It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to compensate for some of the play washed out 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. The opening day of this final Test featured a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed 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 threatening one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a engaging interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to play a long innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against average opponents 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 enjoyment 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 rein themselves in.
A Baptism of Fire
Almost an hour 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 clobbered 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 on a good length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of concentrated care, to jeering shouts 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.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting skill, 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 bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, elevated him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused 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 conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, perhaps the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is staggering to a suitable finale. Australia are poised to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most one-eyed Pom could contest.
It's been a victory of experience, composure, application, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; 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 certain even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to understand. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The last rites will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
