Bethell century gives England Ashes silver lining

Sydney Cricket Ground’s fifth day, day four of five, will be the fifth Ashes Test.

England 384: Root 160, Brook 84, Neser 4-60 &amp, 302-8: Bethell 142*, Webster 3-51

Australia 567: Head 163, Smith 138, Tongue 3-97, Carse 3-130

England leads by 119 runs.

England’s Ashes silver lining was provided by Jacob Bethell’s stunning maiden century, but they were unable to stop the visitors from coming out on top in the fifth Test against Australia.

The 22-year-old made his sixth Test debut with a fantastic 142 runs for England’s long-term top three at a sun-drenched Sydney Cricket Ground.

However, England lost the lead in their second innings by 119 at the final wicket after being defeated by wickets late in the fourth day.

On Thursday’s last day of the series, Australia will end up 4-1 winners thanks to a significant contribution from Bethell and the tail, followed by a flawless bowling performance on a wearing pitch.

England would have lost on a fourth day that started with captain Ben Stokes leaving the field with a right groin injury without Bethell’s breakthrough knock.

Steve Smith scored 138 for Australia in the final three wickets of the opening innings, but England were still able to score 23 runs. A lead of 183 was given to the hosts with a total of 567.

Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, who both had 81 and 134 in the stands, wiped out Bethell’s record of 42.

Will Jacks joined the list of England batters to escape a ridiculous shot on this tour after Brook was lbw on review to a sharp off-break from Beau Webster.

In a collision with Bethell, Jamie Smith was left out, Stokes slipped, and Scott Boland was overtaken by Brydon Carse. England lost 78 runs overall, taking five wickets overall.

England’s exit from Australia will have few positive aspects, but Bethell’s transition from a promising talent to a legitimate Test batter will be forever remembered.

The visitors could have suffered a final humiliating defeat, possibly by an innings, on a Sydney pitch with plenty of turn and frequent uneven bounce.

Bethell’s knock was impressive both in terms of style and character; it reminded me of a 22-year-old Stokes scoring his first solo goal on a shattered Waca pitch against a writhing Mitchell Johnson just over 12 years earlier.

Further inquiries were made as to why England remained wary of his choice for so long. At the end of 2024, Bethell first impressed in New Zealand, but England kept working with Ollie Pope until the series was lost.

The opportunity to repair this team’s beaten England team appears to be available to head coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key. Bethell will soon be in place at number three, making things happen.

Bethell already had a good attitude for the big test, scoring a valuable 40 in England’s successful chase in Melbourne during the fourth Test.

Strangely, the second innings was the source of all of his greatest contributions to his previous five Tests, with the exception of three half-centuries. In the first innings, he only averages ten.

Extreme pressure, intensity, and consequence were present in this second-innings situation. After Mitchell Starc was lbw playing no stroke to Mitchell Starc, Bethell made his first appearance in the first over, leaving England 179 short.

What followed was a remarkable display of bat-electronic excellence that defied Bethell’s years and skill. He peppered the off-side boundary with a high front elbow, sweet timing, and striking in a stunning straight line.

When Cameron Green struck him in the head, he had to show his mettle. The great Joe Root’s struggle, which included a tortured six from 37 balls, helped put the quality of Bethell’s innings into context after Duckett ended his disappointing tour by cutting off Neser.

When Stokes was away, Brook assumed the captaincy and shifted responsibility to Bethell’s supporting role.

Before skipping down the pitch to clip Webster to mid-wicket for four, the left-hander spent 23 balls in the 1990s, seven of them on 99. Only the fifth Test batter to record his maiden first-class hundred was him.

Stokes took the ball and would only manage 10 deliveries before stumbling off with his groin as Australia started the day at 518-7. The all-rounder’s injury is a disappointing result of what will undoubtedly be his final Test appearance in Australia, at the conclusion of a tour in which his hopes of being one of the few England captains to triumph in this match were squandered.

In his absence, England at least cleaned up the tail. Steve Smith was bowled by Steve Smith behind Jacks, and Boland was bowled by Jacks for being caught at slip. On 71, Webster was unbeaten.

England’s momentum was stopped just as the tourists were beginning to look promising as a result of Webster’s intervention in the evening session.

The all-rounder bowls both off-spin and medium-pace. Australia didn’t select a front-line spinner, so they used Webster as the pitch began to change.

Brook, who was lbw on review, was deceived when he found ripping turn. Jack was superbly caught by Green at deep midwicket after a bone-headed slog to his second ball. Jamie Smith’s 26-run homerun was well received, despite Marnus Labuschagne’s bouncers, which had sucked his awful shot in the first inning.

When Smith was returned by Bethell, bringing Stokes to the top eight, Labuschagne was the one who broke the stumps. He couldn’t move his feet, so he had to yell a stern nod to Webster.