The action begins ahead of schedule again, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The players are making final preparations to take the field.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
They do things well in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a engaging interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against average opponents but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Almost an hour into 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 full and wide and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight 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 height of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. 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 enduring for 20 years. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has remained there.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are landmarks, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused 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 surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is staggering to a appropriate end. Australia are poised to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most biased Pom could contest.
It's been a success of experience, discipline, skill, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of faultlines 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 craved 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 last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
