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

Australia knows how to host an event. This fifth Test commenced with 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 wave of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation.

On the field of play, though, Australian benevolence was in far shorter supply. Across three sessions their batters wore down the English attack, answering any questions about their drive since securing the Ashes and throwing up a few more regarding their defeated rivals.

Faces flush from the ordeal, Ben Stokes and his team departed at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th Test century, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s sizzling 163 from 166, and with it Australia had achieved 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead sat at 134 runs overnight and looked an daunting one.

The legendary Neil Harvey, 97, offered his perspective in a charming interview.

I've been let down by 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 completely different proposition. I used to score runs relatively quickly, 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.

Almost an hour into a somewhat cloudy 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 sprayed down the leg side and smashed 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 back of a length and driven past midwicket by Travis Head. His fourth ball was defended with a show of concentrated care, 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 skill, when “best since Bradman” was used with certainty. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has excelled for years, it gets granted 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 uncommon position on the third day. In the statistics 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 current Ashes battle, perhaps the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is limping towards a suitable finale. 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 experience, discipline, discipline, talent and Travis Head. His daring 123 at Perth exposed English frailties that have yet to heal; four Tests later he is cheerily grinding salt into them. Head's seemingly relentless 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 inevitable 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 understand. Maybe that's an English perspective. It's not Australia's fault that England did not show 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 total collapse 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.