A five-wicket win at the SCG wrapped up a 4-1 Ashes scoreline for Australia and, in Steven Smith’s mind, settled the debate about leaving out a specialist spinner. “I think it just shows our depth,” Smith said, reflecting on a campaign in which Pat Cummins played once, Josh Hazlewood not at all and Nathan Lyon only twice.
For the final Test, Australia preferred an extra seamer and the all-round skills of Beau Webster. On a surface Smith later called “one of the best I’ve seen in my 15 years playing here”, the decision looked brave, even risky. Spin proved lively: Will Jacks ragged one back through Smith’s gate on the last afternoon and Webster himself trapped Harry Brook lbw with a sharp off-break.
England had Shoaib Bashir in their 12 but never seriously considered him. Australia had Todd Murphy in the squad after Lyon’s hamstring strain yet chose not to pick him, a move that raised plenty of eyebrows at the toss. Smith admitted the call might have blown up had the result gone the other way.
“It is now,” he replied when asked if the selection was justified. “We’re standing here winning, right? Had we not, there’s maybe a bit to answer for there, potentially. You’ve got to weigh up how you think the game’s going to pan out. We thought the cracks were going to open up quicker than they did and the rough wasn’t going to be as prevalent as it was.”
Depth with the bat counted too. The order ran to Mitchell Starc at ten, and Webster’s 70 from No.9—after serving as nightwatchman—proved vital in a first-innings total that set the game up. “Our batting was obviously really deep with [Mitchell Starc] coming in at No. 10,” Smith noted. “That length of the batting order … getting us to that total in the first innings was crucial.”
On the pitch itself, Smith was almost complimentary. “In terms of the wicket, I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen in my 15 years playing here. I think it offered a bit for everyone. The new ball worked a bit. If you batted well and applied yourself, you could score runs. Then the rough came into play at the backend and there were some cracks there as well.”
Australia’s adaptability became a theme across the series. Michael Neser, picked for three Tests and bowling to Alex Carey standing up, covered admirably for the established quicks. Lyon’s injury and Cummins’ workload management forced constant tinkering, yet the hosts kept finding answers—sometimes orthodox, sometimes not.
That said, Smith conceded spin crept into the match more than he had forecast. Jacks’ dismissal of Smith—a classic off-spinner’s dismissal, clipping middle and leg—underlined the point. Moments later Usman Khawaja nicked the same bowler just wide of Ben Stokes at slip. Had one or two of those half-chances stuck, the post-match conversation might feel very different.
Even so, Australia walk away comfortable winners. Smith’s gamble, or judgement call if you prefer, stands. And, true to his pragmatic style, he is unlikely to dwell. “We do things in real time,” he reminded reporters earlier in the week, a neat summary of how Australia navigated a series in which plans, personnel and conditions kept shifting.
There was, of course, Usman Khawaja’s back injury in Perth wh
