Sport
2 January, 2026
Ashes decided, but Fifth test will still be a cracker
The Ashes may already have been decided but there is still plenty of interest in the Fifth Test, due to commence in Sydney on Sunday.
The Ashes may already have been decided but there is still plenty of interest in the Fifth Test, due to commence in Sydney on Sunday.
Many local residents who have already purchased tickets will have their fingers crossed that the Test lasts longer than two days – as will the sport’s administrators and everyone else who benefits financially from a test that runs its full course.
There is plenty of pressure on SCG curator Adam Lewis following the controversy surrounding the Fourth Test in Melbourne and the state of the pitch which has been described in media reports as a ‘green monster’.
The Fifth Test will not only be Usman Khawaja’s farewell – it may also be the last time cricket fans get to see former Australian captain Steve Smith play in a test match at his home ground wearing the baggy green.
Smith has been battling vertigo and a long-term back problem and there is no guarantee that he will compete in next year’s SCG Test against New Zealand.
While Smith’s career is still tarnished by the 2018 ball-tampering incident in South Africa – which saw him stripped of the captaincy and banned from playing cricket for 12 months – there is no doubt he is one of the greatest batsmen the country has produced.
He is widely regarded as the best Test batsman of his generation and was named ICC Men’s Test Player of the decade for 2011-2020.
However the spotlight will be well and truly on 39-year-old Usman Khawaja after he announced earlier today (Friday) that the Sydney test would be his last.
Khawaja has played 88 Tests for Australia since 2015, amassing 6,206 runs and 16 Test centuries along the way.
He has averaged 43.39 overall but 48.05 as an opener - putting him in the same league as Matthew Hayden (50.73), Justin Langer (48.22), Bill Lawry (47.15) and David Warner (45.08).
Fans will be desperate to see him go out in style – hopefully with another century to add to his already impressive tally.
As the Fifth Test nears the thoughts of many fans will also be on former Australian great Damien Martyn, 54, who was placed in an induced coma after being diagnosed with meningitis.
The 67-Test veteran lapsed into unconsciousness on Boxing Day and was rushed to a Gold Coast hospital.
Martyn – who has remained largely out of public view since his shock retirement 19 years ago – was part of a golden era for the Australian team in the early 2000s and helped guide Australia to wins in the 1999 and 2003 Cricket World Cups as well as the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy.
His condition has been reported as serious but stable.
Australia had been keen to take a clean sweep of the series after 8-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run victory in Adelaide.
However with 10mm of live grass left on the MCG pitch for the Boxing Day Test, players from both teams struggled with the movement and bounce and the game was over within two days.
Australia’s Travis Head was the highest run scorer with 47off 67 deliveries.
England won the Test by four wickets – it’s first Test victory on Australian soil in 15 years.
MCG head curator Matt Page has since admitted that staff had erred in preparing a pitch that favoured bowlers.
Local cricket fans travelling to the SCG are being warned that there will be an increased police and security presence following the recent terror attack at nearby Bondi Beach.
There is expected to be 100 police officers on patrol throughout the match as well as 250 security staff.
Fans are being advised to arrive early due to additional security measures at the entry gates.
Local cricket fans and visitors to the Southern Highlands not lucky enough to be travelling to the SCG are reminded that Bowral’s Bradman Museum and International Cricket Hall of Fame is currently hosting an exhibition celebrating cricket’s greatest rivalry.
The Ashes exhibition features “rare artefacts, legendary stories, treasured memorabilia and the evolution of the tiny urn that shaped one sport’s fiercest contests”.
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