Test Match Special - The Ashes: Root’s resolve, Smith’s shocker and Australia move ahead.

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

We hear from Joe Root who scored his 41st Test century and Australia fast bowler Scott Boland. Plus, there’s analysis from Simon Mann, Jonathan Agnew, Phil Tufnell, Glenn McGrath and Andy Zaltzman.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Dakar Rally is the ultimate off-road challenge. Perfect for the ultimate defender. The high-performance Defender Octa, 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine and intelligent 6D dynamics air suspension. Learn more at landrover.ca. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. He gets it past the bowl, but it's going up towards Longoff.

It won't be four, but it will be Joe Roots 100, the second of the series. Smith steps away, then flogs this into the offside. No! No! He's caught a deep extra cover of a Marnas-Labashane deliberate Longhoff. So close to the second day of the fifth and final test match, the SCG. England 384, Australia replying strongly with 166 for two. A shower of rain caused the players to go off shortly before the scheduled close after Michael Nisa was hit on the arm by a ball from Ben Stoke Nisa out there after the dismissal of Labashane, not long before the

clothes caught by Bethelof Stokes at Gully for 48 and Stokes getting the other wicket as well. earlier Root made 160's 41st test 100 is second in this series against Australia he was the ninth man out Ben Stokes out for North

under Harry Brook went early for 84 Jamie Smith and we'll talk about this innings and his dismissal out for 46 so many sketchy shots and an incredible dismissal really in the context of the match well Jack's making 27 useful

partnership with Root towards the but England losing their last four wickets for nine runs who had the advantage after that first innings it was hard to tell but perhaps not quite as hard to tell now with australia moving towards 166 for two by the close of play glen mcgras is here tuffers is here jonathan agnew is here well plenty to talk about jonathan let's just talk about the overall state of the game and we've seen a few balls behave oddly today we thought it was a very good batting pitch yesterday. Harry Brooks said it's the best batting pitch of the series and

the score suggests that it's absolutely fine for batting but one of two balls have misbehaved. Definitely. I mean it'd be interesting to see how if that's just I don't know something has happened today or whether it is a deterioration of the pitch and I'm going to go out there and have a look tomorrow and see if any of these cracks have opened up because that last one there

the Nisa got I mean it didn't rear horribly I mean the way he played it made it look as if it did but it did bounce a bit more and there's definitely been deliveries bouncing and they were all day that Joe Root from the very start of the day was getting balls that surprised him and hitting high up on the bat gloves

and that sort of thing and we didn't see any of that yesterday so whether that's just I don't know a vagary of today the bowler's a bit more fired up or something or whether the cracks are starting to open up what do you think that would be interesting I think maybe the

pitch is starting to play you know a few funny things just the odd ball was really bouncing we saw one maybe one or two keep a little bit bit lower but not a big big issue it's just that extra bounce you know i think we'll see what happens tomorrow it's not bad at the moment i reckon i reckon day four and five is when it's really going to come into play tomorrow's a a big day if australia can bat all day you know they probably

score 300 so all of a sudden they've got a lead but if england can bowl well knock them over have a lead and then build on that going into day four and five they're right on top in this game So tomorrow is pretty important. Kept bouncing right onto the middle of Travis Head's bats, didn't it? Another, another scintillating knock from Travis Head, really. You can't take your eyes off him, is there? Anything, you know, sithing shots through point and cover. And then also he started unfurring a few cover drives as well.

England have really struggled to come up with any sort of plan of A, how to get him out, and B, if they don't get him out with that new ball, how to then contain him. so that's going to be a real rorry for them in a morning three maidens they bowled in 35 overs

Potts has gone for over eight and over I mean he hasn't played it's terribly hard to come in just bowling in the nets and playing a test match in front of 50,000 so I'm not surprised

he's rusty isn't he he's not just played on this tour much I mean he did play in some of the warm-up games but of course he hasn't played that much test cricket either he's an 11th test match in three and a half years yeah exactly

car's nearly five and over again. And once again it's Tongue and Stokes who were the standouts and we were debating about who would take the new ball before it it started and both Alex and I here on said oh we want Tongue and Stokes to take it and of course they didn't it was Carson Pops

you know well those tongue and stokes are head and shoulders above the others I'd much rather seen them take the new ball the bowling was erratic as we know head dislikes to climb into weather everything with Weatherall played a rather strange innings he was dropped

to course another drop catch going down duck it again there unfortunately but I mean head to such a dangerous player you both short and wide to him bang it's four runs hooks and pulls

cuts drives he's got all the shots how would you bowl it in Glenn yeah no he's an interesting player once he gets on you know gets going he doesn't mind playing shots it doesn't phase him if he plays

a misses or gets away with the lucky one he just sort of shakes his head and goes on So you've just got to try to keep it tight. Enough balls in the same area. You know, early on, they used to attack him there in that sort of have a third and a guy square. And he got out a few times there early on.

