It’s another early start today, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to compensate for some of the play washed out on the first day. The athletes are preparing to take the field.
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 sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a sea of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.
Between the wickets, however, Australian charity was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen wore down the English attack, dispelling any doubts about their motivation since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming 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 construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against average opponents but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of enjoyment 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
Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his variations.
His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and hammered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of studious defense, to jeering shouts from a crowd that had begun to get involved. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Joining the Pantheon
There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are achievements, then there are mountaintops. 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 ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, arguably the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a appropriate end. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most partisan Pom could contest.
It's been a triumph of maturity, discipline, skill, skill and Travis Head. His daring 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 resume 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 Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The concluding chapter will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a one-sided finish when England bat, just as there was in the last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shattered, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
