The action begins ahead of schedule again, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the overs lost on the first day. The athletes are preparing to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Events are handled superbly in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too careless, 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 quality outfit 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 thing it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Harsh Welcome
Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his change-ups.
His first ball was wide and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 peak of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has remained there.
The blend of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are milestones, 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are on course to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most biased Pom could dispute.
It's been a success of know-how, maturity, skill, skill and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to understand. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be conducted 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 exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
