Play gets underway early once more, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to make up some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are preparing to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display
Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the concluding stages of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, nobody seems to want to play a long innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against lesser sides but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Tough Introduction
Shortly after the start of a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his variations.
His first ball was full and wide and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of concentrated care, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a uncommon position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are achievements, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks slowly approaching in the mist. Donald Bradman's 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a appropriate end. Australia are on course to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could argue with.
It's been a success of maturity, maturity, application, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's seemingly relentless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will resume on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The last rites will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
