The action begins ahead of schedule again, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are making final preparations to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, 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 charity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their beaten opponents.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a engaging interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a class side like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Tough Introduction
Forty-five minutes into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his different deliveries.
His first ball was wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. 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 mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied 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 stayed as long.
The blend of those phases, though, took him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the annals 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 looming ever nearer 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
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 suitable finale. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.
It's been a success of experience, discipline, skill, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's seemingly relentless 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 certain even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an simplicity 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 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 exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
