🔗 Share this article The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – Fifth Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates Play gets underway early once more, 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. Charity and Command on Display They do things well in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a fitting tribute to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave 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 dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their defeated rivals. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Head’s explosive 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 legendary Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a delightful 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 build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against lesser sides but when you get a class side like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 pull their hooves in. A Harsh Welcome Shortly after the start of a somewhat cloudy 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 clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked 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 settle in for the day's play. A tough initiation, 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 certainty. 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 spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a uncommon 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-focused 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday. Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm 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, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. 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 weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to understand. 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 wanted a greater challenge. The last rites 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 last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
Play gets underway early once more, 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.
Charity and Command on Display They do things well in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a fitting tribute to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a wave 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 dominated the English bowling, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more concerning their defeated rivals. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Head’s explosive 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 legendary Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a delightful 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 build an innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against lesser sides but when you get a class side like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs relatively quickly, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure 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 pull their hooves in.
A Harsh Welcome Shortly after the start of a somewhat cloudy 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 clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short and wide and hacked 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 settle in for the day's play. A tough initiation, 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 certainty. 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 spanning twenty years. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a uncommon 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-focused 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 scale. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion The current Ashes battle, perhaps the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm 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, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. 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 weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to understand. 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 wanted a greater challenge. The last rites 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 last knock of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.