Sir Alastair Cook pinpoints ‘key’ for Day 3 as Joe Root admits England ‘didn’t get things right’ in attack
Published 05/01/2026 at 13:40 GMT
After an entertaining day of Ashes action at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the final Test of the series is finely poised. In response to England's 384, the hosts reached 166-2 at the close of play on the second day thanks to the brilliance of Travis Head. It could swing either way, but TNT Sports expert Sir Alastair Cook has pinpointed what he thinks could make the difference.
Highlights: Australia respond strongly on Day 2 after Root’s sublime century
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Sir Alastair Cook has picked out what he believes will be the "key" for England to regain the ascendancy on Day 3 of the fifth and final NRMA Insurance men's Ashes Test in Sydney.
The tourists were in a strong position in their first innings as Joe Root hit a sublime 160 for his second century of the series, but the bottom half of the order offered little support to leave England all out for 384.
There was a feeling of "what could have been" on a wicket that seems to heavily favour batters and Australia wasted little time in responding.
Led once again by the brilliance of Travis Head, the hosts raced to 166-2 at the close of play to leave the Test finely poised.
England’s all-seam attack gave Head little trouble as he ended the day 91 not out, but could his early dismissal on Day 3 in Sydney swing the Test in England’s favour?
Analysing Head’s performance, TNT Sports expert Cook said: "He’s such an unusual player to bowl at because all seamers want to do is bowl full stump, top of off, and that is width to Travis Head.
"What is frustrating is that the boundaries are all from width and all from around the wicket. It’s a little bit frustrating they haven’t come over the wicket and just bowled it at his hips.
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Stokes traps Weatherald lbw to make breakthrough
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"He’s very similar to Phil Hughes. When he first came on the scene he got twin hundreds in South Africa because they bowled width to him. Suddenly, if you bowled tighter he really struggled.
"Head’s a bit of a different player because he creates a bit more angle but I’d love to see a bit more bowling in here [gesturing to his hip].
"He is the key for tomorrow morning. If England can get him out early, the rest of the Australian line-up won’t take the game away from them like he can.
"The rest of the right-handers will find it harder to score on this wicket."
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‘Leave it to the lip readers’ – Tempers flare between Stokes and Labuschagne on Day 2
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Root: We didn’t get things right in attack
As has been the case too often during this tour Down Under, England’s bowling left something to be desired.
Ben Stokes put up good numbers, grabbing two wickets for the loss of just 30 runs at an economy of 3.67, but the rest of the attack was blunt, with the seven-over stint of Matthew Potts particularly damaging.
Once again, the issue seemed to be precision, as bowlers regularly missed their spots and made it far too easy for Australia’s batters to pick them off at will.
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'Fabulous' Root innings ends on 160, 'brilliantly' caught and bowled by Neser
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That being said, England have time to make amends, with a 218-run lead over the hosts.
Asked for his take on it, Root told TNT Sports: "I don’t think we got things right tonight and it’s really important how we respond in the morning.
"There’s still plenty to work with on that surface and it showed when you build pressure for a period of time and you put balls in and around a good area for four or five deliveries, something will happen.
"Most important for us is not panicking, not dwelling too much on what happened here, it’s how we respond tomorrow morning and maximise that chance first up."
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Those sentiments were echoed by former England cricketer Graeme Swann, who believes the hosts laid out the blueprint for bowling success on this wicket on the morning of Day 2.
"Just look at what the Aussies did this morning, what lines and lengths did they bowl," Swann added. "They didn’t try and bowl too quick, they just hit good areas on the top of off.
"If England can come back tomorrow and do that with the extra moisture that’s going to be in this pitch, there’s no reason why they can’t make the ball misbehave."
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