It’s another early start today, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to recover some of the time lost 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. This fifth Test commenced with a appropriate remembrance to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was became a wave of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
Out in the middle, however, Australian charity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen wore down the English attack, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their beaten opponents.
Looking drained after the toil, 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 succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a engaging interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too reckless, 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 top-tier team like Australia it's a whole new challenge. 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 lessens the probability of winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Harsh Welcome
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 wide and hammered 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 on a good length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The amalgamation of those phases, though, propelled him into a exceptional 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 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: A One-Sided Conclusion
The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are on course to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could contest.
It's been a success of experience, discipline, application, ability and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. 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 flaws in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to comprehend. Maybe that's an Pommy outlook. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge.
The last rites 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 broken, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
