🔗 Share this article The Baggy Greens v England – Fifth Ashes Test, The Fourth Day: Live Updates Play gets underway early once more, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the overs lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to begin play. A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage 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 collect money for the McGrath Foundation. Out in the middle, however, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, dispelling any doubts about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their beaten opponents. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages 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. A Cricketing Icon's Opinion The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview. I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to build an 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 pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it lessens the probability of 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 entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his change-ups. His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of studious defense, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to get involved. Welcome to the treadmill, 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 skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has stayed as long. The blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are landmarks, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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. Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale The 2025-26 Ashes, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a suitable finale. Australia are set to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most biased Pom could argue with. It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, skill, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will continue on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to understand. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge. The final act 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 final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence shattered, 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 make up some of the overs lost on the first day. The players are getting ready to begin play.
A Sea of Pink and a Display of Dominance They do things well in Australia. On the first day of this fifth Test came a moving homage 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 collect money for the McGrath Foundation. Out in the middle, however, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, dispelling any doubts about their drive since securing the Ashes and raising a few more regarding their beaten opponents. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team walked off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had followed the concluding stages 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.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion The famed Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a charming interview. I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too careless, nobody seems to want to build an 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 pleasure out of it, but when you try to play this aggressive approach it lessens the probability of 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 entered the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began running through his change-ups. His first ball was wide and clobbered through cover by Travis Head. His second ball was both short outside off stump and slashed over gully by Travis Head. His third ball was short and straight and smashed past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of studious defense, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to get involved. Welcome to the treadmill, 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 skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that description is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets bestowed too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career lasting two decades. Lots of players hit their peak for a time, no other has stayed as long. The blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the record books of the game there are landmarks, then there are summits. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy 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.
Preamble: An Anticlimactic Finale The 2025-26 Ashes, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a suitable finale. Australia are set to overwhelm England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most biased Pom could argue with. It's been a triumph of experience, maturity, skill, ability and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to mend; four Tests later he is merrily adding to their woes. Head's surprisingly ruthless 163 helped Australia to 518 for 7 at the end of day three, a lead of 134. Steve Smith will continue on 129 after making a century that looked inevitable even before he faced his first ball. Australia, despite a number of faultlines in their team, have won the series with an ease that is hard to understand. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England were not competitive – even if, on some level, they probably craved a greater challenge. The final act 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 final innings of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are tired, their confidence shattered, their spirit dented. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.