The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The athletes are making final preparations to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
They do things well in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a moving homage to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became 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 batters dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their motivation since securing the Ashes and raising a few more about their beaten opponents.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the latter part of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a engaging interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach 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 whole new challenge. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Baptism of Fire
Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his variations.
His first ball was full and wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump 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 negotiated with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated 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 stayed as long.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, then there are mountaintops. 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 surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are on course to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, composure, application, 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 were not competitive – 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 total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
