Play gets underway early once more, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The athletes are preparing to take the field.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Events are handled superbly in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured 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 turned into a ocean of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen wore down the English attack, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. 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 stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs at a fair pace, 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 pull their hooves 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 different deliveries.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side 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 on a good length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A grueling introduction, 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 bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has remained there.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, propelled him into a rare position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are landmarks, then there are peaks. 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, possibly the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to overwhelm 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 experience, discipline, application, talent and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired 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 final innings 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.
