🔗 Share this article The Baggy Greens v England – The Final Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Live Updates The action begins ahead of schedule again, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are making final preparations to take the field. Charity and Command on Display Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the those affected and the emergency services 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 generosity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their defeated rivals. Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 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 threatening one. A Cricketing Icon's Opinion 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 impetuous, 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 class side like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs at a fair pace, 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 pull their hooves in. A Harsh Welcome Almost an hour into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his different deliveries. His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and slashed 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 studious defense, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here. A Historic Achievement There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. 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 annals of the game there are achievements, then there are summits. 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 conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday. Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion The latest Ashes series, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could argue with. It's been a victory of know-how, maturity, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge. The concluding chapter will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort 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.
The action begins ahead of schedule again, featuring an extended morning session of two and a half hours to recover some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are making final preparations to take the field.
Charity and Command on Display Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage to the those affected and the emergency services 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 generosity was in far scarcer quantity. Across three sessions their batters ground England’s bowlers into the dust, answering any questions about their incentive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more about their defeated rivals. Looking drained after the toil, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps battle-weary. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had come after the second half of Travis Head’s sizzling 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 threatening one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion 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 impetuous, 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 class side like Australia it's a whole new challenge. I used to score runs at a fair pace, 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 pull their hooves in.
A Harsh Welcome Almost an hour into a quietly overcast morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts came into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his different deliveries. His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both back of a length and outside off and slashed 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 studious defense, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to tuck into the day. Welcome to the treadmill, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.
A Historic Achievement There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the peak of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has reigned supreme for years, it gets granted too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. 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 annals of the game there are achievements, then there are summits. 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 conquer. Jack Hobbs's 3,636 runs against Australia is the one he ascended on Tuesday.
Preamble: A Forgone Conclusion The latest Ashes series, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth raised hell at The Oval, is limping towards a fitting conclusion. Australia are set to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most biased Pom could argue with. It's been a victory of know-how, maturity, discipline, skill and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth hurt England that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an simplicity that is hard to fathom. Maybe that's an Anglocentric view. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show up – even if, on some level, they probably desired a greater challenge. The concluding chapter will be administered either this evening or tomorrow. There's a chance of a complete blowout when England bat, just as there was in the concluding effort 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.