Play gets underway early once more, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The players are preparing to step onto the ground.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the those affected and the emergency services of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a ocean of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their motivation since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their vanquished foes.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a engaging 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 construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against lesser sides but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves 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 full and wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of furrowed caution, to jeering shouts 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 pinnacle of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied 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, took him to a exceptional position on the third day. In the record books 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 drawing gradually closer 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 Forgone Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are on course to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most one-eyed Pom could contest.
It's been a triumph of know-how, composure, application, talent and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. 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 inevitable 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 comprehend. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The last rites will be delivered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish 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 crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
