Play gets underway early once more, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The athletes are making final preparations to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian charity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, dispelling any doubts about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their vanquished foes.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too reckless, 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 quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Tough Introduction
Forty-five minutes into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his variations.
His first ball was full and wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of studious defense, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A tough initiation, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
A Historic Achievement
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that description 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 reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The amalgamation 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 mountaintops. 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: A Forgone Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is staggering to a suitable finale. Australia are set to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most biased Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, discipline, application, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England 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 resume on 129 after making a century that looked certain 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 comprehend. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The last rites 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 concluding effort 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.
