The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are getting ready to begin play.
Pink Tributes and Batting Might
Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a appropriate remembrance to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian benevolence was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and raising a few more about their defeated rivals.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the second half of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
Legendary Critique
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a charming interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they approach the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against lesser sides but when you get a class side like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them rein themselves in.
A Baptism of Fire
Almost an hour into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his change-ups.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and smashed through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of studious defense, to jeering shouts 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 prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are landmarks, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused 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, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most one-eyed Pom could contest.
It's been a success of know-how, maturity, discipline, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. 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 inevitable even before he faced his first ball.
Australia, despite a number of weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an comfort 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 wanted a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be conducted 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 weary, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
