The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are making final preparations to step onto the ground.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might
Events are handled superbly in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their beaten opponents.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a delightful interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against average opponents 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 pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Forty-five minutes into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his change-ups.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. Welcome to the treadmill, 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 mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, elevated him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are achievements, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused career there have been two peaks drawing gradually closer in the mist. Donald Bradman's 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most one-eyed Pom could dispute.
It's been a victory of experience, maturity, discipline, ability and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will start again on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The final act will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shot, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
