29th over: Australia 155-1 (Head 82, Labuschagne 48) Stokes takes over from Potts and targets Head’s pads. The opener crunches a half volley through cover to the boundary and ends the over clipping off his thigh pad for four more to fine leg. The Australia duo are not happy with the light but it doesn’t seem to be slowing the flow of runs.
28th over: Australia 145-1 (Head 73, Labuschagne 47) Tongue carries on and Head almost lets the first delivery crash into him. The opener looks to the sky perhaps wondering where the sun has gone. Play continues with Head easing a shorter ball away for a single. Labuschagne miscues a pull shot but there is plenty of space around midwicket to pick up two runs.
27th over: Australia 142-1 (Head 72, Labuschagne 45) Potts continues but the Australia pair are having little trouble handling the Ashes debutant. Head smacks a boundary through point then punishes a half volley in his sweet spot for three. Labuschagne gets in on the fund with a square drive to the rope.
26th over: Australia 131-1 (Head 65, Labuschagne 41) Tongue returns with the Australia innings drifting along at the moment. Labuschagne and Head each pick up an easy single as there are signs that England are holding out for stumps. The umpires are checking their light meter more than they should be.
25th over: Australia 129-1 (Head 64, Labuschagne 40) Labuschagne is quietly building a nice knock here at the SCG. He punishes a half volley from Potts through cover to the rope – a stroke that he plays best, like most batters, when in fine touch.
24th over: Australia 123-1 (Head 63, Labuschagne 35) Head takes a single with a half-hearted cut to deep point that takes the opener to 500 runs in the series at an average of better than 62. Root has the next most with 394 at 49.25 and Brook has 316 at 39.50. While those three have been to the crease nine times, Alex Carey has only batted six times for 291 runs at 48.50.
23rd over: Australia 116-1 (Head 62, Labuschagne 29) Potts gets a ball to rise out of the surface and smack Labuschagne on his bottom hand. That struck nothing but thumb! But the No 3 shakes it off, as is his style, and continues batting on without calling on the magic spray. Labuschagne mistimes a drive off the next ball but punishes a shorter delivery with a pull to the rope. Another shake of the right thumb and on he goes. That’s drinks.
22nd over: Australia 112-1 (Head 62, Labuschagne 25) Carse angles the ball into Labuschagne, who has been moving well across his stumps throughout his innings, and raps the batter on the pads. Labuschagne was well down the pitch but England send the decision upstairs where it is shown the ball was tracking well past leg stump. Head casually lifts a shorter ball from Carse over slips for four. This partnership is out to 55 runs from 59 deliveries.
Ollie Benson longs for simpler times as he remembers the master of the commentary craft and rails on those that have come since.
“Seeing all the Richies in the crowd reminds me of how much his [Benaud’s] commentary is missed. I can’t wait to stop listening to Langer, Blewett, Bradshaw et al and their one-eyed commentary. Head flashes at one, gets a thick edge for 4, and fortune favours the brave. Brook does the same and he’s reckless and lacking game awareness. For sure, it’s worked for Head in this series, but their clear bias is so boring. I read with interest that Trevor Bayliss feels the same.”
21st over: Australia 104-1 (Head 58, Labuschagne 23) Potts is back into the attack. The Ashes debutant was too short in his first spell and this time begins by pitching the ball up to Head. The Australia opener sees it coming and smacks a half-volley straight back past Potts for four. Heads finds two more with an effortless cover drive, then a single off a square cut. Labuschagne turns a page in the textbook with his own drive through cover for four.
20th over: Australia 93-1 (Head 51, Labuschagne 18) Labuschagne gets on the front foot to defend a straight ball but is on it too early and almost spoons it back to Carse in his delivery stride. The England quick has shown earlier in the series that he is a good fielder off his own bowling. But this time the ball drops short. Maiden over.
19th over: Australia 93-1 (Head 51, Labuschagne 18) Marnus Labuschagne and Ben Stokes continue their head-to-head battle. After defending soundly the Australia No 3 eases a single to fine leg off the last ball of the over.
