Jacob Bethell's first test century helps England push the fifth Ashes match to Day 5

SYDNEY (AP) — Jacob Bethell posted his first test century Wednesday and it couldn't have come at a more crucial time for England, ensuring the fifth and last Ashes test will be decided on Day 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The 22-year-old, Barbados-born allrounder went to the crease in the first over of England's second innings when Mitchell Starc trapped Zac Crawley lbw on the fifth ball.

He shared an 81-run second-wicket stand with Ben Duckett (42), 32 with Joe Root (6), 102 with Harry Brook (42) and 45 with Jamie Smith (26) to help England reach 302-8 at stumps on Day 4, a lead of 119 runs.

Bethell finished 142 not out from 232 balls, helping England erase the 183-run first-innings deficit and maintain a chance of winning back-to-back tests Down Under. The Australians retained the Ashes with wins in the first three tests, but England is determined to narrow the margin after its drought-breaking win in Melbourne.

“It was special to get the milestone,” Bethell said in a TV interview. “To have the family over ... (and) to top it off with a hundred here is very special.”

In just his sixth test, and second of this series, Bethell found a way to survive while wickets tumbled around him as allrounder Beau Webster (3-51) emerged as the unlikely star for Australia by taking three wickets with his occasional offspin.

Webster took two wickets in three deliveries to swing momentum. He removed Brook, trapped lbw to a ball that turned sharply out of the rough, and Will Jacks, inexcusably hitting out and caught in the deep by Cameron Green for a second-ball duck, as England slumped to 219-5.

A chaotic run out, first ball after the drinks break in the evening session, saw Jamie Smith (26) sent back by Bethell and well out of his ground when Jake Weatherald threw to Marnus Labuschagne to whip off the bails at the bowler’s end.

Bethell was 123 at the time, and England at 264-6, when his injured skipper Ben Stokes went to the crease.

England added just three runs before Webster, bowling around the wicket, enticed Stokes (1) to cut a turning ball to Steve Smith at slip.

Scott Boland then dismissed Carse, giving him two wickets for the innings after a close lbw decision against Root.

Webster's wickets may have a positive spinoff on a turning pitch for England, which has Bethell, Jacks and possibly Root as spin options and could make chasing 170 or more a tricky prospect.

The Australians didn't take a specialist spinner into the match, instead relying on part-timers Travis Head and Webster, who also bowls medium pace.

“Certainly didn't think it would be with spin today,” Webster said of the crucial wickets in his Ashes debut.

The 32 year-old allrounder said the Australians were “very well placed, obviously" to win.

“We’d like to mop up these last two as quickly as we can, hopefully with the new ball around the corner as well, ... and (England) hopefully not too many ahead, and let the top-order boys get the job done.”

England picked up Australia's last three first-innings wickets for 49 runs after the hosts resumed at 518-7 but the morning session was overshadowed by an injury to Stokes. He bowled 10 deliveries before leaving the field for treatment on a right adductor problem. He didn't move freely when he batted and there's doubt over his ability to bowl on Day 5.

“He’s moving pretty gingerly,” Bethell said. "I don’t think that bodes too well for him bowling tomorrow.”

Australia’s commanding innings was built on centuries from stand-in opener Head, his third of the series, and Steve Smith (138) and a late contribution from allrounder Webster, who remained unbeaten on 71.

Smith was 129 overnight but didn't settle into a rhythm before he was caught behind off Josh Tongue's bowling, ending a 107-run eighth-wicket partnership with Webster.

The last two wickets fell within six deliveries, with Starc (5) bowled by a full delivery from Tongue that moved late off the seam and off-spinner Will Jacks (1-34) having Scott Boland caught for a first-ball duck at first slip.

