Ashes in 'fast forward' heading for uncharted territory

If it's felt like the NRMA Insurance Ashes series has been played on 2x speed, there are many good reasons for that.

Not only have we had an unprecedented two two-day Tests, but we've seen batting strike rates at an Ashes high and bowling strike rates at an all-time low.

In the 2023 Ashes series, after four Tests there had been 18 days of play. This time around, there have been only 13.

The pitches have been in sharp focus following the Boxing Day Test, but stand-in Australian captain Steve Smith believes the speed of the matches are down to much more than purely the playing surfaces.

"It happens sometimes in cricket, it goes quick," Smith said after the two-day finish in Melbourne.

"A lot of the Tests, regardless of the wicket (are) being played in fast forward. The way both teams have been playing with the bat, quite aggressively, and getting scores quickly."

After a short but heavy downpour in Sydney on Thursday morning, Australia's cricketers were greeted with some challenging nets with several wet spots off to the side leaving mud caked on any stray balls.

All of the Australian batters took part in the optional session, with some hitting for 20 minutes and others for over an hour.

A quick glance out to the centre of the SCG would have revealed an extremely green-looking pitch, albeit three days out from the match.

Will the fifth Test reflect what we've seen in the series so far? Let's take a deeper dive into some of the statistical quirks of what's been one of the most unique Ashes series in history.

Fast bowlers dominating

Leaving the television to make a cup of tea during play has been a risky move this summer.

A wicket has been lost every 40.3 deliveries, the lowest in Ashes history for a series of four or more matches.

You have to go back to the 1902 series in England to find the next best on the list, where bowlers took a wicket every 47.4 deliveries.

The only other series that has had a bowling strike rate below 50 is the 2015 series in England, which included Stuart Broad's famous 8-15 at Trent Bridge.

Naturally, this series is also shaping up to be one of the shortest in terms of balls bowled too.

With only 5,571 balls sent down in the four Tests to date, if the Sydney Test ends in 162 overs or fewer, the 2025-26 series will be the shortest Ashes series ever.

Between 163 and 382 overs will land it in second spot, behind the aforementioned 1902 series.  

For all the bowling success, it's been mostly down to the pace bowlers. Spin has been almost non-existent in this series, with only 130.3 overs bowled in four Tests.

The two-day Melbourne Test saw no spin bowled for the entire match, the first time that's happened in an Ashes Test since the opening match of the 1981 series in England.

Pace has been the preferred method of attack for both sides, with England picking four specialist quicks in Perth and Australia doing so in Brisbane and Melbourne.

"Spin has been the easiest thing to face on some of these wickets that are offering a lot," Smith said.

"Why would you bowl it when you know you could leak 30 or 40 runs quickly if they decide to play positively, and the game shifts immediately?"

Sydney would need to see 424 balls of spin, or 70.4 overs, to have the 2025-26 series relinquish its spot has the most spin-deprived Ashes in history.

Batters going harder than ever

Compounding the problem of the short Tests is the general approach of the batting units.

England came to Australia with a reputation of batting with brash, aggressive strokeplay, and while they've been outscored and outpaced by the hosts, they've still batted quickly.

The combined batting strike rate in this series, 63.23, is the highest on record.

It eclipses the previous mark set in the most recent series, 2023, which was 60.83.

Perhaps emboldened by the trickiness of the wickets, both sides have been prepared to take on the bowling at rates not seen before.

"We've seen a lot more bowler-friendly conditions and green wickets, it's just happening more frequently," Josh Inglis said after the Melbourne Test.

"I think batters are choosing to take the more positive option, (rather than to) hang around there and wait for one with your name on it."

For England's 'Bazballers' and the regime that promised so much, it's been tough work for their batters.

The tourists' collective batting average of 22.77 is their lowest in the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes era, and a considerable 5.82 points below Australia's.

What will we get from the Sydney surface?

Batters, spinners, broadcasters, administrators and fans will be hoping the SCG serves up a more favourable batting surface come the first ball on Sunday.

However recent form at the venue doesn't suggest a long match.

The past two seasons have been responsible for two of the three shortest SCG Tests of the last 20 years.

Australia's eight-wicket win over Pakistan in 2024 was over just after lunch on day four, while the Aussies' six-wicket win over India in 2025 was completed before tea on day three.

Beau Webster made his debut in the latter, impressing by top-scoring with 57 in Australia's first innings and hitting the winning runs in the second.

The tall allrounder will be considered to make his Ashes debut having sat on the sidelines all series, despite barely putting a foot wrong in his seven Tests so far.

Webster has made a habit in his short career of scoring runs when conditions have favoured the bowlers, which included some diabolic wickets in the West Indies.

In the World Test Championship final, he came in at 4-67 on the first day and top-scored with 72.

In the second innings of the Barbados Test, he arrived at 4-65 and grinded out a vital 63. He followed that with another 60 in Grenada after coming in at 4-93.

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, 10:30am 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