Joe Root finally finds his SCG moment, but England let their advantage slip as another Ashes loss looms

As so often for England in this series, a day of what could have been rather than what was.

There was of course excellence from the one constant in this England side’s evolution over the years – Joe Root. He started the day on 72, he finished the penultimate man out, having made 160 to guide England to their biggest total of the series.

After a first hundred in Australia with the pink ball in Brisbane, here was a red ball one in Sydney – not even the most pedantic of naysayers can doubt his abilities Down Under now.

Root finally registers happy memory at SCG

There will surely be extra delight for Root that this knock came at the SCG. After all he was dropped from the side for the Test here in the 2013/14 Ashes after which he ‘thought he might not play for England again’ and then in the 2017/18 series was forced to retire hurt on 58 and subsequently hospitalised after succumbing to gastroenteritis.

Now he finally can bank a happy memory from this famous old ground, a 41st Test hundred. It drew him level with Ricky Ponting in the all-time charts; only Jacques Kallis (45) and Sachin Tendulkar (51) lie ahead of him.

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Joe Root brings up his second Test century in Australia 👏#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/bXwBXY7nw0

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2026

On the Sachin front, whether or not it is of interest to Root himself, he is now fewer than 2000 runs behind Tendulkar’s Test record of 15921. Root’s last 2000 runs have come in 22 Tests, so at his current rate, he could break the record on the next mooted (but as yet unconfirmed) England tour of India.

That though is speculation and intrigue for another day, in the current one England were once again busy with not making the most of the gifts they had been handed by Root.

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A total of 384 is by no means disastrous for England, but having resumed at 211-3 and on a pitch that looks perfectly pleasant to bat on, it is far from the emphatic statement that they would have been hoping for.

Once again in this series the chance to really build on a promising Day One has been somewhat squandered by England on Day Two.

Harry Brook could only add 6 to his overnight score, nicking to slip rather tamely, Ben Stokes got an absolute beauty from Mitchell Starc, and then Jamie Smith played an absolute disasterclass of an innings.

While the scorecard will forever record that Smith made 46 in this innings, it will not capture the manner and good fortune with which they were made.

The contest for the worst shot of the series has arguably been the most closely fought battle of this Ashes, but Smith today surely claimed victory.

England bowlers struggle after batting collapse

With mere minutes to go until lunch and Australia sufficiently desperate that they had turned to the medium pace filth of Marnus Labuschagne, Smith brainlessly slapped the part-timer to Scott Boland in the deep.

The only possible audio accompaniment to a wicket that tops the pantheon of daftness...#WhyDidHeDoThat? pic.twitter.com/pcIpPGg4SV

— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) January 5, 2026

Ultimately it was a fitting end to one of the least convincing innings we have seen for a while. There were numerous let-offs – which made the eventual gormless surrender to Labuschagne all the more painful – various miscued skyers that somehow landed safe as well as the biggest reprieve of all.

Cameron Green had Smith caught in the covers but managed to overstep, the no ball chalking the wicket off the board. To add insult to injury Smith loosely edged the next ball between keeper and slip, a shot that could only be excused if he’d got confused with white ball cricket and thought it was a free hit.

England’s tail did not manage much, Will Jacks did well to stick around for a bit for his 27, but it was not a match-altering score, while the three specialist fast bowlers added just two runs between them.

Sadly from an English point of view the bowlers’ bad day was far from over.

You could make the case that England’s sloppiness with the new ball has been the biggest factor behind them losing this series - particularly given the way in which the Kookaburra ball plays - here they were back to their old tricks.

Jake Weatherald was dropped twice early on, the chance to make vital early inroads squandered, but most of the time, the tourists were far too loose with their efforts.

Matthew Potts has waited a long time to make his bow in this series. He finished the day having gone at over 8 runs an over.

In the end, the close of play was something of a blessing for England; they had claimed the wickets of Weatherald and Labuschagne, but Australia had scored 166 at almost five an over - Travis Head’s 87-ball 91 the real body blow.

England will resume on Day Three with a lead of 218, but unless they bowl significantly better, they could see that disappear all too quickly and another defeat rapidly looming towards them.