The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The players are getting ready 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 appropriate remembrance to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the concluding stages of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a delightful interview.
I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they approach 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 ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team 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 style it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Tough Introduction
Almost an hour into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered 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 hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of concentrated care, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
A Historic Achievement
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that phrase 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 attain greatness 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 annals of the game there are landmarks, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could argue with.
It's been a success of know-how, composure, application, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's seemingly relentless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will resume 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 ease that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be conducted 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 crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
