It’s another early start today, 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.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Australia knows how to host an event. The opening day of this final Test featured a fitting tribute to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. 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 beaten opponents.
Faces flush from the ordeal, 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 concluding stages of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Legendary Critique
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a delightful interview.
I've been let down by 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 completely different proposition. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 rein themselves in.
A Tough Introduction
Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his change-ups.
His first ball was full and 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 on a good 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.
Joining the Pantheon
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players hit their peak 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 milestones, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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 conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is staggering to a appropriate end. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most biased Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, discipline, application, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; 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 start again on 129 after making a century that looked certain 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 did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge.
The final act will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
