The Baggy Greens v The Three Lions – The Final Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates

Events are handled superbly in Australia. This fifth Test commenced with a fitting tribute to the victims and first responders of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was turned into a ocean of pink to once again generate donations for the McGrath Foundation.

Between the wickets, 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 posing a few more about their defeated rivals.

Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps seeing pink elephants. Steve Smith’s century number thirty-seven, 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 reached 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead was 134 runs overnight and looked an ominous one.

The famed Neil Harvey, 97, gave his views in a delightful interview.

I've been unimpressed with England. I think the way they handle the batting side of things, they get too reckless, nobody seems to want to construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott.

It might work against lesser sides 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 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 somewhat cloudy morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Matt Potts was introduced into the England attack from the Randwick End, and immediately began utilizing his change-ups.

His first ball was full and wide and smashed 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 on a good length and pulled past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was blocked with a show of furrowed caution, to raucous, sarcastic applause from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. A grueling introduction, Pottsy. And yes, it's always like this around here.

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets granted 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 remained there.

The combination of those phases, though, propelled him into a exceptional position on the third day. In the statistics of the game there are milestones, then there are peaks. For a long time in Smith's Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks drawing gradually closer 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 overtook on Tuesday.

The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth made history at The Oval, is heading for a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a result not even the most partisan Pom could argue with.

It's been a success of maturity, composure, application, ability and Travis Head. His audacious 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. 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 unavoidable even before he faced his first ball.

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

The last rites 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 concluding effort of 2013-14 and 2021-22. Their bodies are weary, their confidence shot, their spirit crushed. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.