Play gets underway early once more, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to compensate for some of the time lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a sea of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian generosity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their defeated rivals.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages of Travis Head’s blistering 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 charming interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against lesser sides 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 lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Tough Introduction
Shortly after the start of a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his change-ups.
His first ball was wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of furrowed caution, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
A Historic Achievement
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has stayed as long.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are landmarks, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, possibly the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most one-eyed Pom could argue with.
It's been a victory of know-how, discipline, discipline, ability and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's seemingly relentless 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 certain 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 comprehend. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence shattered, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
