Ashes 2026: Travis Head and Steve Smith Lead Australia to Series Win
Australia won the series easily, beating England by five wickets at the SCG. They won the series 4–1, making it four Ashes series in a row they’ve won at home. England’s only win came on a pitch that was tricky for batters, where they got lucky to bowl first.
Usman Khawaja signed off from his Test career with a win, played in front of a record crowd at the SCG and a record aggregate attendance across the five Tests in Australia. Test cricket needs moments like these, and series like this, to thrive in the modern era, even as T20 cricket continues to dominate the landscape. England batted first in this Test at the SCG and put on one of their better performances with the bat, led by one of their greatest ever batter, Joe Root.
Australia Clinches Ashes Series 4–1 with Dominant Win at SCG
Root made 160 and the next best contribution was 84 from Harry Brook. Jamie Smith made 46, while others failed to convert their starts into a big knock. England were bowled out for 384. Michael Neser picked up four wickets, while Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland got two each. Green and Marnus Labuschagne picked up one apiece. In reply, Australia posted over 500 runs thanks to centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith. Head made 163, while Smith scored 138. Beau Webster remained unbeaten on 71. Australia's innings ended on 567 as they took a 183-run first innings lead.
Mitchell Starc started the third innings with a first-over wicket. Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett added 81 runs for the second wicket before Duckett perished for 42. Bethell carried on and brought up his maiden First-Class century. He added 102 runs with Harry Brook for the fourth wicket. A 45-run stand with Jamie Smit for the sixth wicket and handy partnerships down the order with Brydon Carse (30) and with Matthew Potts (31). Bethell led the way with a magnificent knock of 154 as England were bowled out for 342.
On Day 5, they could only add 40 runs and lost their remaining two. The target for Australia was 160 and they got off to a perfect start as Jake Weatherald and Travis Head took the attack to the visitors. Brydon Carse got into a tiff with Jake Weatherald. But it was too late. England did pick up late wickets in the second session but Cam Green and Alex Carey saw them home comfortably in the end.
