The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – The Final Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates
The action begins ahead of schedule again, as a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour morning stint to recover some of the time lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to step onto the ground.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance
Australia knows how to host an event. The opening day of this final Test featured 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 benevolence was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batmen wore down the English attack, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their defeated rivals.
Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the latter part of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion
The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful interview.
I've been let down by England. I think the way they handle 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 quality outfit like Australia it's a whole new challenge. 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 takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.
A Tough Introduction
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 utilizing his change-ups.
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 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 blocked with a show of concentrated care, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to get involved. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
Scaling the Ashes Mountain
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 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 reach the top for a time, no other has maintained that level.
The combination of those phases, though, elevated him to a uncommon position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are landmarks, 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 Forgone Conclusion
The latest Ashes series, arguably the most underwhelming series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is heading for a appropriate end. Australia are set to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a scoreline not even the most biased Pom could dispute.
It's been a triumph of experience, composure, application, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is happily compounding their misery. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an comfort that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge.
The final act will be delivered 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 exhausted, their confidence shot, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.
