England batter Joe Root has defended teammate Jamie Smith despite being criticised for his dismissal during the final test of the Ashes 2025/26 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The wicketkeeper’s reckless dismissal late on day two of the New Year’s Ashes Test at the SCG has drawn criticism among the cricketing fraternity.
England has been well balanced at 5/323 with less than ten minutes remaining before lunch when Steve Smith fell into an obvious trap.
Facing Australian part-timer Marnus Labuschagne, Jamie Smith backed away to a short delivery and hit it straight to deep cover, where six fielders were stationed on the boundary.
Joe Root scored a commanding 160 runs in the first innings, said Smith’s intent was to maximise scoring before Australia took the second new ball, rather than simply seeing out the session.
“You go into a second new ball and you saw how it reacted. It was completely different,” Root said after stumps. “It was about maximising that ten-over period ahead of facing that new ball. You eke out an extra 20 runs and that could be the difference later on.
“You 100% back them.”
Joe Root weighs in on when Marnus Labuschagne got Jamie Smith out. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/pbWLnlsJnf
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2026
“There was a method behind what we were trying to do. We’re trying to move the game forward all the time. When it doesn’t come off, it can look a certain way, but you’re never playing to get out, you’re playing to score runs.
“As a batter, your job isn’t to survive, it’s to score runs. You can’t win games just surviving.”
Since head coach Brendon McCullum took charge, England’s aggressive approach has often split opinion, particularly when wickets are lost at crucial moments.
Meanwhile Hussain slammed Smith for his poor shot selection. “It was a really poor shot, not just because of the execution and because Labuschagne was bowling, but the timing,” said Hussain.
“That is the problem with this England side. They have a lot of talent, but they don’t always lock onto the situation of the game.
“It was nine minutes until lunch and five overs until the new ball. Just survive and go again.”
Joe Root accepted that frustration was inevitable but urged balance in judging the moments.
“It’s very easy to over-analyse certain dismissals,” he said. “Sometimes you just make a mistake, and you have to learn from it and make sure you don’t make the same mistake again.
“Whenever someone loses a wicket, you’d be frustrated, but there’s no one more frustrated than the guy who’s lost his wicket. He’s working incredibly hard.
“There are times when you have to absorb pressure and understand when to put it back on, but I think that was an opportunity, and I back him 100 per cent to take that option again.”
Coming to the game England scored 384 runs in their first innings while Australia scored 166 runs for 2 by the end of day 02 at Sydney Cricket Ground.
