Play gets underway early once more, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to compensate for some of the overs lost on the first day. The players are preparing to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display
Australia knows how to host an event. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the concluding stages 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 ominous one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they tackle 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 lesser sides 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 style it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Baptism of Fire
Shortly after the start of a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his change-ups.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side 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 on a good length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of concentrated care, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A tough initiation, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Joining the Pantheon
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. 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 hit their peak for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The latest Ashes series, perhaps the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could contest.
It's been a victory of know-how, composure, skill, ability 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 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 flaws in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
