Former England captain Joe Root talked about his future after scoring a century in the fifth Test of the Ashes 2025-26 against Australia at the SCG on Monday, January 5. The right-handed batsman indicated that his time in Ashes cricket is not over yet and he still has the hunger to compete at the highest level.
Root scored his 41st Test century on the second day of the fifth Test during his fourth Ashes tour in Australia. The visitors lost the Ashes series in just 11 days before winning the fourth Test at the MCG in Melbourne. It is noteworthy that England’s all-time leading run-scorer has never won an Ashes series in Australia.
We’ll see how things unfold with time – Joe Root
Joe Root was asked whether his gesture to the crowd in Australia was a farewell gesture. He said the moment was to thank the fans for their continued support during the difficult series. Root said he would love to tour Australia again in four years, but it depends on how things unfold over time.
“I think you might be looking into it too much,” Root said. “I felt like we had some amazing support throughout this series, and we just didn’t achieve the goals we set as a group.”
He added, “But at no point has that (support) ever wavered, and whenever I’ve been here on tour, it’s never wavered, it’s been extraordinary. And it’s really just a way of saying thank you. Who knows? We’ll see. I’d love to, but we’ll see how things unfold over time.”
”We’ll see how things unfold over time.”
After another century, Joe Root is not ruling out another Ashes trip. #bbcricket #ash pic.twitter.com/4fCMeBgilv
– Test Match Special (@bbctms) 5 January 2026
Joe Root scored his 41st Test century in the fifth Ashes Test.
Joe Root scored 160 runs in 242 balls with the help of 15 fours and helped England score 384 runs. This was his second century of the series and 41st Test century of his career. With this innings, Root joined Ricky Ponting at third place in the all-time list of Test centuries.
Only two players are now above Root in that list: Sachin Tendulkar with 51 centuries and Jacques Kallis with 45 centuries. Root’s total Test run count is 13,937, which brings him close to Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 runs.
Earlier in the series, Root had scored unbeaten 138 runs in the day-night test in Brisbane. That innings ended his long wait without a Test century in the last three Ashes tours in Australia.
Joe Root faces tough Ashes record in Australia despite domestic success
Joe Root has enjoyed Ashes series success on home soil and won the competition twice, but his time in Australia has been much more difficult. England suffered heavy defeats of 5–0, 4–0 and 4–0 in their last three tours, with Root captaining the team during the two 4–0 defeats.
In the current series, England lost the first three Tests and lost the Ashes early. However, they managed to restore some pride by winning the Fourth Test in Melbourne, avoiding a 5–0 whitewash. That win was the first Ashes Test win in Australia for Root and current captain Ben Stokes.
Sydney has been a challenging venue for Root in the past as well. During his first Ashes tour in 2013–14, he was dropped for the Sydney Test, the only time in his entire Test career that he was dropped. Despite his long and successful career, Australia has been difficult for him.
Also read: Joe Root steps in to protect Jamie Smith after Justin Langer’s brutal attack in Sydney