Australia won the fifth Australia vs England Ashes Test on Day 5 at the SCG and sealed the series 4–1. The winning runs were scored by Alex Carey, who hit a four through the off side to finish the chase.
Australia were set a target of 160 after England were bowled out in the morning session. Mitchell Starc took the final wicket and finished the series with 31 wickets, the most by any bowler.
Travis Head and Jake Weatherald opened the chase. Head was out for 29, while Weatherald was dismissed after surviving an early DRS controversy. Steve Smith was bowled by Will Jacks, and Usman Khawaja walked in for his final Test innings, receiving a guard of honor from England.
Khawaja was out for 6, ending his Test career. Marnus Labuschagne was run out due to a mix-up with Carey. Despite late wickets, Carey and Cameron Green steadied the innings and took Australia home.
Australia completed the chase with wickets in hand and clinched a dominant series victory over England.
Record-Breaking Feats at the SCG in 5th Australia vs England Ashes Test
Steve Smith’s 13th Ashes Century at the SCG
Steven Smith scored his 13th Ashes hundred at the SCG. This is the second-most Ashes centuries by any batter, behind Don Bradman’s 19. Smith moved ahead of Jack Hobbs, who had 12 Ashes hundreds.
Smith now has 13 Test hundreds against England. This is joint second-most by a batter against one opponent. Only Don Bradman has more, with 19 against England. Sunil Gavaskar against the West Indies and Joe Root against India also have 13.
Smith has scored 3682 runs in the Ashes. This makes him the second-highest run-scorer in Ashes history, behind Bradman’s 5028 runs. He passed Jack Hobbs’ total of 3636 during his unbeaten 129 at the SCG. His total runs against England are also the second-most by any batter against one opponent.
Smith reached 37 Test hundreds in his career. This is the sixth-most in Test history and took him past Rahul Dravid’s 36. He reached 37 centuries in 219 innings. Only Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara reached that mark faster.
Smith has scored 18 Test hundreds as captain. Only three captains have more. Eleven of these centuries have come in home Tests, which is the joint-most by any captain along with Ricky Ponting.
Travis Head’s First SCG Century in Ashes History
Travis Head scored his first Test hundred at the SCG. He now has centuries at all seven Australian venues where he has played Tests. Only Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, and David Warner have achieved hundreds at seven Australian venues.
Head has seven scores of 150 or more from his 12 Test hundreds. Only Don Bradman, Zaheer Abbas, Virender Sehwag, Dennis Amiss, and Steve Waugh had similar or better records at that stage. Among Australians, only Bradman and Steve Waugh match or exceed this.
Head’s highest Test score is 175. This is the lowest highest score among players who have seven or more 150-plus scores in Tests. Only Colin Cowdrey and Mohammad Azharuddin also failed to score a double hundred despite multiple 150-plus scores.
Head reached his 150 in 152 balls. This is the equal third-fastest 150 in Ashes history since ball-by-ball data began. It is also the second-fastest 150 ever recorded at the SCG, behind Joe Darling’s effort in 1898.
Jacob Bethell’s Maiden Test Century in the Ashes
Jacob Bethell scored his maiden first-class century in the second innings of the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He reached the hundred on Day 4 and did it at the age of 22.
With this innings, Bethell became the ninth England batter to score a Test century against Australia at 22 years or younger. He joined Johnny Briggs, Jack Hearne, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Colin Cowdrey, David Gower, Mike Atherton, Alastair Cook, and Ben Stokes.
Bethell also matched a rare record held by Kapil Dev. He became only the fifth player to score both his maiden first-class and maiden List-A centuries in international cricket. The others are Kapil Dev, Marlon Samuels, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Curtis Campher.
He is only the fifth England player to score a maiden first-class hundred in a Test match. He is also just the second English batter, after Jack Russell, to score a maiden first-class century in an Ashes Test against Australia.
FAQs
Q. Who won the 5th Ashes Test at the SCG?
A. Australia won the match and sealed the series 4–1.
Q. Who took the most wickets in the series?
A. Mitchell Starc with 31 wickets in the series.
Q. How many fifty-plus partnerships did Australia have in the SCG innings?
A. Australia had seven fifty-plus partnerships, the most in an Ashes innings.
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