Day four of the Australia vs England Ashes Test ended with England in control. They finished on stumps with a lead of 119 runs and two wickets in hand going into the final day.
Jacob Bethell was the key player for England. He scored his maiden Test century, reaching 100 with a boundary off Beau Webster. He also brought up his fifty earlier in the day and survived several close chances, including edges and lbw appeals.
Harry Brook supported Bethell well before being dismissed lbw by Webster after a successful review. Webster then struck again in the same spell, removing Will Jacks, and later claimed Ben Stokes, who edged to slip while struggling with injury.
Joe Root was out lbw to Scott Boland after a review, scoring just 6. Zak Crawley was also dismissed early in the innings, given out lbw to Mitchell Starc. Ben Duckett made 42 before chopping on to a Michael Neser delivery.
Australia picked up late wickets when Boland removed Brydon Carse and almost dismissed Bethell twice before stumps. Jamie Smith was run out after a mix-up with Bethell just after the drinks break.
Earlier, Australia were bowled out for 567, holding a first-innings lead of 183. Steve Smith scored 138 before edging Josh Tongue, while Beau Webster made 71 not out.
England now heads into day five with momentum, a solid lead, and Bethell still at the crease.
Jacob Bethell Scores Maiden Ashes Century in Sydney in 5th Australia vs England Ashes Test
England batter Jacob Bethell scored his first Test century in the Australia vs England Ashes at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He made 100 runs in 162 balls while batting at No. 3, replacing Ollie Pope. This was his highest Test score, improving on his earlier best of 96.
At 22 years and 78 days, Bethell became the youngest England batter since 2006 to score an Ashes century. Only one England player since 2000 was younger when scoring an Ashes hundred, achieving it in 2006 at the age of 21 years and 357 days.
Bethell is the first England No. 3 in 14 years to score an Ashes century, the last being Jonathan Trott. Since 2001, only Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher have also scored Ashes centuries at No. 3.
Bethell said his IPL experience with Royal Challengers Bengaluru helped him handle pressure. He played two matches for RCB and scored 55 off 33 against Chennai Super Kings. England later chased 175 to win the Test, their first win in Australia in over 14 years.
Steve Smith Becomes the Highest Run-Scorer Against England in the 5th Australia vs England Ashes Test
During the 5th AUS vs ENG Ashes Test, Steve Smith became the highest run-getter in international cricket against England. He crossed Don Bradman’s record during the fifth Test of the 2025–26 Ashes at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Smith scored 138 runs in Australia’s first innings. With this, he took his total to 5094 runs against England in international cricket. Don Bradman had scored 5028 runs against England.
Smith reached the mark in 122 innings across 90 matches in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. Bradman scored his runs in 63 innings from 37 Test matches.
Smith also completed 5000 international runs against a single opponent and became only the second batter to do so against England. Before him, only Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Bradman had scored more than 5000 runs against one team.
Against England, Smith has scored 3691 runs in Tests, 1245 runs in ODIs, and 158 runs in T20Is. He has 14 centuries and 21 fifties against them in international cricket.
FAQs
Q. What was England’s lead at the end of Day 4?
A. England led by 119 runs with two wickets in hand.
Q. What did Jacob Bethell achieve in the match?
A. Jacob Bethell scored his maiden Test century at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Q. How old was Jacob Bethell when he scored his Ashes century?
A. Jacob Bethell was 22 years and 78 days old when he scored his Ashes century.
Q. What score did Australia make in their first innings?
A. Australia were bowled out for 567 in their first innings.
Q. How many runs has Steve Smith scored against England?
A. Steve Smith has scored 5,094 runs against England.
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