Ashes 2025-26: SCG pitch curator confident of five-day action in New Year's Test

Published - 02 Jan 2026, 15:01 IST | Updated - 02 Jan 2026, 15:18 IST

The Ashes 2025-26 has reached its final destination, as the Sydney Cricket Ground looks more than prepared to host the fifth Test, starting Sunday, January 4. Apart from the two teams participating, another thing that has caught widespread attention is how the pitch in Sydney will play out, especially after the Boxing Day Test at the MCG ended in less than two days, causing Cricket Australia an INR 60 crore loss.

The pitch curator of the iconic SCG ground, however, has affirmed a positive update and believes that the surface will be helpful enough to push the action in the five-day encounter into the last day. Spinners are also expected to have a bigger role at the venue, as a result of which, the first three days of the match are going to be extremely crucial.

"You want to see green tinge three days out. If you're not seeing any live grass three days out, then that's when [it's a worry] … I'm really comfortable with where we're sitting. We had a little bit of sun this morning. They're saying a bit more sun tomorrow. That will take the greenness out of the pitch. We're really happy with the pitches at the moment. We're looking good," Lewis was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We just thought... we could thin our density out a little bit. That's what we've done this year. We've practised that in the Shield matches and we've received very good marks," Lewis added.

Meanwhile, the upcoming encounter is also going to be the 88th and final Test match appearance for the 39-year-old Usman Khawaja. The senior batter himself confirmed his decision to retire from international cricket, and call a time on his career that began way back in 2011. Since the Aussies have already won the series and the match will be played at Khawaja's home venue, he believes there can't be a better ending to his journey.

Australia: Steven Smith (Captain), Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey (WK), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Michael Neser, Todd Murphy, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett

England: Ben Stokes (Captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (WK), Josh Tongue