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AUS vs ENG 5th Test preview [Source: AFP]
Australia (AUS) and England (ENG) will face each other in the fifth Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series from January 4 onwards. The match will be hosted by the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney and the action will commence from 5:00 AM IST on each match day.
Australia
The Australian team retained the Ashes by winning the first three Tests of the ongoing 2025-26 series with convincing margins. Despite losing the fourth Test at the MCG last week, Australia is still placed at the top of the 2025-27 WTC standings, having won six of their last seven matches since losing the 2025 WTC final to South Africa.
England
The England cricket team snapped its four-match losing streak with a surprising four-wicket win against Australia at the MCG. Still 1-3 down in the 2025-26 Ashes series, the Englishmen will be aiming to win the impending SCG dead-rubber to finish off the tour on another high. Notably, England’s latest win also marked their first-ever on Australian soil in the last decade-and-a-half.
AUS vs ENG head-to-head overview
Australia and England teams have faced each other 365 times in Test cricket. Australia holds the head-to-head advantage with 155 wins in comparison to England’s 113 wins. The remaining 97 matches have resulted in draws.
| Matches | Australia won | England won | Draws |
| 365 | 155 | 113 | 97 |
SCG in Sydney pitch report
The surface at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney generally offers considerable seam movement to fast bowlers on the opening day. The wicket here also usually provides pace and bounce to make life a bit difficult for the batters. However, batters can score freely on the pitch after settling themselves at the crease.
Spinners will be expected to come into play from Day 3 onwards, making the roles of England’s Shoaib Bashir and Australia’s Todd Murphy increasingly crucial as the pitch begins to wear and offer turn. The average first innings total across all Tests played at the SCG so far has amounted to 318.
Australia and England probable playing XI
Australia
Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Todd Murphy and Scott Boland
England
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir
Top run scorers in AUS vs ENG Tests
We are considering only the players from the current squad.
Steve Smith – 3,553 runs
Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith is the third highest run-aggregator in the history of Australia vs England Tests, and the highest among active players with 3,553 runs in just 72 innings at a staggering batting average of 55.51.
Joe Root – 2,662 runs
Joe Root remains England’s most proficient active Ashes batter with 2,662 runs in 73 innings spanning 38 Test matches against Australia, doing so at an average of nearly 40 with five tons and 18 fifties.
Ben Stokes – 1,745 runs
England captain Ben Stokes has registered 1,745 runs in 53 Test innings against Australia at an average of 34.21. The explosive middle-order batter has tonked four centuries and 10 fifties overall in Ashes Tests.
Top wicket-takers in AUS vs ENG Tests
We are considering only the players from the current squad.
Mitchell Starc – 123 wickets
Mitchell Starc is the leading wicket-taker among all active players in Australia vs England Tests with 123 scalps in just 50 innings at an average of 25.26. The speedster has snared 26 wickets in the ongoing 2025-26 Ashes series alone.
Ben Stokes – 54 wickets
England captain Ben Stokes has taken 54 wickets against Australia in 38 innings spanning 28 Tests at an average of 34.79.
Scott Boland – 36 wickets
Australian fast bowler Scott Boland has picked up 36 wickets in the Ashes against England in just nine matches and 18 innings. The speedster holds a staggering bowling average of just 21.41.
AUS vs ENG key stats
Australia key records
- Australia’s firebrand opener Travis Head has aggregated the highest number of runs among his teammates off late with 779 runs in just 10 matches.
- Mitchell Starc has taken 52 wickets in his last 10 Tests, including 26 in the ongoing 2025-26 Ashes series to emerge as Australia’s most successful bowler in recent memory.
- Australian captain Steve Smith averages a staggering 64.47 in Test matches at the SCG, having piled up over a thousand runs at the venue in just 19 innings.
- Before losing the fourth Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series last week, Australia held a six-match winning streak and still continues to top the 2025-27 WTC table.
- Australian top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne is yet to be dismissed by England fast bowler Brydon Carse.
England key records
- Former England captain Joe Root has mounted over 800 runs in his last 10 Test matches at an average of 50.31.
- England opener Zak Crawley has emerged as his team’s most successful batter in the ongoing 2025-26 Ashes series with 256 runs in eight innings.
- Josh Tongue has scalped 33 wickets in his last six Test matches to emerge as England’s most proficient wicket-taker in recent times.
- Brydon Carse has successfully led England’s wicket-taking charge in the ongoing 2025-26 Ashes series with 19 scalps in just seven innings.
Records that can be broken in AUS vs ENG 5th Test
- Outbound Australian top-order batter Usman Khawaja needs just 125 more runs to complete 1,000 runs in Tests at the SCG.
- Mitchell Starc needs just 27 more runs to complete 2,500 Test runs as a batter, thus completing a rare all-rounder’s double in the format.
- England captain Ben Stokes needs seven more wickets to complete 250 wickets in Test cricket.
- Former England skipper Joe Root needs 223 runs to complete 14,000 runs in his illustrious Test career.
- Steve Smith needs just one more century to become the second highest century-maker after Don Bradman in the history of the Ashes.
