After dropping a sitter and with his bowling largely overlooked, Will Jacks will have to recover quickly to give England any hope in the final Ashes Test
Signs the SCG wicket is starting to spin will come as welcome news for a man desperate to try to make a final positive contribution to England’s Ashes campaign.
Will Jacks endured a hellish day on Tuesday which started with dropping a sitter on the boundary, allowing rampaging century-maker Travis Head to compound the visitors’ misery for another 42 runs.
His off-spin then became even more part-time than usual as his skipper Ben Stokes opted for the left-arm alternative provided by Jacob Bethell.
Another drop, this time a tough chance off his own bowling, could have left the all-rounder despondent but Bethell insists Jacks will be ready to try to round out the Australian innings early on day four.
“I don’t think we’ve had to lift him up, he’s a very confident guy,” Bethell told reporters after play.
“I thought he bowled well after and I imagine he’s going to bowl very well in the second innings.”
For a second Australian innings to be necessary, England will need to quickly end the first on Wednesday morning before the lead swells too far past its current 134.
The absence of specialist spinners on either side has been a key talking point throughout the fifth test, with Bethell saying the pitch was starting to show signs of the Sydney of old.
“From straight there was a little bit of assistance in terms of down the stump line,” he said.
“The wider you threw it out there, the more there was assistance.”
“That could bring Jacks into the game for those right-handers, especially in their second innings.”
Australian skipper Steve Smith will resume day four on 129 accompanied by Beau Webster (42), with the hosts looking to ensure they only have to bat once.
With no specialist spinner of their own, Australia will be relying on the part-time offerings of Head and Webster to exploit any turn in an effort to seal victory.
But staring down the barrel of more hours in the field, the English batters will have to find reserves of resilience not yet seen this summer if they’re to stave off a final bruising defeat.
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: Australia won by eight wickets
Second Test: Australia won by eight wickets
Third Test: Australia won by 82 runs
Fourth Test: England won by four wickets
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10am AEDT
Australia squad (fifth Test): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue
