Play gets underway early once more, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The athletes are making final preparations to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a fitting tribute to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian charity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their beaten opponents.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the second half of Travis Head’s explosive 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.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Baptism of Fire
Shortly after the start of a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his different deliveries.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side 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 on a good length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of studious defense, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. A tough initiation, 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 skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that description 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 attain greatness for a time, no other has stayed as long.
The combination of those phases, though, took him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are landmarks, 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, arguably the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could contest.
It's been a victory of know-how, discipline, skill, talent and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to recover; 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 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 ease that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show 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 last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
