SYDNEY: Usman Khawaja’s first century in more than a year guided Australia to 479-4 at stumps on day three, helping build a commanding 133-run first-innings lead in the fifth Ashes Test.
Khawaja batted for nearly nine hours over two days in amassing his 171, just missing his highest Test score of 175, and was well-supported by half centuries from Steve Smith and the Marsh brothers on Saturday as Australia pushed hard for victory and a 4-0 series win.
England had a torrid day — highlighted by having TV umpire reviews on Khawaja and both Shaun and Mitch Marsh all go Australia’s way — and wilted late as the hosts accelerated their scoring.
“It was a tough day,” England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow said. “We’re 150 overs into the innings so there’s going to be a few tired bodies out there.
“I thought the way the guys toiled out there and really worked hard was impressive and that’s really good to see for us as a side going forward.”
At the close, Shaun Marsh was unbeaten on 98, nearing his second hundred of the series, with his younger sibling Mitch on 63 not out. The brothers combined for an unbeaten 104-run partnership.
Resuming on 91 on Saturday, Khawaja calmly guided his way through the 90s to raise his century in the eighth over with a cut off Moeen Ali to backward point for his maiden Ashes century. It came off 222 balls with seven boundaries and a six.
A clearly relieved Khawaja celebrated by removing his helmet and raising his bat toward his teammates and family in the stands at the Sydney Cricket Ground, before being warmly embraced by Smith.
“You don’t get to celebrate Test centuries too much unless you’re Steve Smith, you’ve got to enjoy them when they come,” Khawaja said. “The SCG was where I grew up playing cricket for New South Wales and an Ashes century is something I have wanted for a long time and I haven’t been able to achieve, so it was very satisfying.”
It was a timely innings for the 31-year-old Khawaja, who hadn’t scored a Test hundred since his 145 against South Africa in Adelaide in November 2016, as questions around his spot in the team had begun to arise after only scoring two 50s in six innings this series.
Despite losing Smith after combining for a 188-run partnership that swung the game firmly in Australia’s favor, Khawaja progressed to his 150 off 333 balls, with 16 fours and a six, with consecutive boundaries off Ali. His milestone drew warm appreciation from a near-capacity SCG cloaked in pink to support the McGrath Foundation breast cancer charity fundraiser, which is in its 10th year.
Khawaja’s 381-ball, 515-minute innings, including 18 boundaries and a six, ended when he skipped down the wicket to Crane and was stumped by Bairstow.
After earlier having an lbw decision review on Khawaja turned down for overstepping, there was no denying the 20-year-old Crane this time, giving the England leg-spinner his maiden Test wicket.
Mitch Marsh accelerated Australia’s scoring late with some lusty hitting to reach his 50 off 64 balls with six boundaries and two sixes off Ali.
He survived a DRS review when given out lbw to Curran near the close of play, only for the referral to confirm the batsman had edged the ball before it hit his pad.
“Those guys have received a lot of (flack) over the last couple of years,” Khawaja said. “To see them go out there and play really well, to play the way we know both of them can play, is really rewarding to see.”
Steve Smith was out moments before the lunch interval, missing another century that would have matched Bradman’s 1930 feat of scoring four hundreds in an Ashes series.
England faces the increasing likelihood of a large first-innings deficit, despite its strong rally on Friday morning by their lower order which lifted the tourists to a competitive 346.
Australia won the first three Tests convincingly to regain the Ashes, and the fourth Test was drawn last week in Melbourne.
Usman Khawaja’s maiden Ashes century leads Australia to big lead
Usman Khawaja’s maiden Ashes century leads Australia to big lead
Gooch, Detry and Uihlein share lead at halfway stage in Riyadh
- Smash GC lead the team competition at LIV Golf Riyadh with score of 30-under
RIYADH: Three shots separate the top 13 players after 36 holes here for the LIV Golf season opener.
The competition shifted up a gear for the second round of the Roshn Group LIV Golf Riyadh 2026, as the world’s best continued to battle under the lights, with cooler and windier conditions in round two.
With the event reaching its midway point, the leaderboard has begun to take shape, setting the stage for a high-stakes weekend in the Saudi capital.
Talor Gooch (Smash GC) has joined overnight leaders Thomas Detry (4Aces GC) and Peter Uihlein (RangeGoats GC) after Thursday night’s round, carding a consecutive five-under 67 to move to 10-under for the tournament with 36 holes to play.
Sitting one back from the leaders on nine-under after carding an under-four 68 in round two, Sebastian Munoz (Torque GC) reflected on his round: “It started a bit slow with a bogey on No. 2. I hit a bad bunker shot.
“Then after that I made some good birdies and kept it moving along. The wind came over, and I was able to kind of keep my focus and keep hitting good shots and keep giving myself good chances, and made some birdies on the back.
“Then I made some solid pars coming in. So really happy where the game is at.”
Meanwhile, first-round co-leader Detry remained firmly in the hunt, following up his opening 65 with a steady three-under 69 as he continues to embrace the atmosphere on course.
“Got off to a pretty shaky start. It was a bogey-free round yesterday, but today I felt a little uncomfortable early on. I managed to sort of settle the ship then with two birdies on holes No. 4 and 5, and then just fought hard.
The temperature sort of dropped after nine holes and the wind picked up, as well. I wasn’t really expecting that. It was sort of a bit of a fight out there, which was nice. I like it.”
“I was sort of out there taking care of my business, and suddenly I saw the leaderboard with the 4Aces GC popping up, and that sort of reminded me that I was also playing for the team, which is great.”
After shooting a five-under 67 for the second time in his two rounds Gooch commented: “Yeah, it was a really solid day. Really good ball control. The only bogey made was a three-putt from about 15 feet (4.5 meters).
“Made life really simple today. Hit a bumping of greens, gave myself some good looks and made a few. These are the type of days of golf that you wish you could have more of.”
On his first experience as captain of Smash GC, he said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year through the first two rounds. We’ve still got a lot of golf left, so we’ve got to go and continue to play great.
“But like I said, I couldn’t have predicted or hoped for a better start. It’s a great start, and hopefully we can continue going and just set the tone for a great year after this first week.”
Gooch’s Smash GC teammate Jason Kokrak fired a bogey-free eight-under to storm the leaderboard and get within two shots of the leaders. “It was really good. Got into a couple sticky situations but made a couple of nice par saves,” he said.
“Got hot for about a nine- or 10-hole stretch. Drove the ball very nicely. Way better than yesterday. So very pleased with how I played.”
Uihlein is eager to bring his fine form into the weekend after shooting a three-under 69 in round two. When asked about the potential of bringing home his first LIV Golf trophy, he said: “Yeah, it would be awesome.
“That’s what we want to do. We want to win individually. We want to win as a team. But winning individually? Yeah, that’s what the goal is, to win.
“Now that we get world ranking points, you can jump up in the OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking) and try to get in the majors. That’s definitely the goal.”
In the team standings, Smash GC (-30) took a commanding lead after those low scores from Kokrak and Gooch. Torque GC (-27) and 4Aces GC (-23) stay firmly in the race for the podium with all four player scores counting for all four rounds this season.
Round 2 – Individual Leaderboard:
1 – Talor Gooch (Smash GC) | R2 (-5) - After R2 (-10)
1 – Peter Uihlein (RangeGoats GC) | R2 (-3) - After R2 (-10)
1 – Thomas Detry (4Aces GC) | R2 (-3) - After R2 (-10)
Round 1 – Team Leaderboard:
1 – Smash GC (-30)
2 – Torque GC (-27)
3 – 4Aces GC (-23)
