{"id":676702,"date":"2026-01-06T02:08:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/676702\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T02:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:08:23","slug":"reviews-wasted-after-will-jacks-drop-video-travis-head-scores-century-sydney-weather-forecast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/676702\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviews wasted after Will Jacks drop, video, Travis Head scores century, Sydney weather forecast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opener Travis Head has continued terrorising England\u2019s inexperienced bowling cartel, helping Australia build a formidable reply as Ben Stokes\u2019 men lost the plot on day three of the New Year\u2019s Ashes contest at the SCG.<\/p>\n

The hosts were in complete control at 3-281 at lunch, still trailing England by 103 runs, with Head (157*) and interim captain Steve Smith (14*) unbeaten in the middle.<\/p>\n

Watch The Ashes 2025\/26 LIVE and ad-break free during play with FOX CRICKET on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Follow our live coverage of Day 3 of the fifth Ashes Test below! Can\u2019t see the blog?Tap here!<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Resuming at 2-166 on Tuesday morning, nightwatcher Michael Neser combined with Head for a 72-run partnership to frustrate England\u2019s bowlers, with the Queensland veteran surviving 105 minutes in the middle.<\/p>\n

Unbeaten on 91 overnight, Head spent 24 minutes in the nervous nineties before reaching triple figures for a third time this summer, achieving the feat in 105 deliveries. The South Australian brought up his 12th Test hundred with a cautious drive through the covers, removing his helmet and resting it on the toe of his bat, elevated high above his head in trademark fashion.<\/p>\n

Matthew Potts\u2019 first three deliveries were slapped to the boundary rope, continuing a forgettable Ashes debut for the Durham seamer, while captain Stokes wasted both of England\u2019s remaining reviews on Neser \u2014 one for a non-existent edge and another for an LBW shout that struck him outside the line of off stump.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM THE ASHES<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u2018CAN\u2019T PLAY THE GAME THAT WAY\u2019: Marnus, Stokes in fiery Ashes confrontation <\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

TALKING PTS: \u2018Powder puff\u2019 Poms punished as Head joins greats<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

It was slow-going for Neser, who only managed four runs from his first 54 deliveries, but he soon picked up the tempo, thumping a couple of stylising boundaries through the point region.<\/p>\n

England turned to the bumper ploy with five fielders on the boundary, and Head took the bait on 121, hooking a bouncer directly towards deep point, only for all-rounder Will Jacks to drop a simple chance near the rope, prompting loud jeers from the Sydney crowd. Shortly after, Brydon Carse put down a one-handed catch at deep third, but the chance was far from regulation, a forgivable misdemeanour.<\/p>\n

Touching Jane McGrath tribute at the SCG | 04:23<\/p>\n

Neser finally departed for 24 after feathering a channel delivery from Carse through to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, with England\u2019s quicks continuing to pepper Head with bouncers at the other end. But the left-hander was unfazed by the barrage, at one stage rocking back and smacking Potts into the Bill O\u2019Reilly Stand\u2019s second tier.<\/p>\n

Head passed the 150-run milestone with a flashy late cut over the slips cordon, while under-pressure opener Ben Duckett missed a potential run-out chance late in the morning session. And to rub salt into the wounds, another two difficult chances went begging during the final two overs before the break, ending a woeful session for the tourists \u2014 Zak Crawley grassed a low catch at leg slip to hand Smith a massive reprieve on 12, while a return chance thudded into Jacks\u2019 palm, with Head surviving on 156.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opener Travis Head has continued terrorising England\u2019s inexperienced bowling cartel, helping Australia build a formidable reply as Ben…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[102913,521,186,22631,84072,748,205588,393,299,179740,205592,205587,97837,22626,4884,730,66285,66284,146752,165711,205591,2048,17670,22617,205586,205585,205590,88628,1862,11438,16,15,85691,20673,205589],"class_list":{"0":"post-676702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-ashes-series","9":"tag-asia","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","12":"tag-ben-duckett","13":"tag-britain","14":"tag-career-strife","15":"tag-england","16":"tag-europe","17":"tag-exchange-words","18":"tag-farcical-moment","19":"tag-fiery-ashes-confrontation","20":"tag-fox-sports","21":"tag-getty-images-inc","22":"tag-great-britain","23":"tag-india","24":"tag-jamie-smith","25":"tag-joe-root","26":"tag-match-centre","27":"tag-michael-neser","28":"tag-nears-century","29":"tag-new-south-wales","30":"tag-northern-europe","31":"tag-oceania","32":"tag-pedestrian-bumper","33":"tag-powder-puff","34":"tag-resumes-play","35":"tag-southern-asia","36":"tag-sydney","37":"tag-travis-head","38":"tag-uk","39":"tag-united-kingdom","40":"tag-usman-khawaja","41":"tag-weather-forecast","42":"tag-wickets-bowling"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}