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

They do things well in Australia. The opening day of this final Test featured a moving homage to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi atrocity, 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.

On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batmen wore down the English attack, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their beaten opponents.

Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 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 was 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.

The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview.

I've been let down by England. I think the way they tackle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to play a long innings, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.

It might work against average opponents but when you get a top-tier team like Australia it's a different ballgame. I used to score runs quite rapidly, and everyone gets a lot of satisfaction 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.

Shortly after the start of a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began trying out his variations.

His first ball was full and wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off 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 defended with a show of studious defense, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. A tough initiation, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with assurance. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career enduring for 20 years. Lots of players attain greatness for a time, no other has maintained that level.

The combination 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 peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-centric 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 overtook on Tuesday.

The 2025-26 Ashes, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could dispute.

It's been a success of maturity, composure, application, ability 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 surprisingly ruthless 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 weaknesses in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge.

The final act will be administered 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 crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.