Rifle-Armed Police To Patrol Final Ashes Test In Sydney After Bondi Attack

Police carrying long‑armed rifles — an uncommon sight at Australian sporting events — will patrol the final Ashes Test in Sydney from Sunday as part of heightened security measures in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.

Uniformed and mounted officers, together with public order and riot squad personnel, will oversee the sold‑out match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The security posture follows the Dec. 14 attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi that left 15 people dead and many others injured.

Street artist Jarrod Grech poses for a photo next to his painting of Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian-Australian shopkeeper who disarmed one of the attackers of Sydney's Bondi Beach shooting, in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (Rod McGuirk/AP Photo)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the more visible deployment of long‑armed rifles is intended to reassure the public and that authorities are not responding to a specific, credible threat to the community.

“Many people may not be used to seeing police carrying rifles at sporting events, but our objective here is to help the public feel safe and police will be out in force,”

he said. “The difference will be in the visibility of long‑arms and a stronger presence. Police will otherwise be targeting anti‑social and unsafe behavior as usual.”

The move mirrors measures implemented at the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which began Dec. 26, where specialist officers armed with semiautomatic rifles patrolled the stadium precinct, a nearby park and a railway station.

England players practice catching during a training session ahead of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Authorities say the stepped‑up presence is designed to deter threats and provide public reassurance at major events. Organisers of the Ashes Test have coordinated with police to maintain spectator safety while minimising disruption to the match.

Seven people remain hospitalized following the Dec. 14 Bondi attack; six are in stable condition and one is in critical but stable condition. Naveed Akram, 24 — one of two men accused in the attack — faces 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder. Akram was shot by police at the scene, spent days in a coma, and has since been charged. His father, Sajid Akram, 50, was killed by police at the scene.

Annie, center, is comforted during the funeral of her son Dan Elkayam, a young French Jewish man who was killed in the mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia, in Ashdod, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

What To Expect At The SCG

• Heightened visible policing with rifle‑equipped specialist officers

  

  England's Shoaib Bashir bowls during a practice session ahead of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

• Uniformed, mounted and public order units patrolling the venue and approach routes

• Targets remain public safety and anti‑social behaviour; no specific threat has been identified

The increased security measures come as organisers and police work to ensure the final Ashes Test proceeds safely and without incident, while remaining mindful of the community’s need for reassurance after the Bondi tragedy.