Play gets underway early once more, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the overs lost on the first day. The cricketers are preparing to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
They do things well 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 generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian generosity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 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 daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a charming interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too careless, 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 quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Forty-five minutes into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into 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 back of a length and outside off and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers 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.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets granted 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 stayed as long.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are landmarks, then there are summits. 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are set to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of experience, composure, skill, skill and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 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 ease that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. 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 conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