18th over: Australia 92-1 (Head 51, Labuschagne 17) FIFTY for Travis Head. The opener brings up the milestone with a crunching drive through cover to the boundary – his ninth four of the innings – and off 55 balls faced. Head has gone on to a century the two other times he has reached fifty in this series.
17th over: Australia 80-1 (Head 42, Labuschagne 14) Labuschagne drives Stokes and is fortunate to pick up two off a leading edge then clips a single wide of leg slip. A classy cover drive from Head races to the rope and the Australia opener follows up next ball with much the same stroke. But it is just a little off time and Carse restricts Head to three more.
OBO regular Gervase Greene raises the topical – and neverending – debate over where Travis Head is best placed in the Australia batting order.
“I note Adam Gilchrist just said on-air that Travis Head had more or less ‘cemented his spot as a Test opener now. While Gilchrist might clearly know a bit about dashers being promoted up the order, I’m still unconvinced.
“Imagine if South Africa or India had Australia at say 4-150, the pitch settled down a bit, the bowlers tiring, and the new ball still 15 overs away. Who do you NOT want to see coming in? Trav. An opener might always go cheaply, even a great one. But batting at 6 or even 7, Trav is a bowler’s worst nightmare.”
Fair points all, and my view probably changes with the Sydney weather at the moment, but for the time being at least I feel like it’s hard enough to find a quality Test opener these days so it would be foolish not to make the most of one. Head is still to prove his worth against a top-class new-ball duo though.
16th over: Australia 69-1 (Head 35, Labuschagne 11) Labuschagne swivels on his front foot and pulls a shorter ball through square leg for four. The No 3 is more concerned with the ball pitching outside off-stump and angled into him.
15th over: Australia 64-1 (Head 35, Labuschagne 6) Ben Stokes continues around the wicket to Travis Head with the ball angled into – and at times across – the left-hander. A leg slip is in place which helps limit Head’s options. Maiden over.
14th over: Australia 64-1 (Head 35, Labuschagne 6) Marnus Labuschagne has been troubled by Josh Tongue ever since the England bowler stepped into the series. He looks more comfortable so far today as he clips a straighter ball off his pads to the rope. The Australia No 3 picks up two more with a drive the stays in the air a little too long as it floats through point. Joe Root waddles off the field with one ball remaining in the over as the centurion is wincing and holding his back.
13th over: Australia 57-1 (Head 34, Labuschagne 0) Ben Stokes gets the breakthrough – yet again – with Weatherald out lbw as the England skipper continues to show his teammates the benefits of pitching the ball up. Carse did it well in Australia’s second innings in Melbourne, but has fallen back into old habits so far today. Marnus Labuschagne is full of energy as he sees out the over.
WICKET! Weatherald lbw b Stokes 21 (Australia 57-1)
Ben Stokes is straight back on the plan after the drinks break as he targets Weatherald’s middle-to-leg-stump region. The opener misses at the first and then plays around a straighter ball to be sent on his way lbw. Unlike in Melbourne, Weatherald reviews but the ball is shaving leg-stump and the decision goes with umpire’s call. It had been coming as England continue to expose a weakness.
12th over: Australia 57-0 (Head 34, Weatherald 21) Head waits for the relatively bad ball from Tongue as he needs little width to slice a cut over cover to the rope. That’s drinks.
11th over: Australia 53-0 (Head 30, Weatherald 21) Stokes has, in my view, been England’s most threatening bowler across this Ashes series and has 13 wickets at little more than 21. Head clips an easy single off his pads but Stokes gets the ball to shape away from Weatherald who again plays and misses while defending with a straight bat. The opener flicks a single off his legs but no surprise to see Stokes target both left-handers there.
10th over: Australia 50-0 (Head 29, Weatherald 20) A 50-run partnership comes off the back of contrasting knocks from the opening pair. Head brings it up with a rare loose shot as he square cuts a delivery angled into his body and survives an inside edge that bounces around the stumps. Tongue has Weatherald defending and missing with a straight bat on fourth stump. The lights are on at the SCG with a storm brewing out in western Sydney while Ben Stokes is warming up.
