It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to compensate for some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are preparing to take the field.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a appropriate remembrance to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batsmen dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle 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 ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction 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 pull their hooves in.
A Tough Introduction
Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into 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 slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to get involved. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Joining the Pantheon
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 line is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has stayed as long.
The blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are landmarks, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The latest Ashes series, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, discipline, application, talent and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 faultlines in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The last rites will be delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence broken, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
