Play gets underway early once more, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to make up some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are getting ready to step onto the ground.
Charity and Command on Display
Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a wave of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batters wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their incentive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more about their defeated rivals.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after 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 stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a engaging interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too careless, 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 quality outfit like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs at a fair pace, 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 rein themselves 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 trying out his variations.
His first ball was full and wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was back of a length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, 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 height of his batting skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets granted 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 remained there.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a exceptional position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion
The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a suitable finale. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could argue with.
It's been a success of know-how, discipline, skill, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to heal; 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 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 fathom. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. 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 one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shattered, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
