Play gets underway early once more, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are getting ready to take the field.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might
Australia knows how to host an event. The opening day of this final Test featured a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen wore down the English attack, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded 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 was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, 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 top-tier team like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 Harsh Welcome
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 utilizing his change-ups.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers 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.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle 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 applied 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 stayed as long.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could contest.
It's been a victory of know-how, discipline, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. Head's surprisingly ruthless 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 inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to fathom. 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 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 exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
