The Baggy Greens v England – Fifth Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Action Unfolds

They do things well in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a moving homage to the victims and first responders of the Bondi tragedy, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a sea of pink to once again raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.

Between the wickets, however, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batsmen dominated the English bowling, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more regarding their defeated rivals.

Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 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 reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.

The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a engaging 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 construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.

It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a quality outfit like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs at a fair pace, and everyone gets a lot of pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this Bazball thing it takes the odds away from winning an important Test. I'd like to see them show more restraint.

Forty-five minutes into a gloomy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his different deliveries.

His first ball was sprayed down the leg side and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and hacked over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was on a good length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was negotiated with a show of furrowed caution, to jeering shouts 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.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the pinnacle of his batting mastery, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that description 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 hit their peak 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 annals of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 climb. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.

The 2025-26 Ashes, arguably the most disappointing series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a suitable finale. Australia are on course to defeat comprehensively England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most partisan Pom could dispute.

It's been a triumph of maturity, discipline, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's deceptively pitiless 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 certain even before he faced his first ball.

Australia, despite a number of flaws in their team, have won the series with an comfort 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 craved a greater challenge.

The concluding chapter 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 tired, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.