It’s another early start today, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The athletes are getting ready to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
They do things well in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, 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 generosity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more concerning their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the latter part of Travis Head’s explosive 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful 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 top-tier team like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball style it reduces the chances of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them pull their hooves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his change-ups.
His first ball was full and wide and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump and cut over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of studious defense, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. 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 prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase 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 reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are achievements, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he overtook on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The current Ashes battle, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are set to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most one-eyed Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of maturity, composure, skill, talent and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 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 certain 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 comprehend. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.
The last rites will be conducted either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
