The action begins ahead of schedule again, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The athletes are making final preparations to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their motivation since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their vanquished foes.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged 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 attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a engaging interview.
I've been let down by 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 lesser sides but when you get a class side like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 show more restraint.
A Baptism of Fire
Shortly after the start of a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his variations.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and cut 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 jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A grueling introduction, 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 certainty. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a uncommon position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.
It's been a success of know-how, composure, discipline, talent and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to mend; 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 continue on 129 after making a century that looked certain even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The final act will be delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
