Webster spins Aussies into box seat despite Bethell brilliance

Australia are closing in on a fourth Ashes Test victory this summer with the effect of Jacob Bethell's dazzling coming-of-age century neutered by another sequence of bewildering England own-goals.

The recalled Beau Webster emerged as the unlikeliest of heroes on the penultimate day of the final NRMA Insurance Test, making up for the hosts' lack of a frontline spinner by taking three wickets with his secondary bowling skill including injured captain Ben Stokes.

Stokes, who walked off the field with an adductor injury on Wednesday morning midway through his 101st over of the series, demoted himself down the order in England’s second innings, but was in clear discomfort and limply became Webster's third victim in a disastrous final session for the visitors.

By stumps, England's lead was a precarious 119 at stumps with more Bethell brilliance on day five now their only hope of pulling the series scoreline back to 3-2.

Bethell reached 142no from 231 balls by the close of play, surviving a nervy final over against Scott Boland, with Matthew Potts, yet to score from 10 balls, unbeaten at the other end at the close with England's score on 8-302.

Webster, earlier missing out on a chance to post a maiden Test hundred after being left stranded on 71no, dismissed Harry Brook and Will Jacks in the space of three balls to undo all of the grit shown by wonderkid Bethell in over close to six hours at the crease.

The 22-year-old strokemaker showed why the Bazball regime has fast-tracked him to international cricket, as he serenely pushed through to his first Test hundred. It was remarkably also his maiden first-class ton – something no specialist English batter had done before.

The fluency of his driving and back-foot punching had cricket legends gasping. He hardly hit a ball in the air and calmly shrugged off an early knock to the helmet from a Cameron Green bouncer.

He spent 17 balls within one blow of triple-figures before carting Webster over mid-on to prompt an understated celebration. His parents were in tears watching on from the 42,864-strong crowd, the largest ever on day four of a Test in Sydney.

The youngest member of England's Ashes squad showed considerably more nous than many of his more seasoned teammates and his only mis-step might have come in a run-out mix-up with Jamie Smith.

But England's wicketkeeper surely must take equal responsibility in his second dismissal at the hands of Marnus Labuschagne in as many days.

Only Will Jacks could claim a more irresponsible exit. The allrounder, who swapped places with Stokes due to the latter's injury, saw his nightmare Test continue when he punted his second ball, off Webster, in the air to a diving Green on the same boundary he put down Travis Head a day earlier.

That came amid a match-turning collapse of 4-48 made possible by Webster's rare ability to switch from his regular medium pace back to the finger spin that had been his main bowling discipline in the earlier stages of his first-class career.

Webster had sent down two previous overs of seam but switched to spin with dramatic effect. From his seventh ball coming off his short run, the towering allrounder turned an off-break sharply into Harry Brook, which was given out on review.

The Tasmanian raised both arms in triumph when the 'three reds' came up and he could not have imagined he would be celebrating Jacks' exit only moments later while teammates mobbed him.

Australia's burgling of wickets continued when Jake Weatherald's pinpoint throw allowed a cackling Labuschagne to whip off the bails with the scrambling Smith well short of his ground.

Mitchell Starc's drought of failing to make a first-over breakthrough (three Tests) finally ended when the new-ball king ripped a vicious in-swinger back into the pads of a leaving Zak Crawley.

His 27th such first-over strike was an otherwise wayward opening spell from the left-armer, who struggled with the worn footholes on the bowling crease. When he got it right, he sent one whizzing past Ben Duckett's nose off a length as the challenge of the surface's up-and-down bounce became apparent.

Duckett nonetheless skipped to his highest score of the series but he had added just four to his tally after Green put him down in the gully when he chopped on for 42 off Neser after lunch. It capped the third-worst five-Test Ashes tour by an opener with his series average barely topping 20.

Amid the raft of anger-inducing England dismissals, none showed more displeasure than Root after the first-innings centurion succumbed to a barrage of pressure. Having nicked Starc through a vacant third slip, the 35-year-old was pinned lbw by the indefatigable Boland.

Root, who had previously gone undismissed from 281 consecutive Boland deliveries to him in Tests going back four years, lingered for an eternity after his review showed it only just clipping the leg bail. He dropped his bat before finally trudging off for possibly the last time in an Ashes Test on these shores.

The 101-run stand between Brook and Bethell took England into the lead though whispered hopes of an unlikely comeback were about to be dashed.

Australia's first-innings advantage had earlier taken their first-innings lead to 183 as Webster's stand with Steve Smith grew to 107 before the former ran out of partners.

Josh Tongue (3-97 from 30 overs) ensured Smith added just nine to his overnight tally of 129, dismissing him for the sixth time in first-class cricket, as England limited the damage despite the loss of Stokes.

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