Play gets underway early once more, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to compensate for some of the play washed out on the first day. The athletes are getting ready to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a wave of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their vanquished foes.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the latter part 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.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a delightful interview.
I've been unimpressed with 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 ordinary teams 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 Bazball style it takes the odds away from 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 came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his variations.
His first ball was wide and smashed 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 pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of concentrated care, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets bestowed 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 blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. 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 conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most partisan Pom could contest.
It's been a success of maturity, discipline, application, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. 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 delivered 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 broken, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
