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 athletes are getting ready to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian generosity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a engaging interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against average opponents 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 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 Harsh Welcome
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 trying out his variations.
His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and driven 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. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
A Historic Achievement
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets granted 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 combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are summits. 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 scale. 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 caused havoc at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are poised to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.
It's been a victory of maturity, composure, application, ability and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. 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 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 fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. 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 delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
