Play gets underway early once more, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the time lost on the first day. The cricketers are making final preparations to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display
They do things well in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a sea of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian charity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batters dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more about their beaten opponents.
Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
Veteran's Viewpoint
The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a delightful interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they approach 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 lesser sides but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a completely different proposition. 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 style it lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Baptism of Fire
Almost an hour into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his different deliveries.
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 on a good length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of studious defense, to raucous, sarcastic applause 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.
A Historic Achievement
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a uncommon position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are achievements, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-focused 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale
The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most one-eyed Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of know-how, composure, skill, talent 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 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 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 understand. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. 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 complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