But he just have to keep it through that chair. But he's trying to get the ball back at him a bit. All the time, it's always anglercross. Angler cross. And he stands there and plays it so effectively. But we haven't seen yet the sort of the classic right arm over to a left-handed, which is kind of. kind of pitching it and just making it straighten up a little bit and hitting him

hitting him on the pad. I mean, I know it's not easy to do, but just swing the ball into it. I mean, that's why I thought Stokes might have been a good bet with a new ball. Yeah, just keep it there around, you know, just tied on off stuff. Those ones he plays and misses, you know, you've just got to be patient. But, you know, it's hard to find, you know, two or three deliveries just consistently in that right area before you get a short, wide one or a full one on the pad. So I think consistently, well, the bowlers haven't been consistently in the right area.

Yeah, and that's a great start, wasn't there? One every seven balls this inning has gone for four. But I think in the series, I think it's one every 14. In the whole series. In the whole series, that one four every four. There's no pressure, is there? There's no pressure at all. I've been talking to a few of the guys.

I was speaking to Dizzy, actually, about Travis Head. He said, Jason Glassman. Yeah, sorry, Jason Glasswick. and he said what they don't like actually when he bowls over the wicket over the wicket he hasn't got

he's always been he's a little bit sort of flicky and pokey isn't he I like simple over the wicket yeah on that leg side only with your sort of swing back

and classic stuff and even when it goes flat and the ball's not swinging or nipping around you know sort of that leg stump line they keep trying to do it from around the wicket

and cramping him there but he's cutting them away all day long keep him sort of cramped up here you know perhaps with one back there for that flick. He got it out of Perth, didn't he? Playing a funny little sort of flicky shot.

So they haven't certainly come up with a plan for Travis. So on a scale of nought to 10, and nort being not very good, how well or otherwise did England bowl toughers? Today? Two? Two. Yeah, simple as that.

Fingertip control. Fingertip control for me. You know, it's just that professional bowlers. You know, you've done your apprenticeship, you've played for your counties, and then you've been selected to play for England. Well, you should be able to go an older line and a length and you're going to get flashed away by good players occasionally,

but they just haven't been any consistency with this bowling attack since they've set foot on this shore. And they came out with a decent first inning score. I mean, how did you assess the 384 that England scored? Yeah, no, it wasn't bad. You look at Joe Root and Harry Brook, and the innings that they put on, it really sort of set them up, you know, take out Joe Root.

innings that they might struggle. But yeah, it was, I think, looking at that pitch, it was probably par. You know, it was a good score. There's no doubt about it. But if they could have turned that into, say, 4.50, then they're really in the box seat. The way they came out in bold and, you know, they've already, the amount of runs that Australia's got already, you know, 166 runs at 3.84 doesn't look quite as, quite as big anymore. Yeah, they've really eaten into it, Australia with England's, well, according to the top of us, two out of ten bowling performance. I mean, but it was like that, wasn't it?

There were so many short balls. I mean, they played well. Australia, Travis Head plays well. He takes the game to you, but short and wide, two full as well. It's so many four balls on offer. And England struggled. Matt Potts with little cricket coming back into the side.

He was dealt with. Yeah, I'm a two for three and over. It's the other two, has it, really? We're honest. Yeah. Bride and cast. What are his figures? What did he go for?

He was nine overs of 43. Yeah. That's basically five and over. Is one of the problems here that, actually, England, is there a skills of being an opening bowler, as opposed to just part of a four-man attack? So England haven't really got that many, what you call opening bowlers?

No, I think we've had that discussion before, I mean, Glenn, the ones talk about that. Yes, you do have people who are very skilled at taking the new ball because they're the ones who swing the ball or move the ball the others tend to have a bit like cast that you'd use maybe as a change bowler to come in and bang

the ball in halfway down but it's a skill but take any of your ball of a skillful business yeah yeah you've got to get the ball in the right area you've got to make the bats from play there's no doubt about that I'd rather see them on the err on the side of

being fuller rather than shorter and if you've got a guy that swings well look at Mitchell Stark when the ball's swinging he's a dangerous bowler. He's a wicket taker and he starts for Australia and he's done incredibly well. And then you've got a Nisa or bowl and who just balls really good areas. So yeah, you know, looking at that line up the way Cass and Pot started, you would have definitely preferred tongue and stokes. It was a very risky, very risky partnership that wasn't it? I mean the odds, I mean,

no cast is expensive and a fellow who hasn't bowed properly for weeks. So, you know, it's kind of, you know, it's almost inevitable, I think, that Australia got away to a flying start. I don't know, Ben Stokes, he must, you know, Brighton Cass, he must think quite highly of him because he's given him the new ball all the time. And, you know, he has taken wickets, but he has been quite expensive as well. Yeah, Cass is still England's leading wicket-taker in the series with 19, Stokes, up to 15 with the two. He took this evening. There was a bit of needle out there as well before Lavishane was out, sort of a coming together

between Stokes and Labashane. What do we make of that? I quite like to see that. I mean, as long as it's not, you know, ridiculous. I mean, the series actually hasn't had any sort of needle at all, has it? It's like they all know each other. There's that lovely moment today where I think a ball was bowled. It went to Travis Head at Short Leg, who rolled the ball up to Joe Root, who has done the non-strikers.

And he picked it up. He tossed it onto the bowl. You think, hang on a minute. This is, you know, I mean, it has been a strength. I think the atmosphere today has been very strange. It's been at times it was like a benefit match, frankly. Watching Labashane bowling that stuff. You know, it's a very, very odd cricket has been played today.

But I like saying a bit of that. You know, it wasn't anything bad. Ben Stokes put his arm around him. I don't think he's actually saying anything nice to him when he had his arm around his shoulder. I think he was trying to convince the umpire that he was asking Martin Marlis out for dinner tonight. And I suspect it probably wasn't.

But, I mean, Stokes is frustrated, isn't he? He's had a hard tour. and he's watched the ball go around the park again tonight. He's got no control out there. It's going offside, leg side, driven cut. You know, I have not got any problem with Ben Stokes getting a bit fired up out there at all. Yeah, I don't mind a bit when it fires up in the middle. Whether Ben Stokes should have put his arm around him at that moment, I'm not sure.

But, you know, to be honest, when I see a bowler batsman in between overs, walking down, arm in arm, you know, arm around them, having a joke and a laugh, they should be reprimanded. for that you should be suspended you should be fine because there's no place in test cricket for that rubbish so you like a bit of aggression and just show the feeling and how much it means to these guys to represent

their country and you know you don't want to come in you know fisticuffs out there obviously but you want to see a bit of passion and yeah it's I think that at time sometimes they're too friendly on the field but off the field it's like they don't even

I said oh do you have a drink together after each test match and we may have one together at the end of the series and I'm just wondering how well the teams get in really off the field they seem to get on better on the field

which normally it should be the other way around well of course at the end of the last series there was that thing where the two teams didn't end up having a drink did they? Yeah it's really sad that's really sad

I mean you're in the right spirit well we're at Kiribili House the other day and two teams were going to have a photo with this and that and in the end I don't know they declined teams decline the photos. All together you mean?

Yeah. And it's just weird. I don't know whether it's just modern day cricket is the way it is. I don't know themselves. The two teams that the Prime Minister has played on a photograph together. That's quite bizarre. Okay. Well, let's move on because there were other talking points today.

We'll get on to Jamie Smith in just a moment, but we should celebrate Joe Root and another 100 for him, 160. Let's start with Brooke in a way, because it just seemed to me to meet him. you've got two bats when really ready both in the 70s played really well yesterday

on what appeared to be a flat pitch yesterday I think I agreed it might have done a little bit more today it just felt to me instinctively that Joe Root would score 100 today and Brooke wouldn't because the odds are that Brooke would do something stupid and get out which is that I wouldn't put that in the stupid category we've seen

that would be unfair on the ones that were stupid but it was a poor shot it was a really poor little fiddly nibbly thing aiming to that one-day style run the ball down to third man. A nice cat from Smith with the keeper standing up. But it was a poor shot. And I just really hope that at the end of this tour, which has been a big disappointment for Harry Brooke,

who's come here with a great reputation, I just hope he's learned. I really hope that he sat there in the dressing room and he watched Joe Rook at his hundred. He watched Joe Rook at his 150. And I just hope he thought, I should be there as well. I should be doing that.

What can I do to make sure that actually I'm scoring those sort of runs and not just giving my wicked away all the time because that's basically what he does I mean he rarely has got out it's nearly always an unforced error and if he were to rule that if he was to just rein himself in just just reduce those risks that he takes

he would score a million runs it's just so frustrating watching isn't it yeah well it is I wonder what he would have thought actually just walking off and I think you could sense his frustration because he knew that was the opportunity for him today.

Yeah. And I say you just kind of knew it was going to happen. Well, it's, yeah, you see Joe Root get that 160 and you knew it wasn't going to happen. And I think that's experienced, you know, two different styles of games. You know, Joe Root, he's, you know, he's one of the greats of the game. He knows his game so well, especially when he gets in that situation. And recently he's been converting 50s into 100 more than he ever has. So, and that's what it comes down to that experience.

And that's what, you know, Brooke doesn't have. He doesn't have that experience yet, doesn't know how to convert. You know, when things are going well, and he's an attacking player, you know, he's, I think this too has been a big learning experience for him. Hopefully he's learned and can take away, okay, I can't just play the way I want all the time. I have to adapt to the conditions. If I play it just a little bit smarter, I'm going to score a truckload of runs. So you've got to learn from your mistakes.

You talk about some being greedy, don't you? You know, you get in your greedy. you get big scores. Brooke isn't greedy. He isn't greedy. And he needs to become greedy and hungry and want those runs. He doesn't seem to be driven like that.

Well, look at someone who is greedy. That's Joe Root. Since the start of 2021, he scored 24 test match hundreds in 66 tests. Starting, postcode with that Sri Lanka series that we commentated

on. Yeah. What I think is a remark about Root, and we have mentioned this before, is that when he lost the captaincy four years ago in the West Indies and the new regime came in and I mean it was a car crash there in Kroleta, it was awful, it was a real Nadia and he resigned

he wasn't sacked but he did resign was absolutely right they needed fresh ideas and all of that it was the right thing to have done but it can't be easy for a recently resigned captain to go back into the team

but he did that and more than that he accepted this complete change of culture which it was the McCullum Stokes the start of all of that it was immensely exciting very very fresh

it got the same players smiles in their faces and actually enjoying playing cricket again and all Joe would have heard would have been people saying oh isn't it better now isn't this marvellous which is a direct reflection

of course on the time that he was captain so he had to deal with all of that as well while being back in the back benches of the dressing room and he just all he's done is just focus on his batting he's just cut everything else out and just work and just play for his batting because he is greedy

and he just loves batting but so professional to cut out all of that stuff and not be resentful and not say well hang on a minute we did it all right you know none of that he just packed all that away the caps is gone and and he's just scored all those runs is remarkable

well let's hear from him now he's been speaking to Henry Moran Well played, Joe. How do you reflect on the day? A strange day, really. I thought we've got a reason to be good score, to be honest, and we just couldn't quite get it right with the ball for long enough periods. It seems like it's a little bit in the wicket, and if we could build pressure for long enough periods of time, then I think we'll get our rewards. But I think that's the challenge that's ahead of us tomorrow.

But it felt like a reason to be good score on that service. So, yeah, it's hard when you're not, I mean, obviously not been out. out there for the last little period. So it's hard to really give you honest insight when you're not really out there on the field. And how is your back? It's fine, it's just cramped. But obviously, once it goes, it makes it quite difficult.

So just more of a precaution to stay off towards the back end there. But yeah, things have calmed down a little bit. It was a little bit spicy at one point, but yeah, all good now. Talk us through that innings, Joe, because 200's now in Australia. And where does that rank in terms of the 41 test hundreds you've now got? I don't really look at it like that. I think you reflect more on the end of the game once to, hopefully it can have a positive reflection

on the outcome of the game and then we'll see. But ultimately we found ourselves in a position where we felt like it could make the most of that first innings. It could change quite drastically over the course the next few days, especially if the weather warms up and you get a traditional kind of SCG pitch where it can crack and start to go up and down and maybe spin as well. So try and maximise those first-in-ins runs was a priority

for us and to get somewhere near 400 is obviously a reasonably good effort. So like I said, if we can back things up tomorrow and we can build good pressure with the ball for sustained periods of time and utilize those dents have sort of acquired over the last couple of days and I think things could change quite quickly. Jamie Smith's dismissal is not going to be one. He looked back on terribly fondly. What was your way? reading of it and facing minus lapar shakes there's been a fair bit of criticism for the way he got out i'd say look at that phase in the game you look at the second new ball and you look at that surface there and you want to maximize that lead into the new ball you saw how how differently it

reacted once that came so you can sit there and you can sort of just soak up pressure and go into the new ball and sort of almost give him too much respect or you can try and put a bit of pressure back on them and maximize the opportunity with those, you know, a 76, 77 overall ball and try and, you know, get a few overs where you go at eights, nines and tens, and life's a lot easier then when, you know, when you're ahead of things, when that new ball comes around. So it depends how you look at it. I think the most important thing is you're trying to do things to better the team and you're trying to drive the game forward in the right direction, which is exactly what he was trying

to do. So, you know, that's how I viewed it out there in the middle. And like I say, when you're trying to move the game forward in the direction you want to go, then sometimes you're going to make the odd mistake and you have to live with it. In terms of how the pitch is behaving, there have been a few that have done funny things off the surface. How did you read it as the day went on and your innings went on? Yeah, it certainly was very different just from the outset today, really. It felt like it quickened up a touch and maybe like those out of those.

dints it seemed to do it a little bit quicker and sharper and maybe a little bit more variable bounce so hopefully that can be a trend throughout the game and we can stay ahead of it in terms of the first inning score but like say it felt like if you if you if you held a good area for long periods of time you're going to ask and ask good questions then you could get rewards and you saw that you know when when you got in the right spots of the new balls I know you weren't out there but just finally there seems to be a little bit of chat between some of those in the middle towards the back end of the day

any insight into that? Not yet. I'm hoping to find out myself soon so yeah, we'll see. Joe Roach speaking to Henry Moran a very diplomatic on the... He was doing so well. Yeah, the Jamie Smith. He was saying you've had it there's 10 minutes to go till lunch, there's

four overs here to the new ball, but I'm thinking I think he's going to say you've obviously play with that and then he kind of said, so therefore go for it. I mean he doesn't mean that. He didn't do it, did he? No, so. It was a gruesome... Yeah, they're just trying to support their teammates. Exactly.

And, yeah, sometimes I'd rather they just came out and told the truth. And even... And I know the Australian cricketers do it and the English, and it annoys me. They get asked, oh, you know, you scored 100 today, you must have felt good. He goes, yeah, well, I don't look at it that way. I won't know until the impact it has on the game. But, you know, and then team, team, team. And that annoys me how both teams do it.

a modern-day cricketer again. How about it just come out? Actually, I hit him well. You know, I was seeing the ball well. I was timing it well. It just felt really good. I was happy with it. It's got the team in a great position.

You know, hopefully we can push. So you can do both. Sorry, Joe off that. But Mitchell Stark does the same thing. Like, he's bold sensationally. Picks up seven-fire. Oh, you must feel good. Oh, yeah, you know, the team, team.

No, I'd come out well. I'm swinging. I'm really happy that I, I, Well, well, picked up FIFO, my best bowling figures. I want these guys to be confident that they can come out and say, you know, I was really happy with the way I played, and it's going to have a positive impact on the team. So you can do both. So that's my little issue with...

You've got a big day tomorrow. You're going to have to go into some strepsels going to do a lot. You've got a lot to go on to board. I don't know what's happening. Let's just talk a little bit more about the Jamie Smith. this was like because it's kind of like it's funny actually isn't it how overall it's just it's one incident in a in a day but it just felt so deflating if you were in england support because it was just the it was the wrong thing to do if you want to see everything

encapsulated in what is wrong with the mentality of the team that shot said it all you say no more about it it was utterly brainless totally unnecessary it was irresponsible it was just everything I mean you came out with a charge sheet 10 minutes for lunch 4 o's for a new ball man on 100 odd the other end Labashane bowling bounces