The century was Smith’s 13th in Ashes tests and 37th of his career, moving him to sixth on the all-time list.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's Zak Crawley, left, reacts after he was dismissed by Australia's Mitchell Starc, second right, during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Beau Webster, second right, celebrates with teammates after dismissing England's Will Jacks during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Ben Stokes walks from the field after he was dismissed during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Jacob Bethell bats during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Jacob Bethell celebrates after scoring a century during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Ben Duckett bats during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Ben Stokes walks from the field during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Cameron Green reacts after dropping a catch during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Jacob Bethell bats during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Beau Webster bats during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Harry Brook runs to find the ball during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

England's Josh Tongue, right, is congratulated by teammate Ollie Pope after dismissing Australia's Mitchell Starc during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Beau Webster reacts after scoring 50 runs during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Steve Smith waves as he leaves the field after he was dismissed during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday opened a new phase of his pontificate by gathering the world’s cardinals to Rome and asking them to advise him on key priorities for the next two years. They responded by indicating continuity with Pope Francis' key aims of making the church more missionary and responsive to the needs of ordinary faithful.

Some 170 red-capped cardinals, or around two-thirds of the total College of Cardinals, trickled into the Vatican’s audience hall for the opening session of the two-day meeting, known as a consistory, the first of Leo's papacy.

In his opening remarks, Leo asked them to share what they considered to be the priorities that should guide him and the Holy See for the next year or two. He originally offered four agenda items but then asked the cardinals to pick just two. Significantly, the cardinals chose not to focus on questions about the liturgy and the divisive question about the old Latin Mass.

“This day and a half together will point the way for our path ahead,” Leo said.

Earlier in the day Leo had given the strongest signal yet about the direction of his still-young pontificate, calling for the full implementation of the reforms of Vatican II, the 1960s meetings that modernized and revolutionized the Catholic Church and remain a source of debate today.

Leo told his weekly general audience that for the foreseeable future, he would devote his weekly catechism lessons to a rereading of key Vatican II documents.

“Therefore, while we hear the call not to let its prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through hearsay or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content,” he said.

Citing all the popes from Vatican II forward who spoke about its importance, Leo said: “Indeed, it is the magisterium that still constitutes the guiding star of the church’s journey today.”

Among other things, Vatican II allowed for use of the vernacular rather than Latin for Mass. It called for greater participation of lay faithful in the life of the church and revolutionized Catholic relations with Jews and people of other faiths. At the time and in the decades since, though, its reforms crystalized the divisions between traditionalist, conservative Catholics and the more progressive wing of the church that are still alive today.

Leo’s first few months as pope were dominated by fulfilling the intense 2025 Holy Year obligations of celebrating special Jubilee audiences and Masses and wrapping up the outstanding matters of Francis’ pontificate.

He called the consistory of cardinals to begin the day after he closed out the Jubilee, suggesting that he saw its conclusion as the opportunity to unofficially launch his pontificate and look ahead to his own agenda.

It was a significant gesture, since Francis had relied not on consistories or the College of Cardinals as a whole to help him govern, but rather a small, hand-picked group of nine cardinals who met every few months at the Vatican.

Cardinals complained that they had been sidelined during Francis' 12-year pontificate, and Leo obliged by bringing them together.

Originally, the official agenda included four topics: a discussion of two of Francis’ key reform documents: his inaugural statement on the missionary nature of the church issued at the start of his pontificate, and the 2022 document that reformed the Vatican bureaucracy. Also on the original agenda was Francis' call for the church to be more “synodal,” or responsive to the needs of rank-and-file Catholics, and a discussion of the liturgy.

At the start of the meeting Wednesday, Leo asked the cardinals to choose two of the four to focus on. The majority decided to focus on the issues of the missionary and synodal church rather than the liturgy or Vatican reform, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The liturgy question had been expected to refer to divisions within the church over the celebration of the old Latin Mass. The ancient liturgy became a source of division in the church in some parts of the world after Francis greatly restricted it. While the majority of cardinals chose not to make it one of the two main themes of discussion for Thursday, individual cardinals are free to speak about it, Bruni said.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV meets Cardinals and Bishops at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV arrives for his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)