It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the overs lost on the first day. The athletes are preparing to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a appropriate remembrance to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian benevolence was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batters wore down the English attack, addressing any queries about their motivation since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their defeated rivals.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the concluding stages of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Legendary Critique
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming interview.
I've been disappointed in 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 ordinary teams 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 takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Harsh Welcome
Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced 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 short outside off stump and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of furrowed caution, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. Welcome to the treadmill, 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 certainty. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets applied 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 stayed as long.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, took him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are landmarks, then there are peaks. 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 overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a suitable finale. Australia are set to crush 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 maturity, discipline, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's deceptively pitiless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will continue on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of flaws 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 failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be administered 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 tired, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.