everybody labashane deliberately to get you to play that shot I mean it's a bit like having a trap you know in the ground isn't it look down there is some snakes or whatever just walk this way and you go no I'm not going to oh I have I've just walked into it if anyone really wants to

and there is okay there is a sense of frustration obviously because we've been watching this for a while and not just on this tour by the way but other times as well and I keep referring to that test match

at the Oval that England should have won against India and they threw that away that incident there and not going to necessarily blame one person for it it's just like opening a door

on the culture in there it's irresponsible and you cannot play test cricket like that you're not going to win you know to look at that by itself fair enough it could be just a mistake

it was just one of those things but you look at Smith's hole innings. The shots he played leading up to it, got away with edges and driving on the up, got lucky. You know, Green went over by, you know, a couple of mill, no ball, otherwise he would have been up out earlier. You look at Adelaide how he got out there after hitting two boundaries. So this is not just a one-off incident. It's happening on a regular basis. And, you know, so that's more the issue. I've tried to make the point as well. In my view, and it's only my opinion but the mentality of the team is fine for some it's fine actually for stokes he likes that

get out there and take it on sort of stuff and what a two others do it's been bad for pope bad for brook bad for smith i don't think's been good for atkinson you can go down a list of players who this culture has not been good for and they're not playing it to their full their full talent so what should smith have done just left it just ducked underneath this spite of this time so really well you know you'd rather have two set-batsmen at the crease with that new ball coming in. Hopefully they can navigate it a bit better than someone just coming in.

Jack's one out there, got through that new ball. I know he got out, what was it, 12 over or something? So, yeah, but that's 12 overs. If you are in, you don't get yourself out with the new ball just around the corner. And you don't fall with it. Outer sucker punch. Marnas Labashane bowling

bouncers. I mean, yeah. It wasn't just that. It was the fact that everybody that was on the road. Yeah, every ball was, well, can you call them bounces? You know, 80-mile-hour long hops. You know, every ball was delivered like that. Just stand there, just watch them really. Smith, you can't have a passenger play like that for long

without actually bringing the game's dispute, frankly. If that happened back, yeah, when we played, you'd be tempted to walk the other side of the field going off. You don't want to go back to the dressing room because you're going to cop it as you walk in. But, yeah, so it's just, it's, it's, It's one of those things. Yeah, I don't know how to explain it.

It has to be a scrambled mind. It has to be a completely scrambled mind and just the wrong messages. Right, we've heard from Joe Root. Let's get some reaction from the Australia camp. Now, Scott Boland, who finished with 2 for 85 and 26 overs. Also took that catch as well to dismiss Jamie Smith and probably couldn't believe it.

He's been speaking with Corbyn, Middlemass, and the ABC team. Scott, appreciate your time. Thanks for having me. night watchman required all of a sudden you're not patted up you're out here talking to us at close going on lose the gig I know I know I wasn't overly disappointed to be honest I think we just didn't want to have Starkey at 11 Ness at 10 I think there's too much good batting there to have them that line mate don't sell yourself short you did it in Melbourne you should have

pushed Nessery out the way and said mate let up listen I went out there and did it on doing it again now bugger off I'd be happy to do it for one over but when you do it for 20 minutes it's hard work To be fair, Josh Tongue was bowled with some decent pace on it, it was quite dark. Yeah, you bowled well today, Scott, and you did as a unit. It felt like yesterday, and the scoring patterns told us this, England scored a lot through sort of cover and point. It looks like an adjustment from the Australian bowling unit today.

Yeah, I think that's their strengths. That's where they're trying to score all the time. So we know that we put fielders back. We don't want to go for too many boundaries through that area. So if they're hitting singles through that area, we still feel like we're in the game. If one ball bounces, and you can take the outside edge, Yeah, that's what we're trying to do.

Did it feel significantly different than yesterday? Were you disappointed with how you bowled as a collective on day one? No, not overly. The wickers felt pretty flat yesterday. It felt a bit dead. Today actually felt like the wicket, I think it just quickened up a little bit. But then as a bowler, it feels like the margin of the area is pretty small. It feels like when you're bowling back to length, you can get a bit of sea movement.

But as soon as you get a bit fuller, it feels like it's a nice wicket. Watching the game, you're right. It seemed to bounce and carry through a lot better today, especially when you took the new ball. It seemed like the game changed completely at that point. It did, yeah. And you can see when they took the new ball, it was still the same thing.

