It’s another early start today, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are preparing to take the field.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes 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.
On the field of play, though, Australian charity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their vanquished foes.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle 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 class side like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs quite rapidly, 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 Baptism of Fire
Shortly after the start of a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out 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 cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended 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 height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has remained there.
The combination of those phases, though, propelled him into a rare position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are milestones, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks looming ever nearer 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, perhaps the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most one-eyed Pom could dispute.
It's been a success of experience, maturity, skill, skill and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; 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 resume on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable 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 were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably wanted 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 weary, their confidence shattered, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
