The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to compensate for some of the overs lost on the first day. The players are preparing to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, dispelling any doubts about their drive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their defeated rivals.
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 second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a engaging 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 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 different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Harsh Welcome
Forty-five minutes into 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 different deliveries.
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 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 defended with a show of concentrated care, 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.
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 confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there.
The combination of those phases, though, propelled him into a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are set to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most one-eyed Pom could dispute.
It's been a victory of experience, composure, application, skill and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds 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 start again on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable 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 understand. 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 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 concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
