Australia’s all-pace attack created early inroads on day one of the New Year’s Ashes Test, ripping the head off England’s top order during the morning session at the SCG.

The tourists were 3-114 at lunch on day one after captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first, with Joe Root (31*) and Harry Brook (23*) unbeaten in the middle.

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.

Follow our live coverage of the fifth Test in our blog below! Can’t see the blog?Click here!

England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett didn’t attempt any extravagant shots during their 35-run partnership before Mitchell Starc unearthed an early breakthrough in the seventh over, his 27th dismissal of the series. Having just struck consecutive boundaries against the Australian speedster, Duckett fended at an outswinger in the channel, yet again refusing to leave, with the thick outside edge carrying through to gloveman Alex Carey.

The dismissal prompted a brief collapse of 3-22. Moments before the drinks break, Michael Neser produced an in-ducker that thudded into Crawley’s knee roll, with the Englishman calling for a desperate review before trudging off for 16.

The following over, young all-rounder Jacob Bethell feathered an unplayable delivery from Victorian seamer Scott Boland that nipped away off a good length, gone for 10. Yorkshire duo Root and Brook combined for an unbeaten fifty-run stand to revive the innings, surviving through to lunch unscathed.

MATCH CENTRE: Australia vs England fifth Ashes Test live scorecard

Both sides opted not to pick a strike spinner for the New Year’s Test, with Australia’s Todd Murphy and England’s Shoaib Bashir missing selection.

Earlier, the first responders and community members who bravely acted during last month’s Bondi Beach terrorist attack were recognised with a guard of honour at the SCG, including the heroic Ahmed Al Ahmed and Chaya Dadon.Australia has opted against picking a specialist spinner for the fourth time in six Tests, with tweaker Todd Murphy omitted for this week’s New Year’s Ashes contest against England at the SCG.

It marks the first time since 1888 that Australia hasn’t picked a strike spinner for a Test match at the SCG.

Speaking at the toss, Australian interim captain Steve Smith confirmed it was a hard decision to leave out Murphy.

“Hate doing it,” he said.

“But we keep producing wickets that we don’t think are going to spin and seam’s going to play a big part.

“You kind of get pushed into a corner.”

Huge crowds gather for Ashes tickets | 06:26

DAY 1 PREVIEW

Like Australia, England skipper Ben Stokes was also tight-lipped on the visitors’ XI with the state of the pitch on match day also set to play a decisive role.

“I mean, we try and act like we know what we’re doing when we’re looking down at the pitch and rubbing it and knocking it — no one really has a clue to be honest,” Stokes said.

“You can only just try and give yourself the best chance of thinking: right, what 11 do we need to give us a chance of winning this?”

England has named a 12-man squad with Matthew Potts coming in for Gus Atkinson while spinner Shoaib Bashir remains the frame for selection.

While England is no hope of reclaiming the urn after dropping the first three Tests of the series, Stokes said there was still plenty of reasons for the tourists to lift at the SCG.

“This is a big game, purely because we’re walking out there representing England,” he said.

“The Ashes, unfortunately for us, hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to, but we’ve got one more game in a big series.

Massive crowds queue in the Members line on the 1st Day of 5th Ashes Test in Sydney. Picture: John AppleyardSource: News Corp Australia

“And it’s a real big one for us. So although we can’t get the thing that we came here for, we’ve still got a chance to go there and win a game of cricket.”

The action gets underway on Sunday at 10.30am AEDT, although the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a shower or two with a 25 per cent chance of up to 10 millimetres of rain.

Fortunately, the showers aren’t expected until the afternoon and early evening so there is a strong chance of at least getting some runs on the board before then.