9th over: Australia 48-0 (Head 28, Weatherald 19) Brydon Carse continues over the wicket to Travis Head who keeps chasing anything targeted outside his off-stump. A delivery off a good length stays low but will worry the batters on both sides even as it drifts around the off-stump. Head lifts a cut shot over point to take off the pressure with a boundary from next to nothing.
8th over: Australia 44-0 (Head 24, Weatherald 19) Josh Tongue takes over from Matthew Potts and immediately troubles Head more than he has been all innings. A fuller delivery crashes into the opener’s pads but the appeal is quickly waved away for heading down leg. Sloppy fielding from Will Jacks sliding into the rope as he throws back the ball hands Weatherald a boundary.
7th over: Australia 39-0 (Head 24, Weatherald 15) DROPPED! Weatherald pulls off his hips and picks out Ben Duckett. The England fielder dives low to his left but grasses a chance that really should have been grasped. Perhaps another life for Weatherald, though only two have truly been there for the taking. Head looks much more comfortable and smashes a fuller ball for three straight down the ground.
6th over: Australia 35-0 (Head 21, Weatherald 14) Weatherald carves a boundary off another cut shot. The opener is all but relying on that same stroke for scoring at the moment. A square cut takes a thick edge and flies over Joe Root in slips who can only get a finger on the ball before it races away to the rope. Weatherald might be using up all his lives at the moment, even while facing the less threatening pace from Potts.
5th over: Australia 26-0 (Head 21, Weatherald 5) Weatherald gets off strike and away from the danger end with a single off an unconvincing pull shot and bottom edge. Carse gives Head far too much room as the Australia opener fires a blazing cut to the rope then resists the temptation to try to do the same with one a little closer to the body.
4th over: Australia 21-0 (Head 17, Weatherald 4) Head shows his fellow leftie just how to play the ball targeted at the body as he thwacks a shorter ball from Potts through square leg to the boundary. That’s easy pickings for Head but Potts digs the next delivery in shorter and on a similar line. Head rocks back but his timing is off a little as he settles for two through midwicket. A wider ball is back of length and crunched through cover for another four, and Head finishes the over on one leg while again pulling away to the rope. A poor over from Potts but let’s put it down to rust.
3rd over: Australia 7-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 4) Weatherald gets off the mark with a square cut close to his body that races away to the rope. England won’t mind the Australia opener attacking the ball in those areas. Carse straightens up his line and Weatherald looks fresh out of ideas as he lets one delivery crash into him and moves late to dodge a shorter ball.
2nd over: Australia 3-0 (Head 3, Weatherald 0) Matthew Potts takes the new ball in his Ashes debut. Head flicks a ball off his hips back in front of the wicket for a couple. A strange shot but it has paid off this time.
1st over: Australia 1-0 (Head 1, Weatherald 0) Brydon Carse immediately finds a bit of movement off the pitch and after Travis Head glances for a single it leaves Jake Weatherald in all sorts. The left-hander begins with a waft outside off-stump, then is rapped on the pads as Carse pitches the ball up ands narrowly outside his leg-stump. An unlikely appeal goes up and Weatherald sets off for an ambitious quick single but is rightly sent back by Head and only survives when the ping at the stumps sails wide. A chaotic start for the opener in his fifth Test who calls for fresh gloves and perhaps something to settle the nerves.
Travis Head and Jake Weatherald wander out from the glorified sheds at the SCG as Byrdon Carse marks out his run to prepare us for what should be a gripping final session. Here we go …
Chris Wright writes in to back Joe Roots efforts in Australia which now tally 1286 Test runs at an average 38.96.
“Joe Root now career-averaging 40 in Australia! It really never was the desert for runs people made it out to be for him, was it? He’d passed 50 nine times before this series, 80 three times. He had just lacked a century … and a win.”
Root now has two tons in Australia, and no reason to think he can’t help make it a pair of Ashes victories as well.
It feels like Australia worked their way back into the contest after taking the new ball when even the clinical Joe Root was limited to 21 runs from the 40 balls he faced in that period.
