Jacob Bethell provided England with a glimmer of hope in the final stages of the fifth Ashes Test as he scored his maiden Test century, although hosts Australia look set for victory in Sydney and a 4-1 series triumph.
Bethell, batting at number three, scored 142 not out as England reached stumps on 302-8, ahead by just 119 runs after Australia scored a massive 567 in their first innings.
While England have taken the match deep into the fifth day, it seems just a matter of time before Australia complete a comprehensive and deserved 4-1 series victory, especially with visiting captain Ben Stokes down with a groin injury.
Bethell finally lived up to his potential, putting together big partnerships – 81 with opener Ben Duckett, 102 with Harry Brook and 45 with Jamie Smith.
Playing his sixth Test, Bethell spent a nervous couple of overs on 99 before reaching the milestone with a crunching four.
“It's pretty special. It's not really sunk in yet,” Bethell told reporters.
“We had to graft hard out there and ideally we'd be a couple wickets less. But yeah, 119 ahead. I think we've got a chance if we get it up to 180-190, potentially, tomorrow.”
It provided England something to cheer towards the end of a horror tour, especially for their batters.
England have been let down by a shaky top order with only Joe Root and Brook consistently among the runs. Bethell's composed knock under pressure should give the team management confidence that they have backed the right player.
The rest of the batters, however, continued to blow hot and cold. Duckett was bowled by the hugely impressive Michael Neser for 42 soon after lunch when he looked well-set. Brook was out lbw before wicketkeeper Smith was farcically run-out for 26.
Stokes lasted five balls and scored one run when he did finally come out to bat, caught in the slips off a thick edge to leave his team clinging on at 267-7 and give Australia all-rounder Beau Webster his third wicket of the day.
Webster (3-51) had earlier shattered English hopes of giving Australia a challenging target when he removed Brook and Will Jacks in the space of three balls with his part-time off spin.
Earlier, young seamer Josh Tongue (3-97) helped England snare three Australian wickets in the first hour of play.
He removed Smith for 138 and Mitchell Starc for five. Australia's last batsman, Scot Boland, edged the ball to the slips off the first delivery he faced from Jacks, leaving Webster 71 not out.
It was then left to England and Bethell to take the match deep.
To his credit, Bethell finally put at end to an unwanted record – he had never scored a first-class hundred before Wednesday.
“I found a real nice zone in terms of scoring and always being able to throw a punch without taking too much risk, which is pretty good,” Bethell told TNT Sports
“Definitely that will give me the world of confidence and especially as people will stop talking about (no first-class hundred).”
Bethell followed in the footsteps of captain Stokes by scoring a maiden Ashes hundred overseas at the age of 22.
There were nerves for the Warwickshire all-rounder, especially after his dismissal on 96 against New Zealand.
Bethell insisted: “I was feeling OK. A little bit nervous, but nowhere near as nervous in New Zealand where I forgot to watch the ball and got out. All I was focusing on was doing what I was doing throughout the innings, which was watching the ball and just playing it.
“I feel pretty good. To have the family here and watching was pretty special.”
