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 begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
They do things well in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a fitting tribute to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian benevolence was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen wore down the English attack, addressing any queries about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their vanquished foes.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a delightful interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they handle 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 lesser sides but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment 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 Baptism of Fire
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 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 slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Joining the Pantheon
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height 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 reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, propelled him into a uncommon position on the third day. In the annals 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 looming ever nearer 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: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most partisan Pom could argue with.
It's been a victory of experience, composure, application, talent and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 comfort that is hard to understand. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter 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 final innings 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.
