The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – Fifth Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates
The action begins ahead of schedule again, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The players are preparing to take the field.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Australia knows how to host an event. This fifth Test commenced with a moving homage to the victims and first responders of the Bondi atrocity, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.
On the field of play, though, Australian generosity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batmen dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their beaten opponents.
Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team departed 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 explosive 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 threatening one.
Legendary Critique
The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview.
I've been disappointed in England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too impetuous, nobody seems to want to build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.
It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a class side like Australia it's a completely different proposition. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 rein themselves in.
A Harsh Welcome
Shortly after the start of a gloomy 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 sprayed down the leg side 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 concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers 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 height of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has remained there.
The blend of those phases, though, propelled him into a rare position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are achievements, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks slowly approaching 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: An Anticlimactic Finale
The latest Ashes series, possibly the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a appropriate end. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most partisan Pom could argue with.
It's been a success of maturity, composure, application, skill and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to recover; 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 start again 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 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 final act 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 last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