But that hasn’t doused the enthusiasm of David Banks who writes in from afar.
“Just messaging to say than you for all your work allowing me to follow the Ashes even from North Carolina, a world away from sun drenched Australia. Come on England!”
Travis Head was quick to ask the question as soon as Neser wrapped up the England innings and the players will take an early tea that would normally be another 20 minutes away. The Australia openers won’t mind avoiding the 2-3 overs they would otherwise have had to face, but they are set to have their work cut out when play does resume with the pitch offering more movement as the day has gone on.
England all out for 384
Michael Neser knocks over Josh Tongue with the ball talking off the pitch. Australia have kept England to under 400 as the flow of runs dried up after the drinks break and as batting has become trickier throughout the day. Joe Root put on a clinic to reach 160 – his second ton and highest score in Australia. That’s tea as well.
WICKET! Root c & b Neser 160 (England 384-9)
Joe Root’s masterful knock comes to an end. It was always likely to need something special to send the centurion on his way. Michael Neser has Root popping up an awkward delivery, as the Australia quick charges across the pitch and dives to take a superb catch.
97th over: England 383-8 (Root 159, Potts 1) Root clips a single off the first ball of the over and puts all his faith in Potts to see off Green. The England batter ducks under a couple of shorter deliveries and is largely untroubled.
96th over: England 383-8 (Root 159, Potts 1) Michael Neser has the ball doing beautiful things but Matthew Potts is unable to even get a feather on it. Australia will of course be hoping to restrict England to under 400, but there are signs that the conditions are turning more and more in favour of the bowlers. Maiden over.
95th over: England 383-8 (Root 159, Potts 1) Cameron Green finally claims a wicket with a much better over to Carse and then Matthew Potts. The Ashes debutant picks up a single to square leg.
WICKET! Carse c Carey b Green 1 (England 382-8)
Cameron Green gets some bounce off a short-ish length and Brydon Carse can’t resist a dabble away from his body. Alex Carey takes a fine catch sliding across to his right but the celebrations are muted while the Australians wait to confirm that Green hasn’t overstepped again.
94th over: England 382-7 (Root 159, Carse 1) Michael Neser works away at fifth stump but it will take more than that to remove Joe Root at this stage. The centurion picks up a couple of the back foot then eases singles through midwicket and straighter down the ground.
93rd over: England 378-7 (Root 156, Carse 0) Joe Root continues on his merry way with a trademark glance to fine leg for two runs then a single off the back foot. Brydon Carse sees out four dots from Cameron Green. The fast bowler might have got the memo that England are here to bat for at least most of the afternoon.
Martin Pegan
Thanks Tanya. And how exciting to have some #proper Test cricket on our hands with an even battle between bat and ball and the former mostly on top for the time being. The Australia quicks have found plenty of movement since taking the new ball but Joe Root looks as calm and composed as he has on distant shores for more than a decade, while Will Jacks was hanging in there bravely until Scott Boland finally got some reward. The coming session and a half is likely to have a huge influence on the outcome of this series finale.
I’ll be guiding us through to stumps. Send me your predictions, thought bubbles and other musings with an email or @martinpegan on Bluesky or X.
WICKET! Jacks c Green b Neser 27 (England 375-7)
After being batterered and bruised during a 62 ball vigil, Jacks gets a leading edge to Green in the gully. A breakthrough for Michael Neser in his first over after lunch. Time for me to go to bed now, thanks for all your many emails, sorry I couldn’t get to them all. Martin Pegan will guide you through to stumps. Good night!
92nd over: England 375-7 (Root 153)
91st over: England 374-6 (Root 152, Jacks 27) England have survived the first phase of the new ball. Cameron Green replaces Starc, can he find the control he had just before lunch? Just a single from it.
“Hi Tanya,” Hello Ben Barclay! “Why didn’t Stokes change his batting position to 7th or so to avoid Mitchell Starc?” I think Starc would come on whenever Stokes walked in, though, albeit, not always with the new ball. But it doesn’t feel very Stokes to try and escape the new ball. The players take drinks.