Jamie Smith's taking a lot of balls above his head, so there is some really nice carry there, which is nice for a crossbowler. How's the ego going with Kez continually coming up to the stumps? No, I didn't like it at the start, but I like it now because I know exactly where they're going to be. A lot of guys, when I'm bowling, are trying to either come at me or walk at me

or Harry Brooke likes to run at you and try and go offside. So if I have Kez up there, I know exactly where they're going to be, that they're not moving around too much. So I don't mind. It's still hard running in, seeing him. Not great to the ego, is it? It's not great, man. If you're going to bowl a short ball, is there sort of,

do you mention it'll be the third ball or the fourth ball? Is there any, have you worked out signs like baseball yet, where, you know, you grab your ear or something like that? Kez is that good. You don't even need to tell him. Like, I accidentally bow, a bounce, at the gabbard, I just slipped and obviously wasn't planned and he just took it so clean and I was like, and even a few of the balls today actually chuck one down the leg, he takes

it straight away, like it's been amazing. Just on the cares point, then, I don't want to happen, but to stand up to the stumps for the period of time he's done, it takes a lot of courage, but you can almost not remember a ball he's misgloved and, you know, you're talking to the ex-weget keeper's, oh, he hasn't hurt a finger, he's done, every ball's gone in the middle of his hands. It's unbelievable. There's a couple times, like, I bow one today and it bounced and seemed away. to root and he played a miss

and Kez took it and I was walking back and he's like how was he doing that it's like it's just yeah it's a good I feel like it's been a bit of a game changer for us

like we get them exactly where we want them Ness is really good but when bowling like that as well so it's nice to know exactly where they're going to stand that's Scott Boland 18 wickets in this

Ashes series talking to the ABC team so Australia 166 for two in reply to 384 from England. Last but not least, let's have a statistical look at the day with Andy Zoltz. Let's start with Joe Root. Yes, well, tremendous innings from him. You mentioned his 41st Test 100. That ties him third with Ricky Ponting on the all-time list behind Callis and Satchentendulker, who had 5100. This is 17th 150 score, which puts him in the top five all-time most 150 plus scores in test cricket. This conversion rate, extraordinarily nine of his last days.

1150s he's converted into centuries 24 of his last 41 prior to that in his career. He'd been only around 1 in 4. So a huge improvement that goes back to 2021. Harry Brooke, on the other hand, against Australia now, 10 tests. She had 12-30-plus scores. The innings that finished today on 84 was only the third time he's got past 65 in those 12-30-plus scores. Still no Ashes centuries. and against other teams, 10 centuries in 25 tests.

So that's, yeah, I mean, it's been a disappointing tour for Brooke from that point of view. He's had six scores of 30 plus in this series. Roots only had three, so he sort of had a disappointing series in terms of consistency of production, but has had two outstanding centuries to counterbalance that. So, yeah, it's kind of curiously frustrating series for Root, but a magnificent innings today. And of course, when Harrybrook comes back to Australia, in four years' time, we're saying we've not scored 100 in Australia, like we're saying with Joe Root. What about Travis Head?

Well, Travis Head passed 500 runs for the series. In the last six Ashes series, only Steve Smith has reached 500 runs. He did so three times. And also as opener, Head has now passed 500 runs. He had 21 in his first inning to the series, batting lower down the order. Now, over 500 as an opener, only the second Australian overall. opener with 500 plus in an Ashes series this millennium. David Warner had 523 in the 2013-14 Ashes.

Just quickly on Ben Stokes dismissed again by Mitchell Stark, who now is 28 wickets in the series for the fifth time in this series that Stark has dismissed Stokes for just 39 runs. And the last England captain in the Ashes to be dismissed five times by the same bowler was Mike Atherton, who was dismissed seven times by Glenn McGrath in the Six-Test, 1988 series. Sorry, and also Stuart Broaden dismissed Michael Clark in 2013, five times. Okay, thanks very much. Andy, you can watch the best of the action on the BBC Sport website and app now with our main highlights on the BBC IPlayer available every day of the series from 5pm.

The TMS, Ashes D Brief is also on IPlay with Alex Hartley, Michael Vaughn and Phil Tuffnell. Go to BBC Sounds for all our Test Match special podcast. Just search Ashes for all our content. And we're back on air 1045 tonight for the third day. This is the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.