Play gets underway early once more, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to compensate for some of the time lost on the first day. The players are preparing to step onto the ground.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, 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.
Out in the middle, however, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their incentive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their beaten opponents.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages of Travis Head’s explosive 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 legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they tackle 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 lesser sides but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his change-ups.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and hammered 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 on a good length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers 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 peak of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, elevated him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most anticlimactic 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 scoreline not even the most biased Pom could argue with.
It's been a victory of know-how, discipline, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. 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 ease 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 wanted a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter 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 concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
