It’s another early start today, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are making final preparations to take the field.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might
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 became a ocean of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the second half of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach 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 ordinary teams but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his different deliveries.
His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to get involved. 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 certainty. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has remained there.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are peaks. 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are poised to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could argue with.
It's been a victory of maturity, discipline, skill, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth exposed English frailties 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 inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. 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 wanted a greater challenge.
The last rites will be administered 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 weary, their confidence broken, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
