Ashes cricket betting tips: Australia v England fifth Test preview and best bets

Cricket tips: The Ashes, Australia v England

2pts Usman Khawaja top Australia first innings batsman at 11/2 (General)

1pt Joe Root top England first innings batsman at 17/5 (Unibet)

1pt Joe Root to make a first innings fifty at 15/8 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

2pts Scott Boland to take five or more wickets in the match at 5/6 (Betway)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Australia and England will dance their last dance this week, the fifth and final Test of the Ashes beginning in Sydney on Saturday night at 23:30.

I doubt very much that this latest Ashes instalment will feature prominently in the greatest hits in years to come, the series done and dusted in 11 days before England claimed a consolation victory on a green top in Melbourne.

The last few weeks have been quite remarkable. Australia have retained the Ashes at a canter, without Josh Hazlewood for the entirety of the series, Pat Cummins for four of the five games, and Nathan Lyon for three Tests. England have been hammered by a second-string Australia attack, and Bazball, it would appear, is dead.

But the Boxing Day Test win offered some light at the end of the tunnel, and hope for the future, as Josh Tongue confirmed what many of us have known all along: this a top-drawer fast bowler in the making. Jacob Bethell, all swagger and class, looks here to stay, for all he should not be expected to bat at number three so early in his career. Nonetheless, both Tongue and Bethell rate as fine prospects going forward.

Both will line up at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but I’m happy to leave Tongue alone, having tipped him for top England bowler honours in the first innings in Adelaide, only to watch him win the market in the second innings and then again in the first dig at the MCG. Timing is everything in this great game.

Classy Khawaja can make SCG record count

And perhaps that applies to USMAN KHAWAJA, who heads the staking plan in Sydney.

Khawaja began the series as Australia’s only confirmed opening batsman, but when he suffered a back spasm in Perth, Travis Head was afforded the chance to make that spot his own, while the former was then forced to sit out the second Test as he struggled to regain full fitness. In fact, Khawaja may not have made it back at all were it not for Steve Smith coming down with a bout of vertigo in Adelaide.

And so Khawaja found himself back in the side, initially down at number four where he immediately looked more comfortable than he has for much of the past 18 months when facing the new ball and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah.

A typically silky 82 in the first innings there confirmed Khawaja to be back in business, and he really should’ve made more than the 40 he managed in the second innings. His first-innings 29 at the MCG was arguably worth double that, given how extreme conditions were in Melbourne.

He’ll bat at number five this week, perhaps the best place to bat in Test cricket nowadays – shielded from the new ball but far enough away from the tail to need worry too much about managing that part of the innings. Recent history confirms the middle order to have been the most productive in terms of top batsman wins on this ground.

Other factors in Khawaja’s favour this week are that the extreme pace England would’ve hoped to attack the 39-year-old with at the start of the series is no longer a threat. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have long left the party, and though sharp, Tongue isn’t as quick. Moreover, this will be his third Test in quick succession, so those legs are entitled to be a little weary.

When you add to the fact that many in the home batting line-up have questions to answer themselves, be it form concerns for Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, or legitimate doubts as to whether Cameron Green and Jake Weatherald are even up to this level, Khawaja suddenly looks a whole lot more appealing for TOP AUSTRALIA FIRST INNINGS BATSMAN honours at 11/2.

Throw Khawaja’s impressive record on this ground into the mix, and I think you have a bet. For the record, Khawaja has four centuries at the SCG from nine Tests, and an average of 50.28.

Ashes pitches under the microscope

As ever, one of the most interesting aspects of the build-up to this Test will centre around the pitch and likely conditions, especially after Cricket Australia have been hit hard in the pocket following a couple of two-day matches.

The money men will be desperate for this Test match to go to a fourth day at least, which means there will be pressure on the curator at the SCG to shave plenty of grass off the surface and produce something similar to the flat deck we got in Adelaide.

That leaves punters with a conundrum, given first innings scores for last year’s Test match with India were only 185 and 181. Furthermore, this has largely been a series for unders, with first innings totals of 172, 132, 334, 511, 371, 286, 152 and 110.

At the end of the series, with some tired minds, don’t be surprised if we see some poor cricket this week, and that could lend itself to more collapses from two modest batting line-ups in the habit of more than the occasional poor shot.

Root a class apart for England

One man I have long had in mind for the Sydney Test is JOE ROOT, and I’m going to split stakes on the Yorkshireman to be TOP ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS BATSMAN (17/5) and to MAKE A FIRST INNINGS FIFTY (15/8).

The SCG has always promised to be a good spot for Root, with its lower bounce compared to Perth and the Gabba making those occasional fishing trips that would make Uncle Bryn wince a little less dangerous. It’s the bounce that generally catches Root out in Australia, so Sydney ought to help him in that respect.

And Root certainly looked at home in his first Test on this ground in 2018, making 83 and 58 not out. Things didn’t go as well four years later, but that came on the infamous Covid tour when Root was under extreme pressure as losing away captain. He’s in much better shape coming here this time around.

Though not scoring the mountain of runs in this series that we are used to seeing from Root, he compiled a brilliant hundred in Brisbane – England’s only century of the series – and made a couple of bright starts in Adelaide without kicking on.

With Australia’s attack severely depleted, and Mitchell Starc surely a little leg weary playing his fifth Test in a row, Root won’t get a better chance to finish on a high.

In terms of the fifty bet, we are taking a chance on conditions, but I’d be very surprised were this a complete minefield, with so much external pressure coming from Cricket Australia. As for the top England batsman market, we know Root is a class apart with an unmatched penchant for big runs if clicking into gear.

Boland a bet for big wickets

I’ll sign off by backing SCOTT BOLAND TO TAKE 5+ WICKETS IN THE MATCH at 5/6.

After a shaky start in Perth, Boland has enjoyed a strong series, claiming 16 wickets at 23.00, including five more in the Boxing Day Test where again, he arguably bowled better than his overall figures would suggest.

In fact, I’ve felt it’s been that way with Boland all summer, but he’s made some crucial breakthroughs, and I really do think a big haul is just around the corner.

Boland did just that in last year’s Test at this venue, bagging ten in the match as India fell under his spell, taking his overall career record at the SCG to 17 wickets at 8.35 from only two Tests. His record on this ground in the Sheffield Shield is equally impressive.

Like Root, and Khawaja, those are strong numbers and strong credentials, so we’ll mount a three-pronged attack on Sydney before taking another look in-play when the action gets under way.

Posted at 11:45 GMT on 31/12/25

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