It’s another early start today, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to compensate for some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are making final preparations to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
Events are handled superbly in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured 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 turned into a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, dispelling any doubts about their incentive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more about their vanquished foes.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 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 threatening one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts 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 impetuous, nobody seems to want to play a long innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. 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 thing it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Tough Introduction
Forty-five minutes into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his different deliveries.
His first ball was wide and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A tough initiation, 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 skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a exceptional position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are achievements, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is heading for a suitable finale. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most biased Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, discipline, skill, ability and Travis Head. His audacious 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 continue on 129 after making a century that looked unavoidable 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 understand. 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 administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a total collapse when England bat, just as there was in the final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
