It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are making final preparations to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a sea of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian charity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the concluding stages of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, nobody seems to want to build an 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 quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Baptism of Fire
Forty-five minutes into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his change-ups.
His first ball was full and wide and smashed 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 back of a length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of furrowed caution, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. Welcome to the treadmill, 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 prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase 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 attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a uncommon position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are achievements, 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 overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could contest.
It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 faultlines in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to fathom. 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 last rites will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout 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.
