Australia beat England in Sydney, win 2025/26 Ashes 4-1: Stats
What's the story
Australia claimed a five-wicket win over England at Sydney Cricket Ground to seal the 2025/26 Ashes 4-1. The hosts successfully chased down 160 on the final day with a concerted batting effort. While Usman Khawaja played his final Test innings, Travis Head was adjudged the Player of the Match. Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc was the Player of the series for taking 31 wickets.
Match
How the match panned out
Electing to bat, England compiled 384 on the back of Joe Root's historic century. Harry Brook also scored a counter-attacking 84, with Michael Neser taking four wickets. Australia responded with a substantial 567 as Travis Head and Steve Smith slammed tons. Despite being behind, Jacob Bethell's century helped England take a lead. However, Australia chased down 160 in the second session on Day 5.
Root
Root, Brook bolster England
Despite a solid start, England were 57/3 early in the Test. However, Root and Brook added a 169-run stand to bolster them. Root scored a composed 160 off 242 balls, laced with 14 boundaries. Brook was the aggressor, having smashed a 97-ball 84 (6 fours and 1 six). Jamie Smith (46) and Will Jacks (27) also played crucial knocks down the order.
Milestones
Root shatters records with 41st Test ton
Root equaled Australian legend Ricky Ponting's record of 41 Test centuries. The duo is only behind India's Sachin Tendulkar (51) and South Africa's Jacques Kallis (45) in terms of Test tons. Root now has 17 scores of 150-plus runs in Tests. Only Tendulkar (20), West Indies' Brian Lara (19), Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (19), and Australia's Don Bradman (18) are ahead of him.
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Root's second Test ton Down Under
Root raced to his second Test century in Australia. Before the tour, the English batter was devoid of one Down Under. Notably, Root now has 24 centuries since the start of 2021.
Head
Head hammers whirlwind ton
Head once again starred for Australia, this time with a 166-ball 163 (24 fours and a six). He scored the joint third-fastest 150 in Ashes history (152 balls), bettering Bradman's record of 166 balls (1930). Head also owns the second spot on this list, having recorded a 143-ball 150 in Brisbane back in 2021. During his stay, he also brought up 4,500 Test runs.
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Head joins these legends
Head now owns the joint second-most tons by an opener in an Ashes series, as per ESPNcricinfo. Matthew Hayden, Sir Alastair Cook, and Michael Vaughan are the only other openers to score three centuries in a single Ashes series since the start of 2000.
Runs
Over 600 runs in an Ashes series
According to ESPNcricinfo, Head joined David Warner as the second Australian opener to score 500-plus runs in an Ashes series since the start of 2000. Warner slammed 523 runs at an incredible average of 58.11 in the 2013/14 Ashes. And Head finished his 2025/26 campaign with a staggering 629 runs at an incredible average of 62.90 (SR: 87.36).
Smith
Smith smashes Ashes records
On the other hand, Smith scored a 220-ball 138 (16 fours and a six). The Aussie batter now has 13 centuries in the Ashes, second only to Bradman (19). The former broke the tie with England's Jack Hobbs, who recorded 12 Ashes hundreds. Smith also became the second-highest run-scorer in Ashes history. He went past Hobbs, who finished with 3,636 runs.
Records
Other records set by Smith
This was overall Smith's 37th hundred in Test cricket. Root (41) is the only active batter with more Test tons. Meanwhile, 18 of Smith's Test tons have come while leading the team. Only South Africa's Graeme Smith (25), India's Virat Kohli (20), and Australia's Ricky Ponting (19) have scored more Test hundreds as designated captains. Smith also completed his fifth Test ton at SCG.
Starc
Mitchell Starc: Player of the Series
While Head was adjudged the Player of the Match, Starc won the Compton-Miller Medal for being the Player of the Series. The left-arm seamer ended up with 31 wickets from 10 innings at 19.93, including two five-wicket hauls and a match haul of 10 wickets. Starc became the fourth player to have taken 30-plus wickets in an Ashes series in the 21st century.
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Joint-most Test wickets among left-arm pacers
According to ESPNcricinfo, Starc also equaled the former Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath in terms of Test wickets (433). This means the two bowlers now have the joint-most wickets among left-arm bowlers in the format.
Bethell
Bethell's historic century saves the day
Bethell's formidable century saved England from an innings defeat on Day 4 of the Sydney Test. He was England's lone warrior, scoring a fine 154 off 265 balls. According to Cricbuzz, Bethell became the fifth England player to have scored their maiden First-Class hundred in a Test. Bethell is also the fifth player to score their maiden First-Class and List-A tons in internationals.
Numbers
A look at other notable numbers
Smith, who led in place of the injured Pat Cummins, has now won eight of his 10 Ashes Tests as captain. He has lost a solitary match (drawn one). As per Cricbuzz, Alex Carey became only the second wicketkeeper-batter with 300-plus runs and 25-plus dismissals in a Test series. Usman Khawaja bowed out of Test cricket with 6,229 runs at 42.95.
Urn
Australia continue to dominate England
The Ashes urn has been with Australia since the 2017/18 edition Down Under, which they won 4-0. England lost the 2021/22 series in Australia by a 4-0 margin, while the 2019 and 2023 series in England were drawn (2-2). Before this series, England last won a Test in Australia in January 2011. They were routed 5-0 by the Aussies in the 2013/14 series.