As Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook first took England to the lead on Day 4 at the SCG, then passed a 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket, Australia found themselves desperately needing a wicket to turn things around.
And it arrived in truly unusual fashion – and from an unexpected source.
Having barely bowled throughout the Test, Beau Webster was brought into the attack during the third session of the day to bowl some off-spin, with a sharp turner fizzing past Brook’s inside edge to rap him on the pad.
While wicketkeeper Alex Carey was immediately interested, Webster barely appealed, signalling to captain Steve Smith that the impact was likely too high.
“Webster thinks it was high – Carey doesn’t seem to agree with his bowler,” Channel 7 commentator Tim Lane said.
Trusting his keeper, Smith chose to call in the DRS, with the Australians erupting in surprised delight when ball-tracker found it to not only have been hitting Brook in line with the stumps, but going on to hit the wickets.
Brook’s fall was almost immediately followed by Will Jacks, promoted to No.6 in the batting order ahead of injured captain Ben Stokes and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith – and in disastrous fashion.
Attempting to slog Webster off his second ball, Jacks only succeeded in holing out to Cameron Green at deep mid-wicket, who held onto a good catch.
In Channel 7’s commentary box, Ricky Ponting was disgusted.
“Will Jacks, how do you walk back into that dressing room?” he said.
“You cannot be disappointed in yourself. It’s a rank slog, second ball, bottom of the bat, and it’s a good catch in the deep.
“Just got themselves back into a strong position, a few brain fades from Harry Brook, a bigger one from Will Jacks, and all of a sudden England are five down.
“This was just brainless, absolutely brainless.”
The twin strikes from Webster left England 5/219, with a lead of only 36.
‘Future of English cricket’: Bethell praised for superb century
Having been brought into England’s team for the Boxing Day Test, Jacob Bethell has entrenched himself as the long-term No.3 with a superb century on Day 4 in Sydney.
Despite a first-class average of under 30 with no centuries to his name, the 22-year old, playing his sixth Test after debuting in New Zealand in late 2024, impressed a swathe of former greats with a measured innings to help build a strong England second innings.
After Zak Crawley was dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the opening over, with Australia holding a 183-run first innings lead, Bethell batted with assurance and patience during first a breezy 81-run stand with Ben Duckett, before bringing up his maiden Ashes half-century alongside Joe Root.
He cruised to three figures on the afternoon session with Harry Brook for company – his maiden Test and first-class ton – in the process taking England to a lead and giving them a fighting chance at a come-from-behind victory.
Speaking on Fox Cricket, Adam Gilchrist hailed the young gun as the ‘future of English cricket’.
“Really well played, an attractive style of cricket,” he said.
“A sense of calmness, maturity beyond his years and experience.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan proclaimed the ‘really exciting’ rise of Bethell, pointing to his form in white-ball cricket as a sign he has a bright future in all formats.
“He’s such a young player with so many years ahead of him,” he said.
On Channel 7, former Australian opener Greg Blewett also praised the innings.
“I couldn’t be more impressed with what I’ve seen from Jacob Bethell,” he said.
“I love his tempo as well. He looks to score and he looks to score off the bad deliveries. He’s happy to leave the ball. Just good Test match batting.
“At no stage in this innings has he looked to force the pace.”
Former great Ricky Ponting, meanwhile, dubbed Bethell ‘one of those players that makes everything look easy’.
‘Cooked’ Stokes limps off in final blow on tour from hell
A hellish Australian summer has got worse for Ben Stokes, with the England captain limping from the field early on Day 4 at the SCG with an injury set to end his series early.
Stokes opted to give himself the ball to start the day, but four balls into his second over, he pulled up lame in his follow-through.
Looking dejected, Stokes limped from the field after an exchange with vice-captain Harry Brook, who will lead the team in his absence.
“I think he might be cooked,” Fox Cricket commentator Isa Guha said.
It has since been confirmed he is being assessed for a left adductor strain.
Stokes has a long history of injuries, having missed the final Test of England’s mid-year series against India with a torn shoulder muscle.
He has battled through a difficult tour for the visitors, having repeatedly bowled long spells and only stopped by fatigue during the third Test in Adelaide.
“We wondered if it was going to happen at some point – the disappointment on that face tells you,” former great Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket.
“It’s been a big effort for this man to get through all five Test matches, there was that point in Adelaide where he didn’t bowl, we wondered if there was a niggle.”
“It’s been worrying him all tour, that groin,” Mark Waugh added.
At 34 years old, it seems likely this will be the last Ashes Test Stokes plays in Australia, having debuted here during the disastrous 2013/14 5-0 whitewash and emerging as one of the only shining lights for England.
He could, however, return down under in early 2027 for the one-off 150th anniversary Test at the MCG.
“He’s a warrior cricketer, he’s worked so hard to get himself fit for this series, it hasn’t gone his way,” Guha said.
“He’s had to really put in with bat, with ball, as captain, and it’s finally told in the end.”
There was one immediate positive out of Stokes’ injury, with Josh Tongue replacing him in the attack after Jacob Bethell completed the over, and immediately drawing an edge behind out of Steve Smith to provide a much-needed breakthrough.
Vaughan’s scathing verdict on ‘stubborn’ Poms
With England just two days away from ending another difficult tour of Australia, former captain Michael Vaughan has urged change from the ground up to revitalise the Test team.
Built up as the culmination of years of work and promising results under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the team lost the series after just 11 days of cricket, with a consolation win in Melbourne not papering over the cracks in their famed ‘Bazball’ batting approach.
Speaking on Fox Cricket, Vaughan lamented the missed opportunity for England to win just their second series in Australia in 30 years, given the injury woes suffered by their opponents.
“We generally all felt that this England side, with the talent that they have, led by Ben and Baz, had a great opportunity here in Australia,” he said.
“I mentioned all the Aussie greats that haven’t played – this was a chance for England, and they haven’t taken it.
“Their preparation was very poor, their stubbornness in the way that they play has been very poor for a while now.
“They haven’t accepted that you need to go up and down in the gears in Test match cricket, and obviously their bowling has been found wanting.
“The one thing that I never thought I’d say – Ben Stokes’ tactics haven’t been quite right on this trip, either.”
England are set to launch a review into the unsuccessful tour following the end of the series, with reports McCullum will be required to significantly revamp the team’s culture and approach should he hang onto his job.
That’s a sentiment Vaughan wholeheartedly agrees with.
“If this management carries on, they clearly have to carry on and change. They have to change the culture around the group,” he said.
“They seem to have created a cult around the way that this team play and talk. A lot of it is nonsense. That has to change.
“They haven’t won a five-match Test series since 2017 [actually 2018]. We’ve had some flamboyant times, some exciting times, in recent years, but they haven’t won a big, big series.”
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