The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are preparing to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Australia knows how to host an event. This fifth Test commenced with a appropriate remembrance to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batters wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their vanquished foes.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a engaging 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 whole new challenge. 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 aggressive approach it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his variations.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A grueling introduction, 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 mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The combination of those phases, though, took him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are landmarks, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused 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: A One-Sided Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, perhaps the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could contest.
It's been a victory of know-how, discipline, skill, ability and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. 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 certain even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to fathom. 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 desired a greater challenge.
The final act will be delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
