🔗 Share this article Australia v England – Fifth Ashes Test, Day Four: Live Updates Play gets underway early once more, with a two-and-a-half-hour morning session to make up some of the play washed out on the first day. The players are making final preparations to begin play. Charity and Command on Display Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation. Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their beaten opponents. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one. A Cricketing Icon's Opinion The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful 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 construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a class side like Australia it's a different ballgame. 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 rein themselves in. A Tough Introduction Shortly after the start of a gloomy 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 back of a length and outside off and hacked 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 furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 confidence. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets bestowed 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 blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, 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 surpassed on Tuesday. Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most one-eyed Pom could argue with. It's been a success of maturity, maturity, discipline, talent and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; 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 certain 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 failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge. The last rites will be conducted 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 exhausted, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. 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 play washed out on the first day. The players are making final preparations to begin play.
Charity and Command on Display Australia knows how to host an event. On the first day of this fifth Test came a appropriate remembrance to the sufferers and heroes of the Bondi incident, and on the third day the Sydney Cricket Ground was transformed into a ocean of pink to once again collect money for the McGrath Foundation. Between the wickets, however, Australian generosity was in far more limited availability. Across three sessions their batsmen ground England’s bowlers into the dust, addressing any queries about their drive since securing the Ashes and posing a few more about their beaten opponents. Visibly weary from the effort, Ben Stokes and his team trudged off at stumps exhausted and overwhelmed. Steve Smith’s 37th hundred in Tests, 129 not out from 205 balls, had succeeded the latter part of Travis Head’s blistering 163 from 166, and with it Australia had attained 518 for seven from 124 overs. The lead stood at 134 runs overnight and looked an threatening one.
A Cricketing Icon's Opinion The renowned Neil Harvey, 97, shared his thoughts in a delightful 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 construct a knock, like a Cowdrey or a Boycott. It might work against ordinary teams but when you get a class side like Australia it's a different ballgame. 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 rein themselves in.
A Tough Introduction Shortly after the start of a gloomy 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 back of a length and outside off and hacked 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 furrowed caution, to loud, mocking cheers from a crowd that had begun to settle in for the day's play. 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 confidence. The thing about that phrase is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets bestowed 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 blend of those phases, though, elevated him to a rare position on the third day. In the annals of the game there are achievements, 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 surpassed on Tuesday.
Preamble: A One-Sided Conclusion The 2025-26 Ashes, possibly the most anticlimactic series in the 144 years since Fred Spofforth caused havoc at The Oval, is staggering to a fitting conclusion. Australia are poised to crush England at Sydney and win the series 4-1, a margin not even the most one-eyed Pom could argue with. It's been a success of maturity, maturity, discipline, talent and Travis Head. His bold 123 at Perth opened English wounds that have yet to recover; 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 certain 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 failed to turn up – even if, on some level, they probably wanted a greater challenge. The last rites will be conducted 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 exhausted, their confidence broken, their spirit broken. It's nearly time for everyone to go home.